No Amount of Obama 'Leadership' Could've Saved the Super Committee

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EVERYBODY OUTSIDE OF ROBERT SCHLESINGER'S LA-LA LAND KNOWS OBAMA WOULD BE THE FIRST TO CLAIM SOLE CREDIT FOR ANYTHING...
The most recent example was Obama making like it was HIS sole decision to end the Iraq occupation -- as fulfillment of one of HIS campaign 'promises.'
In reality, The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) President Bush signed in Dec. 2008 with the Iraqi government provided a legal basis for the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq after the United Nations Security Council mandate for the occupation mission expired at the end of 2008.
SOFA required that all U.S. forces be gone from Iraq by January 1, 2012, unless the Iraqi government was willing to negotiate a new agreement that would extend their mandate. And the Iraqi government wasn't.
Credit the Iraqi government -- NOT OBAMA -- with ending our military involvement there:
Iraq's Government, Not Obama, Called Time on the U.S. Troop Presence
http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/10/21/iraq-not-obama-called-time-on-the-u-s-troop-presence/
The above came to mind when Scheisslinger mentioned his USN&WR bowling league team mate Ken Walsh:
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/Ken-Walshs-Washington/2011/10/21/obama-fulfills-campaign-promise-in-declaring-iraq-war-over
So guess what Obama? In for the credit buck, in for the blame bundle as well.
President Obama has a well-documented history of claiming sole credit for things -- often artificially, through invoking the parallel-universe clause, where things supposedly could have been much worse save but for him -- and blaming everyone else but himself for his failures.
The first two years it was non-stop blame Bush for everything. Bush's fault, Bush's fault, Bush's fault, ad naseum.
And now in his final year in office he's going out blaming republicans for everything. Republican's fault, republicans fault, republicans fault, ad naseum.
And should the Supreme Court strike down the mandate of Obamacare -- and possibly strike down the severability of the whole Obamacare law from the mandate -- guess what?
Obama will blame the Supreme Court, for another of his failures.
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PS: And everyone outside of Greg Sargent's La-La Land knows democrats want the rich to pay more in taxes so democrats can keep handing out the federal candy to their preferred constituencies, from public school teachers to Hamid Karzai and the Libyan rebel-rebels -- NOT for the purpose of deficit reduction.

dom youngross of OH 6:34PM November 23, 2011

Schlesinger is right, of course, that no amount of Obama's leadership could have swayed the outcome. That's because the solution required someone with more leadership ability than Obama possess.
Which, is to say, we need a new president.

david of ID 4:03PM November 23, 2011

Half our elected leaders gave to Grover Norquist the power of a dictator.
Even during a national deficit crisis, those leaders loyalty is to this one man. As we observed the dysfunction of the SuperCommittee, we better understood the dysfunction of congress...and its failure to benefit the nation.
If you view the situation as not tolerable in a democracy, you can check out: http://wh.gov/j04

Margaret FK of MN 1:44PM November 23, 2011

actually, this little essay only proves the superficiality of punditry today. The real conversation should be about the deliberate deconstruction of congress itself engineered by a socialist president. But then, US News may not interested in that kind of essay......suibne

suibne of GA 10:37AM November 23, 2011

Blah, Blah, Blah....it's all a well-crafted distraction of how Washington can't seem to pull it together. But, this is pulled together and running just the way the Bankers need it to.
Confusion, ineptness, delusion, futility, are all carefully crafted into the wordsmith of these campaigns.
Washington can "afford" to spend time and money endlessly. It's our money that they endlessly take!

Bored With Circus Acts Like This of NC 6:58AM November 23, 2011

to try to blame pres. obama for the failure of the super committee to find common ground on the subjects tax cuts and revenues is absurd.
it was the committee;s job to find an answer,that was their mandate.

bruce b of NV 11:26PM November 22, 2011

Robert S:
Your headliner, "No Amount of Obama 'Leadership' Could've Saved the Super Committee", speaks volumes of obscurity as the words "Obama" and "leadership" are not the least bit symbiotic.
Try again, sir ......and this time leave your BS-ing propaganda at home.

John Wayne of NM 7:44PM November 22, 2011