George Will and Alibi Ike.

George Will introduced me to Alibi Ike.  He is a baseball character from 1915, with no reflection on Ike Eisenhower, but a direct characterization of Obama. To be clear, Obama is Alibi Ike, while Mr. Will doubles as a baseball expert and my favorite editorial writer. Mr. Will is brilliant.  He is my editorial icon. However, in a recent editorial, Mr. Will asserted that Jon Huntsman is running a campaign of civility, which is destined to fail against Alibi Ike.


Mr. Will contends that Huntsman must make a case for why Obama deserves a reputation for inadequacy.  As evidence, Will cited Reagan's campaign comments that Jimmy Carter's presidency was a litany of despair and broken promises. Reagan said more, but the point is that Reagan, an uncommonly civil person, attacked Carter's reputation and won. Huntsman must do the same to win. I agree with a slight distinction. 


Huntsman should leave Obama's reputation alone and attack his record. Obama's political reputation is amorphous while Obama's record is crystal clear. It is woefully inadequate. And further Huntsman does not need to pin the blame on Obama for accepting high unemployment, fighting undeclared wars, overseeing a financial bailout of undeserving wall street firms, or fostering a trade imbalance that would choke a horse. The blame is arguable, but the lack of Obama leadership, in addressing these problems, does not lack ambiguity. Huntsman must merely strike the carillon of change with a civil hammer.


While Obama plays the role of Alibi Ike, Jon Huntsman should adopt the tactic of Ronald Reagan. Huntsman should cite, ad nauseam, the economic facts of the last 4 years with civility, which should be adequate for most Americans to remove Obama. Obama's reputation, as the first American black president, is intact; but his presidential record is indelibly etched in history by broken promises and marked forever by the erudite extraction of hope from young Americans for the American dream. Horatio Alger is rolling over in disgust, wherever he is.  


Join me in my fire Obama campaign.