Obama: L'etat, C'est Moi

Back in August, I commented on Hope ‘n Change’s reaction to criticism and opposition. I opined that he was something of a mama’s boy who was used to getting his own way and really did believe he was untouchable.

Since Scott Brown’s victory last week, however, we’ve been treated to a display of his petulance and penchant for destruction. We’ve had threats against bankers and other economic villains and a stated determination to stay the course, even if it means a one-way mission for Dems facing election this fall.

As reported by the Politico and Megan McCardle, Hope ‘n Change is telling vulnerable Democrats that the big difference between 1994 and 2010 is “me”.

Sort of like Louis XIV of France.

As McCardle notes:

There has been some disagreement among political analysts that I trust as to whether Obama’s advisors started believing their own propaganda–whether they really believed that everything had changed, and they were FDR 2.0. But this suggests an arrogance far beyond that. This suggests that Obama genuinely believed that he was entirely untouchable. That may explain a lot about the past twelve months.

Michael Ledeen believes that Scott Brown’s election is an expression of fear, not anger:

This fear is extremely broad-based. It is not limited to social class nor to domestic or foreign policies. Banks are not lending, companies are not hiring, because they are afraid of what Obama will do next. Both are afraid of onerous taxes, including new health care burdens, and the banks fear new regulations and the consequences of the recently declared war on evil bankers by the president. Seniors are afraid they will be deprived of medical treatment. Juniors are afraid they are going to be forced to buy health insurance they don’t think they need. Across the board, Americans are afraid they’re not going to find work, and won’t be able to afford a house. And, as the Massachusetts vote showed, Americans are worried about threats from abroad, worried about Iran, afraid of terrorist attacks, and afraid the Obama Administration doesn’t take all this seriously enough. As Scott Brown put it, most Americans think our tax dollars should go to fighting terrorists, not to pay lawyers to defend terrorists.

I can certainly see the fear in the business community. Everybody’s sitting on their dough while the gods fight it out. When the gods are fighting, it’s best to keep a low profile.

Hat tips to Glenn Reynolds on McCardle and Ledeen.