Obama is finally fighting back

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President Obama finally seems like he’s trying to get back in the game. Unfortunately, part of politics at his level is a game.

I remember my disappointment, as a newly minted 18-year-old voter in 1980, when President Carter never seemed to effectively fight back or defend himself. He was followed by similarly out-of-touch Democratic standard bearers like Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis. It wasn’t until Bill Clinton showed up that Democrats had someone at the top of the ticket who, no matter what they threw at him, always came back swinging. Whether it was a genuine screw-up by him or a typical politically motivated assault, Clinton always came back with either a charm assault or just a head-on punch in the face. He was always engaged, and he was good at it.

I believe Carter, Mondale and Dukakis — and later, Al Gore — were smart, well-meaning leaders with great accomplishments or goals. But they weren’t very good at the game, the battle in the arena or just plain getting things done or getting their message across. President Obama, who I believe has gotten a lot done under very difficult circumstances, hasn’t effectively combated or managed his opponents, and hasn’t successfully promoted his sizable accomplishments. It’s no wonder he has such dismal approval ratings.

Since the election, however, he has shown a willingness to start mixing it up. It’s about time.

Let’s look at the facts. The U.S. economy, despite all of its problems, is stronger than any other in the world. This administration’s policies — from stimulus, to banking regulation and assistance, to saving the car industry, to monetary policy, to deficit reduction, to export and research-and-development initiatives — have brought us back faster and further than any other country since the worldwide recession in 2008. Remember, the recession started before Obama was president.

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