To the Editor:
Re “Paying the Price,” by Bob Herbert (column, Sept. 11):
I agree that President Obama and Congressional Democrats are in deep
trouble because they did not assign foremost priority to the problem
that concerns most Americans—a weak economy and lack of decent jobs.
Instead, they spent more than a year wrangling over a health care reform
law that has further divided the polity.
Such a decision can be attributed in part to a weak, inexperienced
president who confuses eloquent speechifying with leadership. It is also
a result of the “conceit of liberalism”: liberal-left Democrats don’t
understand that they stand to the left of the majority of Americans on
issues like the role of government in the economy and society.
Focusing on health care was a huge strategic error akin to the Bush
administration’s hubris in going to war in Iraq with the goal of
remaking the Middle East. That effort led instead to great losses in
lives and treasure, and to the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Democrats’ error has led to the emergence of the Tea Party and a
re-energized G.O.P., and the probable loss of the House and possibly the
Senate in November.
Edward Gonzalez
Malibu, Calif., Sept. 12, 2010
The writer is emeritus professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 