The Phoenix

Barack Obama's First Real Political Test Looms

The president's first real political test now looms -- with the impending collapse of GM reported this morning. Up until now -- though some of the president's moves have hardly received unanimous support -- they have been warmly greeted within his own party and by most independents.

That won't be the case in his dealings with the auto industry. A majority of Americans don't favor a bailout, though unsurprisingly, the residents of Michigan (a blue state) do. More important, his constituency is split on the issue. The working class part of his constituency is likely to favor blue collar bailouts since the banks got them. The more upper class part of his constituency won't. Joel Kotkin warned recently of a coming civil war between the party's gentry and populist wings. This is where it likely begins.

Published Mar 05 2009, 08:07 AM by Steven Stark

Real Clear Politics - News - Elections 2008 - Opinion - Commentary - TIME said:

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March 5, 2009 5:20 PM
Aggregator @ Bitubique said:

From Steven Stark today. First is his weekly column, in which he argues that President Obama's ubiquity poses serious political risk. Second is this short blog post, in which he points out that Obama is facing his first true political dilemma on whether

March 5, 2009 7:21 PM
Time » Blog Archive » Two Interesting Things said:

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March 5, 2009 11:16 PM
Where the Dem Civil War Might Begin « The Rhetorican said:

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March 6, 2009 11:20 AM