Does the ghost of Jimmy Carter lurk in Obama's future?

Barack Obama came roaring into office just nine short months ago.  He brought a head of steam and a congressional calendar that could easily last eight years passing all his ideas.

  However, it appears that President Obama’s scenario of his first term in office is coming apart at the seams and there’s nobody to blame but himself.  Independent voters that voted him into office are now inclined to vote him out as soon as possible.

So fast in fact that many in his administration are asking “what happened?”  And the answers are many and closely aligned to the demise of Jimmy Carter’s presidency back in 1980.

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows Obama disapproval rating among independent voters to be higher than his approval numbers for the first time since taking office.  Astounding when it is considered he had a steady 60% approval rating until the last few months.

That encompasses approximately 43% of the American voting public. It is an incredible turn of events considering the infancy of his first term.  It conjures up the “shadow” that lurked over President Carter’s FINAL year in the White House.

What apparently has happened is Americans have shied away from his big spending programs.  What seemed to look good to many people on paper does not translate as well to reality. 

Not unlike Carter, the president’s actions have revived a sagging and downtrodden Republican Party, the conservative right and independents all at once.  Wherever Obama looks, people are beginning to ask questions and the public is awakening to the uncomfortable feeling that the country is changing too quick for their taste. 

More shocking is that independent voters favor a Republican –controlled congress come the 2010 elections by a four point margin.  It’s a clear message that the electorate is agreeable to replacing their Democrat Congressman with a Republican.

There has been a nine point drop in the public’s confidence in Obama’s goals and policies.  These are numbers that can signal big trouble on the horizon for off year elections.  The last such reversal came in 1994 when the Republicans registered huge gains in both Houses. 

But the election that all Democrats would just as soon forget was in 1980.  It was the  beginning of the Reagan Era and an end to the left wing of the Democratic Party for decades to come.

All the ingredients for such an election are at hand minus it being a presidential election year in 2010.

Although the Democrats were quick to blame the Republicans early in Obama’s presidency for all that was wrong, the tide is turning.  Just as Carter spent the first years in office blaming the Nixon Administration and President Ford, he quickly found the public dismissing that excuse.

President Obama is now clearly being held responsible for the continuing unemployment figures, the Afghanistan War and the health care reform revolt.

  It has become abundantly clear that Americans are becoming skeptical about the huge increases in the national debt, a shaky trillion dollar health care plan, his energy policies and the unproductive economic reform acts. 

President Obama came to power on the coattails of an angry electorate.  The fallacies of George Bush, the Iraq War, the economy and dozens of other foul-ups left a clear path for the change Obama promised.

But over the last nine months, it is apparent that his policies have alienated the all powerful independent voter who didn’t quite understand the type of radical change the far left had in mind.

The daily vows from his supporters such as House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi that no compromise will be addressed with health care reform has left its mark with many voters.  Many have begun to look at the Republicans as upstart underdogs being bullied by the Democrat’s majority in both Houses. 

Unfortunately, President Obama has misinterpreted the election of 2008.  He failed to interpret the anger of the electorate for what it really was. 

Americans wanted a change in Washington in terms of its leader.  The idea of putting socialized government into play immediately left millions of Obama voters reviewing his speeches from the campaign.  The mind boggling pace to revamp 17% of the nation’s economy through his health care reform bill has frightened many of his 2008 supporters.

But the single biggest misreading of the voters has been his approach to foreign policy and his view of America in the world community.

Many observers have interpreted his speeches abroad as a sort of apology for American indifference.  In speeches from Germany to Egypt, President Obama has gone out of his way to ask for “a second chance” that has infuriated even left leaning voters.

  Not unlike Carter’s paralyzed image during the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979-80, Americans are beginning to yearn for strong American leadership once again on the world stage.  Many view his “apologetic approach” to appeasement with our enemies and  diplomatic surrender to terrorists as reprehensible..

The next few months of Obama’s presidency will tell a great deal about what can be expected in upcoming 2010 elections.

One thing is certain.  If the polling numbers continue their dramatic freefall with independents, 2010 will bring a “Reagan like” atmosphere back into play.  Many incumbent Democrats already can feel the heat.  Many of Obama’s early ardent health care supporters have calmly remained neutral.

Jimmy Carter’s downfall began with his infamous “Malaise Speech” that Americans took as Carter cashing in America’s greatness. 

You have to wonder if Obama’s “malaise” has arrived and the polls are showing it this soon.