Do You Hear What I Hear?

Yes, the vote was salted with impatience. Yes, the
administration could have communicated a little better. Yet, truly great
communication starts with empathy and listening. The greatest question in the
post election season is, “Do Washington insiders of either party truly hear
what the people are saying?”  I see signs of both parties misreading the
message that the electorate is sending. Unfortunately in this article I only
have time to address the Democratic Party’s foibles.

Basic human nature tends to push all of us to interpret our
problems through “faithful” paradigms that have helped us in past seasons of
life. It is a rare leader that can see major changes coming and proceed with a
combination of boldness and restraint, which is necessary to seize unique new
opportunities. It is safe to say that the key Democratic Party leaders have not
yet adjusted their concepts to actually understand the current moment. For
example, Harry Reid seemed to deny that his political career was on the line
just a few weeks ago. The fact of the matter is that if a more savvy,
national politician had been running against him; they would have knocked him
out in the first round.

Similarly, Nancy Pelosi sees no problem in volunteering to
lead her party again in Congress. Astute observers believe that she single
handedly squandered the party’s opportunities these last two years with heavy
handed, manipulative leadership. The scary thought to most moderate Democrats
is that her tactics and strategies actually seem reasonable to her as she looks
back. As a minority leader in congress she would undoubtedly dig an even bigger
hole for the party in 2012.

Less subjective, but perhaps more troubling, are the
comments of Hillary Clinton. She told New Zealand Television, “We have a historical pattern of this happening. The
party of the president loses seats in the first mid-term election. In that
respect, this is not at all out of the ordinary,” she said. In fact she
went to on to declare that a similar dynamic occurred to President Bill Clinton
in 1992. The fact that her husband was skillful enough to come out of a midterm
tailspin does not guarantee that President Obama can follow suit. Unlike
Clinton he does not seem to have a crackerjack administrative team around him.
Clinton seemed to delight in sparring with his opponents, while Obama often
sounds wounded and hurt. Clinton mastered both the, “I feel your pain” speeches
as well as the “mia culpa” apologies with unparalleled
skill. President Obama, however, cannot produce a believable “I am sorry.”

Although all three of these leaders (Reid, Pelosi, and
Clinton) have publicly minimized their party’s dramatic fall from grace, I am
most concerned by the president’s “deer in the headlights” demeanor and public
declarations. He knows that a midterm adjustment is necessary, but he does not
seem to have wrapped his head around his troubles yet. His tone seems contrived
and strained. To liken this to everyday life, I would say he sounds like an
inebriated driver who has just been pulled over by the police. The driver’s
first response often sounds like this, “I am sorry officer. Was I driving
erratically?”  

President Obama may be so far removed from identifying with
Main Street that he has developed a political hearing problem. What do I mean
by a hearing problem? Simply that he and his team may have already minimized
how disillusioned the American people have become with his presidency. Instead
of truly finding out the priorities of the people and leading the way toward
their goals, the administration seems to be preoccupied with assuring its place
in history. This high level of self-absorption prevents transformational,
servant leadership.  

Gone are the days that a speech would settle the race
question (at least temporarily). Gone, also, are the days when folks do not
care about the president’s lack of experience. As the next few months go by,
more and more Americans will want their president and congress to solve
problems instead of blaming Bush and the GOP. Gone are the days that an
engaging smile and the repetition of a campaign mantra can make everyone feel
better, while transferring an almost tangible sense of hope. The president’s
“credibility chips” and “popularity vouchers” have all been used up. The administration
and the Democratic Party must now attempt to face reality.

The challenge for both parties the next two years will be
re-establishing trust in their leadership. Since the trust that many voters
originally placed in President Obama was not based upon his character or his
skill, we were actually gambling with the future of the nation, assuming that
anyone would be better than another term of a George Bush-like figure. I
believe all voters are going to want to see problem solving skills manifest on
Pennsylvania Ave and at the Capitol.  For this reason the progressive or
liberal coalition may be in trouble with at least four sub-cultural groups.
These groups are: the U.S. Jewish community, progressive evangelicals, African
Americans and Hispanics. These groups will vote with their feet (low voter turn
out) or they will change party affiliation.

The GOP, if it is wise, will reach out to all four of these
groups. Let’s pray that conservatives are listening to the voice of the people.
Our freedom may depend on it.