The market is dispirited. I'm wondering if the president is, too, and if that won't carry implications for the 2012 race. You can imagine him having lunch with political advisers, hearing some unwanted advice — "Don't go to Martha's Vineyard!" — putting his napkin by his plate, pushing back from the table, rising, and saying in a clipped, well-modulated voice: "I'm tired. I'm going. If they want this job so much let them have it."That's not the scenario I have in my head. I don't think Obama has anybody urging him to do or not do one thing or another. I think they are all on the same page, and the page is 2012. And when you look at August 2011 from Spring/Summer/Fall 2012, one more vacation isn't going to seem like much of anything. The economy will matter, but not what it was in August 2011, what it is now. Whatever it is, people will hold Obama responsible, so right now, he's hoping things will be better enough that he'll have something to claim credit for.
Could he do something right now, in August 2011, that will make the economy better at that future point, something that will be more effective than biking and golfing on Martha's Vineyard? I don't think he can, and if he doesn't think he can, in my book, that's a point in his favor. Spare me your programs and clever ideas. I like getting some evidence that he knows the limits of government.
Obama's presidency is about getting reelected, and doing nothing right now fits that agenda just fine. I don't know how tired he is, but it doesn't matter. He should rest. Lie low. Do some fundraising... even though he already has a billion dollars. Don't waste your energy in futile gestures at doing something about the economy you don't know how to fix. Be cool. The cool Obama was good enough in '08....
... and it can be good enough in '12, if the economy heals itself a bit and the Republicans stumble over each other. There's nothing to get excited about now...
... you know that. Enjoy the summer, Mr. President!
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