“We can’t go back to Obama’s failed policies of the past”

There’s a scene from the BBC Comedy Series “Blackadder” that’s highly informative considering Barack Obama’s demented “Forward” campaign theme.

Fans of the 1980s British show will remember the cynical, cowardly Rowan Atkinson character who travels through British history with his strange ensemble of sycophantic nincompoops. In one of the episodes from the series of shows entitled “Blackadder Goes Forth,” set in the trenches in France during the First World War, “House” television star Hugh Laurie, plays the idiot military sidekick, Lieutenant George, to Rowan Atkinson’s Captain Blackadder. At the luxurious British HQ, safe behind the slaughter at the front lines, George dialogues with his not-so-distant, upper class relative, the blowhard lunatic General Melchett, who personifies in the show the British officer corps’ incompetence that sent tens of thousands of British soldiers to their early deaths in futile attacks on German fixed positions. Blackadder has been captured by the Germans, and George is distraught and wants to lead a daring rescue of his comrade-in-arms, for George does not know whether his friend Blackadder is alive or dead or even suffering torture at the hands of “Gerry,” the Ruthless Huns.

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Now to the dialogue between General Melchett and Lieutenant George that is so instructive of living during this Obama presidential campaign season. In trying to pacify George, Melchett reminds the young lieutenant of a long ago day between the two in pre-war England. The older Melchett asks George whether he remembers when he was a “little nipper” of six and how he became distraught when he lost his pet rabbi, Flossy? Melchett suggests to George, that this is no time to go “soft in the knickers” again like the way George behaved then. Melchett to George: You lost your pet rabbit, Flossy, do you remember what happened to him? George to Melchett: Yes, you shot him. Melchett to George: That’s right. It was the kindest thing to do after he was run over by that car. George to Melchett: By your car, sir. Melchett to George: Yes, by my car, but that too was an act of mercy when you remember that that dog had been set upon him. George to Melchett: Your dog, sir. Which brings us current to Obama. Obama to America: We can’t go back to the failed policies of the past. America to Obama: Yes, your failed policies of the past, sir. Who is Obama kidding with this nonsense? He’s going to run against John McCain again? Against George Bush, again? In the Republican primary battle of attrition this year, Mitt Romney appears to be the last man standing, the presumptive standard bearer-in-waiting. Given that Romney’s hardly been able to win much more than a plurality of GOP voters during the primaries, his likely general election campaign consists of many challenges. The most pressing being, why should America fire Obama and hire Mitt to replace him? The answer depends upon whether ABO, “Anybody But Obama,” can carry the day. Obama has raised a staggering amount of money; he has the power of incumbency, and possesses the lockstep support of public and private sector unions, not to mention the numerous interest groups wedded to government entitlement programs. All told that could be at least a solid 45 percent of the vote, which means he would not need much of a percentage more to claim a second term. So what’s Romney’s strategy to upend this political apple cart? Romney only has one chance and that is to turn Obama’s words against him. Whether it is “Hope and Change,” or “Yes, We Can,” or the new one, “Forward,” they all must be called ridiculous slogans. Obama’s policies, Romney must also say, have already failed. Romney must pound Obama on his record of an insufficient growth in Gross Domestic Product of only 2 percent, on unemployment numbers of higher than 8 percent, and on an unrecovered housing market. Every time Obama says, “We can’t go back to the failed policies of the past,” Romney should hammer him on those three issues; they are all visual cues that every American can understand and appreciate. Which, of course, leads me to comment on Obama’s sky blue “Forward,” message and ubiquitous placards. This is “Hope and Change” for a new election cycle brought to you by Government, Inc. What’s Romney to do about that? Forward is just another take, on “We can’t go back to the failed policies of the past.” It’s the same thing, even though “Forward,” is so much more pernicious because “Forward” in the past always preceded the words, “to Socialism,” as if the future belonged to the Communist Party rather than having been consigned to the dust bin of history by Ronald Reagan. Romney would be served well to run against Obama’s record rather than winning a semantic argument on campaign slogans and their meaning. The two issues in this campaign are whether Obama deserves four more years and whether the American vision of prosperity can be restored through freedom and free enterprise. This is Romney’s way “forward” to victory. If Romney can’t prevail, though, it’s four more years of Obamaism and America just might be like George’s little rabbit Flossy, scraped off the front bumper of Lord Melchett’s car!