Flashback 2009 - I want Obama to succeed.

Back in 2009 I predicted President Obama would have to lead from the center-right or else his policies would prove ineffective and he would suffer losses in both big 2010 and 2012.  Looks like I am on track so far. Sweet.

Here's what I wrote:

...Rush Limbaugh was right about Democrats believing what's bad for America is good news for Democrats. At least under Bush. Now that Obama's in charge, they have to try to re-tie themselves to success. And if they succeed, Americans will be better off. But if they fail they could be setting themselves up for electoral disaster in the next few elections. It's a real possibility after having tied their success to American failure for so long. They got what they wanted, now, after having driven that failure, they get to try to fix it, with no Republicans to blame for any failure.

As Republicans, we'd like to see massive electoral defeat for the Democrats in the next elections. But not at the price of the country. A country conservatives will believe in no matter who is at the helm, because it's not about the person, it's about the principles, and the ideals behind the flag, behind the Constitution and behind America, that really matter. 

Republicans really are in a win-win situation. If Obama succeeds, he will do so by following a center-right agenda. We know that liberal policies aren't successful historically. And if Obama fails, the country will be in bad shape, but it gives us the chance to prove that our ideas work better and electoral success in 2010 and to defeat Obama in 2012 will be very achievable. Furthermore, if Obama does drift right over his Presidency, he will inevitably be at odds with his party. That's another opportunity for a Republican fortunes revival. And rooting for chaos and failure in the Democratic party is not the same as rooting for chaos and failure in America. In fact, it's just the opposite.

What I did not articulate, or explain in sufficient detail was that an ultra-liberal agenda would guarantee his failure.  That's the path he chose to follow, and while I had expected that he would, the economy has suffered (along with the nation's prestige and so many other things) a far greater toll than even I expected. The not so sweet part - America has had to go through an extended period of economic anemia for it to happen.  But conservatives really did see that coming.  I hope the 2012 part of my prediction pans out successfully.  So far that's looking like a very solid possibility.