BHO victorieux et en crise aigue

BHO victorieux et en crise aigue

Avant la visite du Premier ministre Cameron au président Obama, les journaux britanniques ont beaucoup glosé sur la position politique d’Obama. Très sensibles aux nuances les plus révélatrices de la situation américaniste, ils décèlent aisément l’extraordinaire contraste entre les résultats politiques intérieurs assez bons d’Obama et sa position très inquiétante, voire catastrophique face aux élections de novembre prochain autant qu’en termes de popularité. Cette contradiction est la marque même de la crise de la psychologie américaniste, particulièrement à Washington, et du chaos qui en résulte.

Nous citons deux quotidiens de tendance différente. Leurs analyses mettent tous deux en évidence cette situation.

• L’Observer du 18 juillet 2010.

«When Barack Obama was inaugurated in January last year it was amid the fanfare of the country taking the step of electing its first black man to the White House. But since then – with the US gripped by profound economic crisis, political tumult and a worsening war in Afghanistan – that development has, incredibly, seemed almost reduced to a historical footnote.

»Obama has fought battle after battle against a resurgent Republican foe, notching up three key areas of landmark reform, but has gained little from it.

»First there was the $862bn economic stimulus package. In the face of the deepest downturn since the Great Depression, Obama managed to pump billions of dollars into the economy in a desperate bid to keep it alive and stave off mass unemployment. He achieved this despite barely a shred of Republican support.

»Then there was healthcare. After a titanic struggle, which almost broke out into riots at political meetings across the US, Obama managed the one thing that has defeated every other president since the second world war: meaningful healthcare reform that provides coverage for tens of millions of Americans.

»That success was finally followed last week by financial reform as a sweeping set of regulations and changes was introduced to try to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis that brought the US economic system to the brink.

»So when they chat in the White House, Cameron should, finally, be finding a president at last unbuckling his armour. That would be the theory. The reality is much grimmer. Despite his achievements, Obama's administration is in the grip of a profound political crisis.

»In the face of withering Republican attacks – which has seen them promising to repeal almost everything Obama has done – the Democrats are facing sinking polls and staring disaster in the face in mid-term congressional elections in November. There is little talk of celebrating Obama's achievements and cementing his authority. Instead, it has become a grim battle for survival, with experts predicting a swath of Republican gains that will give them control of the House of Representatives and could even see them win back the Senate.»

• Le Daily Telegraph du 17 juillet 2010.

«Buried deep in yet another poll this week cataloguing Barack Obama's declining popularity in his home country was an intriguing nugget of opinion. Democracy Corps, a Left-leaning research firm, found that 55 per cent of Americans think the world “socialist” fittingly describes their president.

»By most received definitions, this is absurd… […]

»But if Obama isn't a socialist, what is he? It is strange to report, but after 19 months of living under his presidency, Americans are still not sure. It is a big part of his problem. […] He remains an enigma whom the electorate struggles to get a handle on. […]

»Whatever the reasons, the failure to create a narrative of what Obama is trying to achieve has helped generate a sense of a president on the verge of failure, even though his legislative achievements have been considerable.

»In overhauling health care he succeeded where every other Democratic president has tried and failed. Last week Congress passed sweeping financial regulatory reform designed to avoid a repeat of the 2008 meltdown on Wall Street.

»He opened his account in early 2009 by forcing the passage of an $862 billion stimulus package that probably saved the country from collapse. The car industry was bailed out, saving hundreds of thousands of jobs.

»Yet Obama has been unable to persuade a majority of the public that he has served them well, or that spending in the present will bring prosperity in the future. Even supporters take little comfort from these three landmark accomplishments.

»Frustration that he has been winning in Congress but losing with voters has engendered a backward-looking testiness. If a dollar had been donated to the Federal Reserve every time he or an aide blamed George W Bush for the economy's woes, the deficit would be in much better shape.

»Clearly dismayed by the negative aura around him, the president has pointed out that he has stuck to his guns and delivered on his major campaign promises such as health care and financial reform.

»But he has failed to acknowledge the powerful headwinds his presidency has encountered. Unemployment refuses to fall. The public is alarmed about spending and its affect on their prospects. The Democrats' grip on Congress could now be lost in November's midterm elections.»

dedefensa.org