Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats Dragging Down Obama

It's fairly obvious that the Democratic Congress and the Obama Team have misjudged the process of passing the Stimulus package in Congress. The Republicans decided to oppose it in the House and nobody on the Republican side voted for it. Now the Senate Republicans might follow suit (despite being wined and dined at the White House by Obama).

There is a lesson here for Obama: while he wishes to govern in a bi-partisan way, the Republicans have little to gain by helping the Democrats solve the economic crisis. The Republicans feel they can gain back their power by doing everything possible to ensure the failure of Barack Obama. And with Nancy Pelosi driving Congressional strategy for the Democrats, it's almost like a defacto suicide. I've got zero confidence in Nancy Pelosi and there is nothing in her performance convincing me that she is a truly qualified leader. So the Pelosi problem also needs to be fixed and fast.

Because with Pelosi calling the shots, and the Republicans willing to wait two years while tearing down Obama, we might be stuck with a government in paralysis. Two years from now, if the Republicans gain back seats in Congress, they might become even more emboldened and win another national election. God help us!

Still, I think Obama and his team need to learn from this debacle and work strategically to win over the American public. And they can start by explaining the details of the Stimulus Plan.

You know I kinda thought things would be different. I thought Congress would try working together with the Obama team. But, it's clear the Republicans are sore losers. And with Pelosi running things, I'm less optimistic than I want to be about America pulling itself out of this mess.

And frankly, the more I learn about the stimulus package, the more I feel they should have sold it more effectively to the American people. Because they are throwing around big blocks of money on stuff and saying it's going to lubricate the economy and create jobs. But there's really no particular messaging and marketing to the bill. And it's reported to be full of non-job creation funding for pet Democratic issues. I agree with Chris Matthews, host of Hardball. Obama should have asked Congress to create a clean bill rather than one likely to cause division. And he should have marketed it better.