Obama isn’t leading, he’s pandering

Robert Gardner, Henderson

Saturday, June 25, 2011 | 2:03 a.m.

With 17 months until the next presidential election, the pandering is already in full force. As President Barack Obama’s approval rating tanks, more than 60 percent of Americans believe we are headed in the wrong direction, 80 percent believe the economy is bad, and after spending almost $1 trillion on stimulus, the unemployment rate is still over 9 percent. He should be feeling a little insecure about his job security.

But the number that scares him most of all? Fewer than 50 percent believe he deserves re-election. So what’s Obama to do? Don’t wait until next year, pull out all the stops now.

Don’t like the war in Afghanistan? Not to worry: He will be removing 33,000 troops by next September, against — might I add — the will of his military commanders. Gasoline at $3.60 a gallon? Not to worry: He will release 60 million barrels from the Strategic Oil Reserve. As his approval rating among Hispanics drops, again not to worry, he and his Democratic cohorts are once again bringing up the Dream Act. Believe we should change the definition of marriage to include same-sex marriages? Not to worry: Obama is evolving on the subject.

If I were even remotely thinking of voting for him, I would caution him: Don’t get in too big a hurry with the freebies, you might deplete your arsenal too soon.

Oh, one last thing, instead of calling him commander in chief, maybe we should be calling him panderer in chief.