By Karl Rove
Published: 02-20-09
Obamas reputation for competence is at risk.
Team Obama demonstrated remarkable discipline during the presidential campaign. From raising an unprecedented amount of money to milking every advantage from the Internet to grabbing lots of delegates from inexpensive caucus states they left nothing to chance.
And now the administration has scored a major legislative victory in an extraordinarily short period of time. Less than 700 hours after taking the oath of office President Barack Obama signed the largest spending bill in American history.
Nevertheless this fast start cant overcome a growing sense the administration is winging it on issues large and small.
Take the vetting of cabinet nominees. Mr. Obamas aides ignored a federal investigation of New Mexicos Gov. Bill Richardson that started last August for a possible pay-for-play scandal. Mr. Richardson had to withdraw after being named to become secretary of commerce.
The administration treated as inconsequential the failure of its choices for Treasury secretary and White House performance officer as well as its labor secretary-designates spouse to pay taxes. It failed to uncover Tom Daschles problems with more than $102943 in previously unpaid taxes penalties and interest -- and once it did aides assumed Mr. Daschle would be given a pass.
Team Obama promised Gen. Anthony Zinni hed be ambassador to Iraq then cut him loose without explanation. After the Bill Richardson fiasco it romanced Republican Sen. Judd Gregg for commerce secretary -- then ignored his advice on the stimulus and wouldnt trust him with running the department moving supervision of the Census into the White House. Mr. Gregg withdrew himself from consideration.
Then there is the stimulus itself. Mr. Obamas economic team met with congressional leaders in December to green light a bill costing up to $850 billion. But they described less than $200 billion of what they wanted in the envelope. In return for outsourcing the bills drafting to Congress the administration took on two responsibilities: running polls to advise Hill Democrats on how to sharpen their marketing and putting the president on the road to sell a bill others wrote.
Team Obama was winging it when it declared the stimulus would save or create 2.5 million then three million then 3.7 million and then four million new jobs. These were arbitrary and erratic numbers and they knew theres no way to count saved jobs. Americans being commonsensical will focus on Mr. Obamas promise to create jobs. Its highly unlikely that more than 180000 jobs will be created each month by the end of next year. The precise state-by-state job numbers the administration used to sell the stimulus are likely to come back to haunt them as well.
Bipartisanship? The administration failed even to respond to GOP offers to endorse an Obama campaign proposal to suspend capital gains taxes for new small businesses.
Inexplicably the president in a prime-time press conference raised expectations for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithners bank rescue plan which turned out the next day to be no plan at all. The markets craved details; they got none. When markets cratered spokesmen didnt acknowledge the administrations poor planning but blamed the markets.
Team Obama was also winging it on enhanced interrogation of terrorists. First it nullified all the Bush administrations legal authorities before considering what rules it should have in place. When the CIA briefed White House officials on the results obtained from these techniques the administration backtracked and organized a four-month study of what rules were appropriate.
Something similar happened with the promise to close Guantanamo Bay within a year: The administration has no idea what it will do with the violent terrorists detained there. And on ethics Mr. Obama proclaimed an end to lobbyist influence in government -- even as he was nominating lobbyists for major posts and filling White House ranks with former lobbyists.
Team Obama has been living off its campaign reputation for planning and execution. That reputation is now frayed and all the bumbling and unforced errors will have an impact. Such things dont go unnoticed on Capitol Hill or in foreign capitals.
The president a bright and skilled politician has plenty of time to recover. The danger is that what we have seen is not an aberration but the early indications of his governing style. Barack Obama won the job he craved now he must demonstrate that he and his team are up to its requirements. The signs are worrisome. The world is a dangerous place. The days of winging it need to end.
Mr. Rove is the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
