Did Obama win because of his policies?

The theory Barack Obama was re-elected due to his policies, as offered by the New York Times, is laughable.

President Obama’s dramatic re-election victory was not a sign that a fractured nation had finally come together on Election Day. But it was a strong endorsement of economic policies that stress job growth, health care reform, tax increases and balanced deficit reduction — and of moderate policies on immigration, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Such “analysis” is beyond idiotic: Obama won in spite of his policies, not because of them.

The economy is, and has been, in the septic tank for the duration of Obama’s presidency—the Obama ‘recovery’ has been worse than the Bush ‘recession.’ Job “growth” is limited to the government sector and part-time employment. Health care “reform” creates another mega-entitlement filled with demand while squeezing supply. As for tax increases… well, there’s that whole fiscal cliff thing. “Balanced deficit reduction” means adding over five trillion to the national debt during Obama’s first-term. “Moderate” policies on immigration never happened; “moderate policies” on abortion advocate any time, any where, any reason, and someone else pays; finally, “moderate policies” on homosexual “marriage” is sop to homosexuals (and when they “divorce,” to the trial lawyers).

But what happens when the music stops? When John Galt bails—or heads to greener pastures—and there’s literally (Biden-speak) no more wealth to be spread around? We’ve had the dot com bubble and the housing bubble, and now we’re in the still-inflating government bubble. It’s just a matter of when it pops and the longer it inflates, the worse the pop is going to be.

So contrary to the brilliant minds at the New York Times, Obama won for one reason: voters viewed him as more likable than Mitt Romney and they cast their ballots accordingly. It’s the same burden John McCain faced in 2008. The 2012 Obama corollary is 1) few voters understand the free-lunch fallacy and 2) the media gave him a free ride (or better said, paid his way).

The president’s first-terms policies have been one fail after another and given Obama’s demonstrated inability to learn from his mistakes, a second-term will present more daunting challenges for normal Americans than ever before.

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