Obama's M.O.

I have noted before that underneath the nice-guy demeanor, Barack Obama is a politician of great ruthlessness. He's playing for keeps. And with President Obama, it isn't what we can see him doing out in the open that should worry us most.

It's what lies beneath. Tinkering with the census. Or allowing his allies to mask an assault on the First Amendment as a call for more "diversity" in radio ownership.

Stuff like his concerted and deliberate efforts,through his budgets and government giveaways, to create long-term clients of government who will, not incidentally, become committed voters for the Democratic Party.

Almost every move he makes is aimed at securing a lock for Democrats on the Electoral College. Perhaps if he devoted equal energy to reassuring the stock market and promoting reform rather than radical change, we'd actually have seen some improvement in the economy by now.

But it's becoming increasingly obvious that the President and his team aren't all that interested in America's recovery unless and until the country is almost completely enchained by government, and until the Democrats -- the party of government -- have locked their own political advantage into the fabric of American life