President Obama Dedicates Abraham Lincoln Hall At National Defense University

President Obama likes to draw comparisons between himself and Abraham Lincoln. Such a display of vanity contrasts starkly with his predecessor, who seemed to care little about what anyone thought of him.

But what is Obama really made of? After six months as President, is he displaying the leadership of a Lincoln or the sensitivity of a Jimmy Carter?

The President shows bountiful confidence as he struts around the world stage lecturing about America’s mistakes and asserting the need for change. But as his political honeymoon period draws to a close and new challenges emerge around the world, how will his persona change? What is on the Obama menu?

As an individual, Obama appears self-conscious, dressing smartly and being concerned about his appearance. How people think of him is important. When Maureen Dowd referred to his big ears in the primary campaign, Obama became petulant. Apparently, they had led to his being mocked at school.

As a politician, Obama appears much more concerned about his approval rating than his predecessor. This has predictably fallen since he was sworn into office but it still hovers comfortably about fifty per cent.

In Congress, Obama has a comfortable majority, so he doesn’t have to tangle with the type of resistance to his plans that might have arisen if, say, the Senate was controlled by Republicans.

President Obama and Abraham Lincoln

Overseas, Obama is the Anti-Bush. By not being the former President and by being critical of his predecessor’s policies, especially the war in Iraq, Obama has won some plaudits. Signing an Executive Order closing the Guantanamo terrorist detention center symbolically offers the sort of change that non-Americans have sought.

However, all this could change. A deteriorating economy will hurt Obama’s approval ratings. Some problems will be blamed on George W. Bush but it is clearly the President’s policies that are having the impact now. He will take the credit or receive the blame.

Indeed, it is normal for leaders to have high approval ratings when they first take the reigns of power and then see them fall as they are judged, harshly or otherwise, for economic conditions. Just ask UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

But unlike his British counterpart, this President hasn’t experienced criticism for his past executive performance. This is largely because he has no prior executive experience. And he has no legislative record on which he could be criticized. So we don’t know how he will react when the chips are down.

Indeed, the only clues to his performance in any activity come from his autobiographies which, of course, are designed to lead to the type of adoration he received in the election campaign.

Despite rising unemployment and fears of inflation and a drawn out recession, the media’s love affair with President Obama continues. The fourth estate has been extraordinarily submissive to his agenda which means that he has not had to face much public criticism, other than the tea party protests.

President Obama and Abraham Lincoln

But cracks are beginning to emerge. As criticisms have appeared, the President has tended to react in a defensive manner. The tea parties were followed by an unprecedented appearance on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. And shortly after former Bush advisor Karl Rove observed in the Wall Street Journal that Obama relies heavily on straw dog arguments, the President pointedly stated that he wouldn’t do so.

Favorable reactions to his Presidency are no longer the only courses on the menu overseas. Chancellor Merkel criticized his government spending program and the European Bank has been cool with the policies of the Federal Reserve. China too, has added its criticisms of the way the financial crisis is being handled.

Despite close consultation with allies, only Bermuda and Palau agreed to take any Guantanamo prisoners. Some media outlets tentatively recognized inconsistencies between Obama’s speeches in June in Cairo and Germany, given on consecutive days to vastly different audiences.

The President may see at as ‘destiny’, but the indications are that this President suffers from an unusual streak of vanity. Tougher times are coming. We are about to discover the extent of Barack Obama’s vanity fare.

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