No one I know of has a better handle on what I have called “Obamacasting.” Again, it is my hypothesis–not a settled conclusion–and I continue to test it by contrasting Obama’s words and his actions. My sense is that he has a big gap within which to work, because political accountability on him is light, for at least a honeymoon period following his election, if not longer.
I attribute this gap to his high popularity, the complexity of political issues, and the general lack of knowledge by most Americans about the true machinations of government. Within this gap, he has room to say one thing while doing another, and the media can run enough interference to allow Obama to move his agenda forward as long as this accountability gap is wide enough.
Basically, I want to see if he is indeed using his strong oratorical gifts and presence to project a certain sense of calm and goodness that his plans have America’s best in mind, while in reality his plans are born of a worldview antithetical to the American mainstream and instead intent on changing it dramatically, if not quickly.
This is a case of what is known as projection. It is by now hard for one person to keep up with all the false, misleading, or fantastic claims President Obama has made about his efforts to nationalize our health-care system. They include, but are not limited to, Obama’s claim that the reforms he has endorsed would cut the cost of health care (they would increase them); that they would not add to the deficit (they would add hugely to it); that Medicare benefits would not be cut (they most certainly would); that eliminating “waste and fraud” is enough to cover their proposed reductions in future Medicare spending (the claim is risible); that under his reform, “if you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period” (millions would not); that his plan would not mean government funding for abortion (it would).
