President Obama: holiday over, tough times ahead

Unemployment – still rising. House prices – still falling. Key states embracing the Tea Party message. Many Democratic voters simply staying at home. Disapproval ratings higher than approval figures for the first time during his presidency.

As November’s crucial mid-terms loom – polls predict substantial gains for the Republicans in the House, the Senate and Gubernatorial races.

Perhaps Barack Obama’s holiday on the idyllic beaches of Martha’s Vineyard has not quite been the relaxing family getaway he might have planned.

But a week before Labor Day the President is heading straight back to the campaign trail – trying to persuade Americans that his promised economic recovery is on track after all.

Last night, it was New Orleans to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina – with a speech at Xavier University that’ll touch on the BP oil spill too. Then it is Texas and a speech to troops on the US withdrawal from Iraq, plus an address from the Oval Office.

All that is followed by the small matter of peace in the Middle East – the President is hosting delegations from the Palestinians and Israelis to see if they are willing to resume talks.

Democratic National Committee chair Tim Kaine believes Obama can still energize his supporters: “He’s going to be hustling on the road until the November election and he’ll be relishing the opportunity.”

The Republicans claim this could hardly be better news – according to RNC spokesman Doug Heye: “He makes our argument for us.”

The Republicans, of course, have their own problems to deal with – not least those Tea Party candidates who have swept out incumbents in states like Colorado and Alaska. The Good Old Party’s consistently blocked legislation in Congress – including bills to encourage lending to small businesses, and another to extend unemployment benefits. And while the likes of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin might have rallied thousands in front of the Lincoln Memorial this weekend – their brand of politics is just as likely to alienate the middle ground.

But what Obama has somehow lost is the enormous groundswell of – well, hope – that propelled him into the White House just two years ago. That ability to inspire, to empower, to lead.

Much of the criticism levelled at the White House might seem unfair, after so much has been achieved in so short a time.

US troops coming home from Iraq – on time. A new strategy in Afghanistan – and a new general to lead the effort. Two new women justices in the Supreme Court. Tens of thousands of jobs created through massive stimulus spending – even if the billions of dollars ploughed into the economy may not have proved to be enough. And comprehensive health care reform – the issue which has perhaps cost his administration the most.

For at a time when the overarching issue facing Americans is once more “the economy, stupid” – the 44th president lacks the innate populism of Bill Clinton, the ability to convince people he is on their side. Instead, there is that image of remoteness and the professorial distance of an academic – rather than a grass roots activist determined never to give up the fight. Young voters have, perhaps predictably, lost their enthusiasm. The left wing is disappointed – and complaining of betrayal.

So holiday over – Obama is on the stump again, going all out to rally support at the mid-terms that are being described as a referendum on his presidency. Think back to those election slogans of 2008: Change we can believe in. A different kind of politics. Hope.

Can they be reinvented for the state we’re in today?

As for that rallying cry which got those enormous crowds cheering to the rafters – “Fired Up! Ready to Go!” – well, the jury is still out on that one.

Between now and November, there will be no shortage of battles to come. Now, under the burden of high office – Obama just has to show he has still got the stomach for the fight.