Time to dump Pelosi and Reid

The White House is carefully plotting when it wants President Barack Obama to give his State of the Union address. This is a critical decision of national importance, for it can’t take place on the same night as the season premiere of ABC’s flagship show, “Lost.” To hear insiders tell it, Obama’s speech would lose out in that time slot if aides decided on Feb. 2 for the primetime address.

But more important than the actual date, the president should be increasingly concerned about the two individuals who will sit behind him on the dais that evening. To put it mildly, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are responsible for Obama’s sinking presidency. From climate change to bank bailouts to a pathetic series of gluttonous stimulus spending initiatives, these two are solely responsible for his ratings nosedive, and only by getting rid of them can he hope to come out of the freefall. With strong majorities in both chambers, Reid and Pelosi are the ones really running the country, yet he’s catching all the blame.

A public option in health reform not really a good idea, Mr. President? Forget that, says the Speaker this past summer. We’re passing one whether you like it or not! There’s a progressive liberal for you, folks. No apologies.

Let me be clear. Even if Obama were to find a way to gingerly jettison both Reid and Pelosi from their power perches in the coming weeks, the damage is already done for November. Republicans will usher in major reinforcements this fall. The best the president can hope for now with such a move is to salvage his own reelection chances in 2012. That’s how bad they are, ladies and gentlemen. One side note here: This isn’t about Republicans. Try as the Democrats will this year, they can’t hang that tired “Bush left me this mess” millstone around anyone’s neck this time around. So don’t even try. The average voter has heard enough of that nonsense.

This is all about Reid and Pelosi. And for that, they must go. The policies of the Senate leader and House Speaker are simply too liberal and too far out of the mainstream for even Obama to get behind this time. If he has any desire to be around in 2013 and beyond, Obama needs two new lieutenants in the Congress, and fast.

Williams can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Power 169 from 9 to 10 p.m. and from 5 to 6 a.m.

Visit www.armstrongwilliams.com.