Watch for Scandals

The Obama administration seems really off its game - Congress missed the August recess deadline that Obama set for ObamaCare legislation, Cap-and-Trade is likely stalled, Cash-for-Clunkers "succeeded" so spectacularly it ran out of money 3 months early and, of course, the summer of '09 is turning into a scorcher at the congressional town hall box office.

Every administration has its scandals - W's had attorney firings, leaks to Bob Woodward and the 16 words among others; Clinton had Whitewater, the Rose Law Firm billing records, Chinese campaign donations and what's-her-name; Bush Sr was involved at the periphery of Iran-Contra (a Reagan scandal) and was forced to fire administration appointees who searched through Clinton's passport files. And on and on.

The Obama administration has already had scandals but none of them are big enough (yet) to sink his presidency. If one happens to occur, remember this week. Administrations are big unruly things to control with lots of underlings doing lots of things to make sure the presidency is successful. It's possible that, ruffled by the current downturn in his popularity, Obama or one of those underlings does something incredibly stupid that turns into a scandal. 2 1/2 years from now, I predict we will all be discussing an Obama scandal and we will hear details about things happening at this very moment that worked out very badly for the administration.