Will Obama's hubris be his undoing?

By Peter Lemiska

Although the President still enjoys a fiercely loyal base, he is facing some undeniable obstacles in the upcoming election. Regardless of the pending Supreme Court ruling, his signature health care law remains widely unpopular, and opposition seems to be growing, as its impact becomes more apparent. Scandals like "Solyndra" and "Fast and Furious" continue to erode his support. Record gas prices, the resulting inflation, the unemployment figures, and slumping home prices are all taking their toll on his popularity. And voters are now showing real concern about something they've never paid much attention to: our now astronomical debt. In addition, many argue that Mr. Obama has done little or nothing to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions, and except to a handful of terrorists, he has become largely irrelevant on the world stage.

It may very well be that all these problems can be attributed, at least in part, to Barack Obama's breathtaking arrogance and intransigence.

Throughout his political career, Obama has shown himself to be a man of monstrous ego. He and the Democrats ignored the will of the majority when they force-fed Obamacare down America's throat. He has used his self-appointed czars and executive orders to circumvent Congress and impose his will on the people, while sanctimoniously claiming it's all for middle class America. And throughout all of this, he steadfastly rejects any and all responsibility for the myriad problems our country now faces.

In their minds, narcissists and megalomaniacs are never wrong; consequently, they never apologize. As for Mr. Obama, the only apologies he seems capable of offering are those he makes to the world community on America's behalf.

Now it's true no politician ever survived public office without a healthy dose of self-esteem and without massaging the truth now and then. But there is a threshold. Obama has become so cocksure of himself, that he believes his powers of persuasion are virtually unlimited. It's the arrogance of a con artist, convinced that relying on nothing but his wit and intellectual superiority, he can easily find simple-minded buyers for that perpetual motion machine, or that tract of oceanfront property in Iowa, or maybe those Solyndra solar panels.

Take, for example, Obama's energy policy. For years, his position on fossil fuels has always been crystal clear. Even before his election, he announced his intention to shut down our coal industry. He pushed for Cap and Trade, and promised that our energy costs would "necessarily skyrocket." In fact, earlier this week, the EPA imposed significantly higher emission standards that could effectively put our coal power plants out of business. He defied the federal courts by issuing a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. He nixed the Keystone pipeline. He appointed a Secretary of Energy who had once proclaimed that U.S. gas prices needed to rise to the level of European prices.

And now that our gas prices have indeed doubled since Obama took office, and voters are outraged, he's talking like J. Paul Getty. Rather than listening to the people and changing course, he's decided once again to tap into that vast reservoir of hubris, and simply convince the voters that he's a supporter of oil exploration and drilling. With the gall that has become his trademark, he mocks the critics of his crippling energy policies, claiming that he has always supported all sources of energy, and has actually expanded oil drilling across the country. His new claims are so outlandish, that they insult the intelligence of all but his most loyal supporters, who seem to have a higher tolerance for duplicity. Or maybe, like Russian President Medvedev, they understand that given a second term, Obama would have more flexibility to reward their patience.

With a wealth of confidence and a slick patter, Barack Obama does have enormous powers of persuasion. He believes he's capable of convincing anyone of anything, but when he crosses a threshold, even true believers begin to feel deceived, perhaps even personally disrespected and victimized. No one, after all, likes to be played for a patsy. Other politicians have ruined their careers by underestimating and dismissing their constituents. We'll know in November whether voters judge Obama to be a confident leader or an arrogant ideologue.

Many have already decided. Some are convinced that Obama has been heavily influenced by the socialist teachings of Saul Alinsky. Others argue that his ideology came from his mentor, noted Communist Frank Marshall Davis. But it may be none other than Mark Twain who offers the best insight into Obama's presidency. It was Twain who wrote: "All you need in life is ignorance and confidence and success is sure."

© Peter Lemiska