Honesty Is a Lonely Word

“Essential elements of Brand Obama in 2008 were trustworthiness and competence, virtues the candidate used to contrast himself with his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Obama promised honesty in foreign policy — no unfounded claims of weapons of mass destruction to justify a military invasion. He pledged precision in governing — no Hurricane Katrinas.

And he vowed to be forthright with the American public and U.S. allies when it came to post-Sept. 11 counterterrorism policies, shadowed by the legacy of torture, black-site prisons and the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping.”

Looks like the shine has come off the apple.

Since his re-election, the President’s various poll numbers have been slipping, handling the economy, likability, overall job performance, etc. But now separate polls were taken by Quinnipiac and Gallup on one of the most important traits, which, heretofore, had been always found to be in his favor: Trustworthiness and Honesty.

And you know what these polls found? More Americans distrust him now than trust him. Over 50% of those surveyed have found that he is right up there with LBJ and Nixon. Not the best company to be in, is it?

A new Quinnipiac University poll this week found for the first time that a majority of Americans — 52 percent — say Obama is not honest or trustworthy. A Gallup poll released Wednesday showed a five-percentage-point drop since September on those same issues and a 10-point fall since the middle of last year.

Now, according to Gallup, only half the country thinks Obama is honest.

Other recent Presidents have had issues with trust: Reagan with Iran-Contra, Clinton with Monica Lewinsky, etc. But in Reagan’s case, it was a lapse in judgement, thinking that he was doing good, in spite of overriding the Congress’ directive, and Clinton came with a “buyer beware” caveat when he ran in 1992. But no one ever really questioned their honesty.

Obama ran in 2007 and 2008 showing off this squeaky clean image that Americans longed for in their Presidents. But over time, the lily seemed to have lost its bloom. His second term is now just about shot, like Nixon’s was at about the same time, late October to mid-November, of 1973. Funny how history is repeating itself 40 years later, on just the same issues, trust and honesty.

George W. Bush promised a cleaner government than Clinton’s and a “compassionate conservatism” in domestic politics, until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks changed his presidency into a more ideological administration. But it was Bush’s weakness in management — of postwar Iraq and of the emergency response to Katrina — that permanently harmed his presidency and shaped the candidacy of his successor. But no one really questioned his trustworthiness or honesty.

For a man who campaigned and has governed so vociferously to distance himself from his predecessor, on this issue he is absolutely correct. He is no George Bush.

That, friends, is the crux of this administration. No Trust or Honesty to be found even in its leader. And that is America’s loss.