Obama the Planless

In the old days leaders were given names suitable to their attributes. Richard the Lionhearted, etc. Today we have Obama the Planless. The man without the plan, or if he has one, he's not willing to put it in writing. His press secretary did a nifty dance yesterday when, in a rare moment of objective journalism, the White House press actually asked if Obama had a debt plan that was actually written down.

He doesn't.  The press secretary shot back: "You need it written down?"

Guy Benson opines:

Yes, actually, we do need "something printed." Since his unmitigated failure of a budget was unanimously defeated in the Senate, this president has refused to offer a specific plan of his own on virtually anything at all. Instead, he talks about "visions" and "contours" and "frameworks" -- and tries to blame his opponents when his poor leadership is exposed. Over the last five days, the president has (a)undermined a bargain with John Boehner by introducing an unacceptable eleventh-hour condition, (b) rejected "out of hand" a bipartisan compromise that he found to be politically unpalatable, and (c) delivered a speech that painted his opponents as the intractable extremists. In light of this behavior, it's entirely reasonable for Americans to wonder what, precisely, Barack Obama's proposed solution might be. Today, the White House dismissively waived off that question as a GOP talking point and condescendingly inquired if the journalist who dared to ask it was capable of taking notes.

I'll close with an unsolicited word of advice, and a friendly reminder from the CBO director. The advice: When you're already plumbing new depths of unpopularity, dialing up your arrogance isn't a winning strategy. Even David Brooks finds it unseemly.

Obama has spent his life taking credit for the work of others. The fact he can't produce any ideas of his own is not surprising.