Financial Times - Deutschland, Germany

Everybody vs. Obama

Translated By Ron Argentati

24 March 2009


Edited by Patricia Simoni


The new U.S. President is losing America’s approval at astounding speed. In the fight against the financial crisis, he lacks inspiration, the will to lead, and clear communication – all those character traits that served him so well during the campaign.

The day after Barack Obama’s inauguration, two thoughts dominated coverage in the American press: columnists from both the Democratic and Republican camps were unanimous in their praise of both tone and content of the new President’s inaugural speech. And they were equally sure the honeymoon would abruptly end as soon as the realities of governing made themselves apparent.

It was no surprise that the man who entered the White House as everyone’s greatest hope would eventually come under fire. But what’s remarkable is how quickly Obama lost popularity with the public – and that even newspapers traditionally friendly to Democrats, such as the New York Times, began dishing out their harsh criticisms of him as freely as the conservative media, when both had so recently covered him with premature praise.

It’s not enough to explain this dramatic popularity loss by recounting the historic challenges facing him. No one ever demanded that he solve the financial crisis with a snap of his fingers. Liberals as well as conservatives, however, rightly expect him to demonstrate the same leadership, inspiration and clear communication that he did on the campaign trail.

Instead, Obama is sending out contradictory signals. For example, he condemned bonuses paid to the AIG bosses in grand campaign-style, but did nothing to prevent those same payments. Obama’s biggest problem so far hasn’t been the necessity to make painful decisions as much as it’s been his flip-flopping on so many issues.

With almost four years to go until the next election, Obama can afford to make a few more mistakes that may hurt him in opinion polls. What he cannot do is fail to steer a clear course for the world’s largest economic power – even if people don’t always approve of his decisions.