Failure On Pennsylvania Avenue? - By Joe Duarte

Sleepless nights, the lack of joy in everyday life, and the steady withdrawal from loved ones are signs of clinical depression. And when we look around, we can't help but wonder if America is starting to develop a case of a countrywide funk, with a little help from Congress, the mainstream press, and circumstances.

It was bound to happen and it did, as the Drudge Report finally ran the headline; "Paper: Has Obamas' Presidency Already Failed?

The eye catching header, clearly meant to entice readers and create more traffic for Drudge, was linked to an op-ed piece in the Financial Times, whose lead sentence asked "Has Barack Obama’s presidency already failed?" The answer was less than encouraging, noting: "In normal times, this would be a ludicrous question. But these are not normal times. They are times of great danger. Today, the new US administration can disown responsibility for its inheritance; tomorrow, it will own it. Today, it can offer solutions; tomorrow it will have become the problem. Today, it is in control of events; tomorrow, events will take control of it. Doing too little is now far riskier than doing too much. If he fails to act decisively, the president risks being overwhelmed, like his predecessor. The costs to the US and the world of another failed presidency do not bear contemplating."

O.K., so the author, Martin Wolf, doesn't seem to have been a Bush supporter, putting him in the majority of mainstream scribes who openly supported Obama, and whose writings and less than subtle coverage were a significant reason why Obama, he who may already failed, if you believe Mr. Wolf, is in office.

To us, aside from the fact that Mr. Wolf's question is valid, what stands out the most is how rapidly it is being asked. And Mr. Wolfe is not alone. Another Drudge link led us to Camille Paglia's column. Ms. Paglia, a gifted writer is what we would call a double leftie, meaning that she is so liberal that she has two left hands, and two left halves of her body (joke). But Paglia has also turned nasty against the left, and of course the right, but that's not new. Here's what she wrote in her column in reference to the recent interaction between the White House and Congress: "President Obama was ill-served by his advisors (shall we thump that checkered piñata, Rahm Emanuel?), who evidently did not help him to produce a strong, focused, coherent bill that he could have explained and defended to the nation before it was set upon by partisan wolves. To defer to the House of Representatives and let the bill be thrown together by cacophonous mob rule made the president seem passive and behind the curve." Yes, Ms. Paglia, behind the curve, incompetent, and inexperienced, raising the ghosts of all the campaign jabs from the McCain camp about Mr. Obama's only work experience being as a "community organizer."

To be sure, this is not time to be kicking the guy in charge while he's bent over after getting punched in the stomach. But, unfortunately, that's the way these things work. Washington is a nasty place. and Main Street is starting to lose its cool, not quite turning on the president yet, but growing a bit impatient. Working folks we spoke to yesterday were increasingly nervous, especially about the rise in crime in their neighborhoods since the economy has turned down, while expressing fear about their jobs and their prospects for the future.

And while Main Street is starting to catch on to what's happening, Wall Street isn't waiting, having spoken loudly with the sell button on Tuesday, taking the S & P 500 (SPX, below) well below the recent support at 840, and failing to hold above its 50-day moving average. Much of the selling came after Treasury Secretary Geithner delivered a less than clear picture of his plans for TARP during a speech. "Helicopter Ben" Bernanke drove the final stake through the market's heart during his usually drab testimony before a particularly grandstanding House Finance Committee hearing in the afternoon.

So what happened? Anyone watching the Congressional testimony of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the speech by Treasury Secretary Geithner on Tuesday, and the press conference by President Obama on Monday night, could see it coming, as the new “Three Amigos” failed to deliver anything new and exciting. Sure, there’s plenty of money in the pipeline. And you bet, after the president has bashed Wall Street, the Treasury is asking hedge funds to pony up big bucks to buy the worthless mortgage paper that many hedge funds either got rich shorting, or went broke owning. Any wonder there were no takers?

In fact, there is now a growing consensus that we are on the edge of the precipice; with a Financial Times editorial wondering if Obama is already a failed president, and the mainstream press starting to grow wary of the post coronation period. Contrarians may be starting to salivate, as this is the kind of talk that often marks market bottoms. Yet, this feels different in many ways, such as the fact that rush hour when this scribe takes it to the house in Dallas, Texas, is no longer crowded. The fact that Wal-Mart is the only crowded parking lot we see, is also worth noting. And finally, we are now starting to see and feel fear when we talk to folks in all walks of life.

Conclusion

We've been through downturns in the economy before, and things have felt bad at times. But in past similar intances there has always the feeling that things would work out in the end. We're getting the feeling that this time things have gone beyond the point of an easy enough repair. It's not any one thing. It's several subtle things, such as that downcast gaze we see more often in folks, and the empty drive through lane at a usually busy Starbucks we pass on the way to work each day, and the increasing number of patients that fail to show up to their doctors' appointments, as we are experiencing in our other life.

And part of it is the fact that our leaders, unfortunately, don't seem to be up to the task at hand. And their lack of talent, ability, understanding, or whatever it is that is keeping them from delivering something substantial is being displayed on television, the Internet, and the daily papers on a daily basis. Every word, every nuance is being amplified, analyzed, and interpreted by pundits, analysts, and traders. And then it is being acted upon.

Everyday folks are just trying to make it to tomorrow. But their daily lives are intruded upon by the noise of the discussion, the reality of their situation, and the partisan bickering at all levels of the discussion.

The net effect is a paralysis that is slowly descending upon the country. Those who still have jobs are day dreaming, and worrying about whether their jobs are safe. And those who are out of work seem to have stopped looking.

In other words, the net effect of what Washington is doing is that America's spirit is slowly being sapped and a general depression, clinical, as much as economic, is starting to set in. How this will turn out is clearly uncertain.

Trade the correct trend, every time.
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