Obama’s Polls
September 25, 2009 - by
The media frenzy over the last month or so has been that Americans don’t support – or understand – President Obama’s health-care reforms.
Bad news for Barack, the media and the pundits proclaim.
In Washington
I think the “experts” are missing something because of their own obsession with the minutiae of issues. And, yes, before somebody starts screaming, the minutiae of issues is important. But let me finish.
What’s more important in politics is trust.
If people trust a politician, they trust him or her on issues, even if they disagree on specifics.
A perfect example was Ronald Reagan. For eight years, I listened to Democrats express amazement that the American people loved Reagan even though polls showed they disagreed with his policies.
Same thing with Obama. So today’s New York Times poll shows that, yes, the public is wary of his policies on health care and Afghanistan
More important, the public trusts him more than it trusts the Republicans in Congress.
That’s what Obama was up to last Sunday – and in his continuing media blitz. It’s not so much about issues as it is about persuading Americans he is a leader they can trust to do his best to do the right thing.
Besides, health care really isn’t where Obama needs to worry long term. He’ll get a bill, and he’ll claim victory. But getting a victory in Afghanistan is much tougher and much riskier – for Obama’s future and for America
Obama’s Polls
September 25, 2009/
The media frenzy over the last month or so has been that Americans don’t support – or understand – President Obama’s health-care reforms.
Bad news for Barack, the media and the pundits proclaim.
In Washington
I think the “experts” are missing something because of their own obsession with the minutiae of issues. And, yes, before somebody starts screaming, the minutiae of issues is important. But let me finish.
What’s more important in politics is trust.
If people trust a politician, they trust him or her on issues, even if they disagree on specifics.
A perfect example was Ronald Reagan. For eight years, I listened to Democrats express amazement that the American people loved Reagan even though polls showed they disagreed with his policies.
Same thing with Obama. So today’s New York Times poll shows that, yes, the public is wary of his policies on health care and Afghanistan
More important, the public trusts him more than it trusts the Republicans in Congress.
That’s what Obama was up to last Sunday – and in his continuing media blitz. It’s not so much about issues as it is about persuading Americans he is a leader they can trust to do his best to do the right thing.
Besides, health care really isn’t where Obama needs to worry long term. He’ll get a bill, and he’ll claim victory. But getting a victory in Afghanistan is much tougher and much riskier – for Obama’s future and for America