May 29 2013

While Barack Obama cavorts around the Jersey shore with Chris Christie, back at the White House his administration is engulfed in scandal and the collapse of his second term agenda.

The scandals dominate the headlines. Benghazi, the IRS, and the attorney general’s management of media surveillance will keep the Congress busy throughout the summer and beyond. Investigations abound with serious consequences on the horizon for the president and a host of federal employees.

Nevertheless, beneath the surface is a large chunk of ice that threatens Obama’s second term agenda and his presidential legacy. There is trouble on every front.

The president’s biggest headache is the implosion of Obamacare. It is the major achievement of Obama’s entire presidency. The grand scheme designed to broaden the scope of healthcare delivery that involves 18 percent of the national economy is on the rocks.

Under the direction of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Obamacare is failing. It is hopelessly behind schedule to meet the deadline of opening insurance exchanges by October 1 and full implementation of the law next January 1.

Nothing the president promised about Obamacare is true. Insurance premiums are on the rise. Millions of people are losing employer-sponsored insurance programs. Doctors are refusing to treat Medicare patients.

The public has never supported Obamacare since it was unveiled in 2009. The healthcare scheme helped fuel the Tea Party movement that took the House gavel away from former speaker Nancy Pelosi. A CNN poll reported this week that 54 percent of likely voters oppose Obamacare, while only 43 percent approve.

Congress is in revolt over Obamacare. Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the finance committee that wrote the bill, set the tone when he told Sebelius at a hearing that he feared a train wreck if she failed to do a better job implementing the law. Democratic Senators running for reelection in red states who voted for the bill are sweating the 2014 election. Now we have unions, the heart of Obama’s political support, declaring publicly that they want no part of the law.

Then there is immigration reform. Obama has given tacit approval to the Gang of Eight’s bill now before the full Senate. But the measure is already in trouble. Promises by the bill’s proponents to deliver border security before legalization are empty. Immigrants who achieve legalization will be eligible for Obamacare and a raft of local, state, and federal welfare programs.

Another Gang of Eight is busy in the House producing an immigration bill. But it is unlikely that it will be any better than the one drafted in the Senate. House Republican leaders favor a piecemeal approach to reform that will put border security first. If this comes to pass, it will collide head-on with the Senate version.

These are the domestic gems that Obama is counting on as the centerpiece of his achievements and legacy. His agenda abroad is sputtering as well.

The President has no clout with Russia or China, America’s foes in the United Nations Security Council. Russia thumbs its nose at the United States as it continues to support the slaughter in Syria. China wages widespread cyber warfare against America and continues to build its forces in the Pacific.

The president declares that the war on terror is over and he won it. This is a claim without credibility. At the same time, he wants to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay and return the detainees to Yemen, Afghanistan and other host nations where they will be set free to terrorize Americans again. He wants to dial back the use of drones to avoid any civilian casualties, leaving terrorists alone to roam free.

It is a plate full of scandals and a fading agenda. Before the decisive 2014 elections, the president could see the crash of his favorite programs and a legacy in ashes.

http://www.westernfreepress.com/2013/05/29/collapse-of-the-obama-ag...