Blog Focus: Intent vs. Incompetence

As many readers know, I often get hung up on the idea that the Administration is either intentionally destroying the country, or they are hopelessly naïve and incompetent.  I have the basic belief that most, if not all behavior is goal directed.  We all do things that are pointed at achieving something.   However, the screw-ups of the current administration have caused me to question that belief.  As the errors and gaffes of this administration multiply, it becomes more and more difficult to determine exactly what the administration is doing.

However, I am apparently not the only person asking that question.  The Reaganite Republican and Michael from Jumping in Pools have debated the issue.  Here are excerpts from both sides.

First up: Reaganite Republican…

Obama “Incompetence”-

All Part of the Plan

Turns-out he road to Hell is paved with propaganda…

speciously portrayed as good intentions

Taking advantage of Americans’ propensity to back an underdog who at least seems to be giving it the ole college try, Obama still stumbles from failure-to-gaff-to-failure as he continues to play the idealistic, well-intending rookie manager. Didn’t everybody root for Frank Robinson when he took the helm of the ’75 Indians… fending-off mean ole racists like Gaylord Perry in the process?

Meanwhile -and by design- a grinning Obama steamrolls our society flat so he and other “progressives” can replace all he was raised to despise. The C’mon, let’s all root for Barry spiel relentlessly pounded into our skulls by the MSM has propped-up at least some support… but it’s surprising even 40%could still tolerate such apparent incompetence… most thinking people have seen quite enough.

Whether or not Obama actually has the ability to do a better job of managing our economy, internal social conflicts, immigration issues, diplomacy, and defense rather than exacerbating   problems -as he is now- is surely open to debate. While the results are for the most part dreadful, is he just making some typical rookie mistakes, able to adjust and pivot? Or is he in wayover his head? Does this most inexperienced executive even have the necessary skills to get it together?

Kindly go to Reaganite Republican to read the rest of his side of the argument.

Next up: Michael from Jumping in Pools…

President Obama is Simply Incompetent

To say that the President hasn’t erred in his time in office would be to throw away sense. His rebuffs of our Israeli allies, the mishandling of several economic factors, especially deficit spending, promises broken, and his misunderstanding of foreign policy cannot be denied. But a larger question arises out of all of this: is our 44th President making mistakes to further a liberal agenda (which, of course, means that they are not mistakes at all), or is he simply incompetent and inexperienced? I believe the truth to be the latter.

To me, it seems clear that while the President constantly makes mistakes, there seems to be no method to his madness. Instead, his mishandling of the simplest things paints the picture of a man over his head who just doesn’t know how to get things done. Simply, President Obama does not know what he is trying to do. His whims seem to change quickly and markedly. It seems that he is trying to do what he thinks is right, but he is too inconsistent and naïve to accomplish anything.

Evidence of his fumblings and waffling abounds, in plain sight for anyone to see. For example, exclaiming as a candidate that he would treat Israel as a top ally and friend, then snubbing Netanyahu several times and publicly lambasting the nation over West Bank settlements. His promise to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was (thankfully) broken. His pledge for comprehensive immigration reform has been mostly disregarded. His declaration that “no amount of American lives” could solve the war, then claiming the victory is thanks to him. His support for a public option in health care, then his stance against it, then his want for it, then his compromise against it…these tell me that this President is simply ignorant of realities on the ground and around him.

Kindly visit Jumping in Pools to read the rest of Michael’s argument.

I think both arguments are very good, and make excellent points.  However, I now think the actual truth is really a synthesis of both.

We know that Obama is a “progressive.”  He has openly stated that he intends on a “fundamental transformation” of the United States.  We also know that as a “progressive,” he is a proponent of statist policies.  So, when we see every initiative from his administration being about increasing government control, it should not come as a surprise.

His appointees are also an indication of his thinking.  While Obama at least pretends to be more of a centrist, Cass Sunstein, Mark Lloyd, Kevin Jennings, John Holdren, Van Jones, and a host of others, all hold extremely radical views.  If Obama did not support those views, he would not have appointed them.  This is, basically, Obama playing rope a dope with the public. When you look at what the left hand is doing, the right hand is about to clobber you.

I do believe that he has an agenda.  It’s disjointed, lurching here and there and being delayed and compromised by the political process (and all of the arm twisting and influence peddling required).  He has ObamaCare. He got (un)financial reform.  He got the Porkulus.   He’s still trying to find a way to get Cap and Trade and Card Check, but he’s stalled, at least for now.  For all of its perils, that agenda is moving forward.

There is also a strong case for stating that Obama is incompetent.  I do think that there are several reasons for that.  One is that Obama is a community organizer.  According to Alinsky, there is no truth, other than what is portrayed in the current effort.  So, if Obama is contradicting himself on a regular basis, it is because the situation is different, so the narrative is different.  For a community organizer, winning is the only goal, and process takes on whatever needs to be done to achieve that.  So, while Obama has an agenda, the course and narrative to arrive at each point will vary widely, and change whenever it’s needed.  This meadering will cause the appearance of incompetence.  To a great extent, it is, without an overall narrative, incompetence, as there is not a coherent message.

Another deals with the word I often, use; naiveté.  Obama, as I’ve said, is a statist.  Much of his ideology is derived from Marxism.  That system is completely based in unreality.  If fails everywhere it’s been tried, So, when the Porkulus doesn’t create jobs, and ObamaCare does exactly what we said it would, and people run away from their agenda, it is incompetence.  They may have actually thought that these things would have worked.  So, when these things fail, as usual, they propose more and more of the same.

The wildcard in this all is Cloward-Piven.  As we all know, laws and regulations will be passed in order to cause a crisis.  Once the crisis hits, more government will be the solution.  The real question is, when does the incompetence end and the Cloward-Piven begin?  We never will know.  It’s easy to say that almost anything he does is Cloward-Piven, as nothing he proposes will ever work.  It simply can’t.  They all will, in the end, cause more crises, prompting our leftist friends to propose more failed solutions.  The pattern, unless disrupted, will be never ending.

So, I’d like to thank both Reaganite Republican and Micheal.  You both made me think, and that is always a good thing.