Bad dream, wet dream

THE nightmares of the Bush era were over and something verging on the erotic happened in the US electorate.

To put it in technical, psephological language, the presidency went from bad dream to wet dream. Democratic arousal reached its climax on Inauguration Day. Though the Chief Justice got tongue-tied while swearing-in Obama, the words were still oral sex. Not only the US but the entire world was orgasmic.

Then, suddenly, it seemed the Democrats were detumescent, with even Barack losing his mojo. Bush went from fictional WMDs to the WPB of history, his only useful contribution to American political history his crucial role in assuring Obama's victory. The "Republican brand" remains so damaged that even the Republican who won Ted Kennedy's seat avoided mentioning the party's name in his campaigning. So what went wrong? Well, the Republicans have been bad losers and we've witnessed a presidential assassination by stealth, an inch at a time.

Reading Obama's books and listening to his speeches during the endless presidential campaign, you realised that central to his approach was simply to kiss the other cheek. Every candidate talks about bringing the country together - but Obama really wanted to get into bed with Republican voters. He plumped their pillows, made them cocoa and turned down the lights. It was seduction on an unprecedented scale based on what seemed to be a sincere belief that it was possible, indeed essential, to replace the rancour with romance. This differed from the Rudd approach. Kev certainly sought to soothe Howard's supporters, to make himself seem as much like the incumbent as possible in terms of social and fiscal conservatism. Barack emphasised his difference from Bush - but with a gentleness that caused concern among his supporters. Obama's style was more rhetorical than ideological. Yes, he would do things very differently, but he would reach across the aisles. He would respect the Republicans in the morning.

And it worked. It won the war - or at least the election. But it did not win the peace. Indeed, there was no peace. Forget the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terror and the war on drugs. The Republicans declared war on the black president - taking the hating to levels not seen since the Civil War. Predictably it came from an enraged Cheney and the populist politburo of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and friends. It was seen in the simulated, stimulated rage on health reform and the bail-outs - from Palin's allegation of "death squads" in hospitals to the escalating nonsense about Obama being a Kenyan, a Muslim and a Marxist. The rest of the world looked on in fascinated horror as the US seemed to teeter on the edge of being ungovernable. And all the time Obama kept extending olive branches that his enemies used to flail him. He looked weaker and weaker to his political base, as much coward as conciliator.

 Now, finally, Obama has learnt his lesson. Those attempts to cuddle up to the Republican right have been abandoned - on the issue of the finance sector and the big banks. What he's done has been to wedge the Republicans with a populist campaign of his own. If he couldn't cut the billion-dollar bonuses he'd cut the banks down to size. And the more the Republicans rush to save Wall Street, the worse it will be for them. They may have bewildered the electorate on health care and are well on the way to confusing them on climate change. But even Republican supporters in the red states are red with anger. Nobody loves the banks.