Barack Obama’s personal popularity has exceeded the popularity of his policies for a long while. Voters like this winsome and appealing man more than they like what he is doing. And why not? As the nation’s first African American president, he enjoys a lot of automatic good will from the people. But not an endless suppply.
If, as it appears, Mr. Obama rams through this unpopular government takeover of one-sixth of the economy, by hook or by crook, he will lose a large portion of that good will forever. His ideological stubbornness and willingness to govern using raw power will forever mark him as an extremist in the minds of many. And I daresay this tragic episode in the history of the Republic will make him not only an unpopular figure, but a hated one.
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
