Obama’s popularity is on the rise. According to Gallup, the growth in sympathy for the man is the largest with Independents (+7%) and with Republicans (+5%). These voters give the impression they think to have stopped his socialism in the recent elections, and now they want to offer him their hand while he is down. Americans are the most generous and forgiving people of the world. Americans are also extremely proud to have elected an African American as their President. That’s how they bought off the racist label forever.

In the mean time, Obama tries, with the unwavering support of the establishment press, to set the parameters of the political debate, before this debate actually started. That was the main purpose of his ‘State of the Union’ address. Obama presents himself now as a Centrist. But is he really a man of the middle?

Obama said during his speech: “The rules of the game have changed.” Indeed, a week ago he made a statement about his new ‘Executive Order’ wherein he asks his administration to evaluate all of their rules and laws on efficiency. But the bureaucrats immediately responded, for example the EPA (responsible for the environment), all is fine and there is no need for evaluation. Take also note of the ‘small print’ in Obama’s Executive Order, where it obliges the bureaucracies to use during the evaluations unquantifiable parameters, like human dignity, equality, honesty, justice, etc. Thus, Obama made it effectively impossible to calculate an economic evaluation of all his administration’s rules. Obama’s words mean just the opposite of his deeds. Because any EPA rule for example, can cause an extra cost of one billion dollars for taxpayers or consumers, but as long as the EPA states that the value of ‘human dignity’ or ‘happiness’ has surged with 1 billion plus one dollar, the rule is actually efficient and OK.

Obama stated to be concerned about the Federal deficits, and so he proposed to ‘freeze’ the budget for the next 5 years. This of course when during the recent two years he boosted the deficits in an unprecedented hallucinating way: 1.5 trillion per year, or about one third more spending than what the government takes in, or about 10% of the Gross National Product! This is for every year eight times more than in 2007, the last year with a Republican majority in Congress. In his speech, Obama refused to take responsibility for the huge deficits. President Bush is of course to blame. Obama believes he can with this freeze save 40 billion dollars every year on the future growth of the deficit. Please don’t laugh. His proposal is to cut the deficit, not the budget as a whole, with not even 3%. Chump change. Who does he thinks he is fooling here? Is he even serious?

The House Republicans will vote on a first proposal to cut spending with 2.5 trillion dollars over the next 10 years, thus 250 billion dollars per year. Even this proposal is six times less of what is needed to wipe out the yearly deficit.

Obama spoke about Competition. The US needs to be more competitive in the world. And what is his solution: more spending. Sorry, from now on spending is called ‘investing.’ But of course only in companies supporting the Presidents priorities, as for example ‘green’ energy. By choosing winners Obama distorts the free market. He seizes money from productive profit making companies and distributes that money to his political friends.

At the same time he puts up roadblocks for oil drilling, for mining. He makes it extra difficult for companies to operate in the USA, and he pushes the price of energy way up. Green energy can’t survive in a competitive market without big government subsidies. Obama is even proud to subsidize the burning of food to produce ethanol. This is immoral. It pushes the price of food up all over the world. The world’s poor are the first victims.

And, don’t we forget, US companies are subject to some of the highest taxes in the world. How competitive can US companies stay in the world? But rejoice, Obama suggested to lower the taxes on company income. However, he didn’t say with what percentage. What he did say was that this tax cut must be compensated by higher taxes on somebody else. To be somewhat competitive in the world, the US taxes on company income should at least be cut in half.

Obama wants to throw even more money to, sorry, invest in, education, although the US has already the most expensive education system of the world, and the US high schools produce underperforming pupils compared with most competing countries. Obama blocks a radical shift in the power structure of the US education system. He protects the teacher unions, one of the most important sponsors of the Democratic Party. The conservative solution: the whole education budget must be cut up and transferred in vouchers for the parents, who can then decide where to buy the best education for their children, on-line or in a classic school.

Obama wants to ‘win the future’, but, please don’t have any illusions. Winning the future is only possible, in Obama’s mind, when the government leads.

And then we come to the subject of Civility, the hottest buzzword in American politics, after the Tucson tragedy. The press paints Obama as civil and above all harsh rhetoric. In the mean time, his supporters and underlings continue to scold the Republicans for all what is mean and evil. Last week a Democrat Representative on the stage of the House compared the Republicans with Nazis. Salon.com, a website supporting the Democratic Party, accused the Republicans as being potential murderers of the elderly and the sick. Civility for the left means you have no right to disagree with them, you have to shut up. The left can continue to accuse the right, and the right is not allowed to defend itself.

Let’s not pretend here. Obama may well ‘play’, and I know I write play, the great conciliator. But already during his Presidential campaign, two years ago, he promised to be bi-partisan, even post-partisan. Once elected, he shut the Republicans out of every negotiation. He even refused to listen to their proposals. You know: he won. During the 2010 campaign he used very insulting words when he spoke about the Republicans. During his speech last Tuesday he repeated again the biggest lie about ObamaCare, and everybody knows it is a fat lie, that ObamaCare saves 250 billion dollars on the budget. Obama is losing all credibility.

Many pundits and voters have their doubt about Obama’s mental capacity to make a step in the direction of the Republicans on the subject of ObamaCare, CO2 taxes, illegal immigration, economic freedom, less government control, etc. However, if he wants to be reelected in 2012, he will need to seriously consider such move to the right. But, he knows the Senate, where the Democrats still have a small minority, can set him out of the wind. The Senate can block every law the Republican House votes. Obama will not have to use his veto power often. He can pretend to be above the quarreling.

The most important political question in the US today is: will Obama be the leader and force the Democrats to compromise, or will he lock himself up in his own socialist truth? He could put America back on the right tracks to prosperity, or he can continue to dismantle America’s political and economical power in the world and further devalue the dollar.

The Republicans can’t defeat him with civility alone. The Federal deficits are too high. The situation is too grave. They can defeat Obama and his Democrats in Congress by voting every week specific laws to drastically cut the spending, and to restore the liberties of companies and citizens. Let the Democrats prove every week if they have or don’t have common sense. Give them the opportunity to block or to approve spending cuts.

The Republicans will be able to do so because the majority of the Americans do not agree with Obama’s policies. A New York Times/CBS poll of last week showed these results:

1. 56% is convinced direct and immediate action is necessary to cut the deficit, against 38%;
2. 55% wants cuts in government programs, against 39%;
3. 62% says spending must be cut, versus 29% who believe taxes must be raised.

Last week’s CNN poll showed 57% reject Obama’s immigration policies, against 38%.

The next three months are crucial in the political battle. Before summer recess we will be able to understand if Obama really became a centrist.