The Disrespectful President

By JAMES TARANTO

On April 29 we argued that President Obama's use of Alinskyite tactics had often worked against him. Those tactics, we argued, were designed for people who lacked power to use against those who had it. Reader Chris Papouras writes that he's been thinking about that column in the context of the scandals that have been revealed over the past week:

Zitat

---

Whether related to his background as a community organizer or not, I have always had the sense that the president (and the key people he surrounds himself with) did not really "respect" the power of the presidency or this government. As a result, he does not understand its scope or the incredible importance of trust by the people.

You often find in life that people who have something they did not really earn--wealth in the case of trust-fund kids, or power in the case of people promoted too rapidly or beyond their skills--tend to place very little value on that item.

Community organizers essentially insert themselves as rent seekers and obtain incredible power and access to money without ever really earning it.

Combine that with this sense I have that the president and his key people really feel this country is largely a bad actor, and you get what you have today.

This lack of respect has created a culture in which laws are not enforced, contract laws are bulldozed, the IRS is used as a political tool, etc, etc.

A lot of these scandals represent a culture in which people abuse their power. I think that largely is a function of people who do not treasure the vast power that they have been given.

---

That seems right to us. Disrespect for the authority of others leads one to challenge their power. Disrespect for one's own authority leads one to abuse one's power.

It may well be that the administration's Alinskyite tactics were more beneficial to Obama than we realized when we wrote that column last month. As another reader observes: "The Tea Party caused a huge landslide and then suddenly seemed to go silent, right around the time of this harassment." Perhaps, contrary to David Plouffe, that was a necessary condition for Obama to win a second term. Either way, it will now define that second term.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...=trending_now_5

That's the problem with Alinsky: it's for people who are not in power to use against those with power.

But what do you do when you have power? You have set yourself up for the same tactics.