Policies and Personas
September 21, 2011 - by
In the 1980s, Democrats were in disarray and Ronald Reagan stood astride the political world like a colossus.
Then, as today, Democrats comforted themselves by saying: “Polls show the American people agree with us, not him, on the issues.”
Yep, they did. Go through a list of issues, just like today, and the American people supported the Democratic side.
Then came the 1980 and 1984 elections, and the American people voted overwhelmingly for Reagan.
The lesson: people vote for leaders, not policy positions. And they want strong leaders, even if they don’t always agree with their policy positions.
Early on, Reagan took on an aura of strength. He survived a bullet, stood down the air traffic controllers and pushed his tax cuts through Congress. He kept that image until Iran-contra made him look old and out of touch.
Today, President Obama has suddenly shifted from the Great Compromiser to the Great Populist. Polls show the American people are with him, his advisers proclaim!
But there’s a problem. For nearly three years, Obama has governed in a gentle, “adult in the room,” conciliatory style. Sometimes he has seemed distanced and aloof from Americans’ economic struggles. As he struggled with Congress – first with his own party over health-care reform and this year with Republicans – he has too often looked ineffectual.
It’s hard to change an image like that. And, by trying to, you can look political, inauthentic and desperate – the worst sin of all.
The sad fact is that Obama has put himself into a box that will be hard to escape, no matter what polls say about the issues.
Policies and Personas
September 21, 2011/
In the 1980s, Democrats were in disarray and Ronald Reagan stood astride the political world like a colossus.
Then, as today, Democrats comforted themselves by saying: “Polls show the American people agree with us, not him, on the issues.”
Yep, they did. Go through a list of issues, just like today, and the American people supported the Democratic side.
Then came the 1980 and 1984 elections, and the American people voted overwhelmingly for Reagan.
The lesson: people vote for leaders, not policy positions. And they want strong leaders, even if they don’t always agree with their policy positions.
Early on, Reagan took on an aura of strength. He survived a bullet, stood down the air traffic controllers and pushed his tax cuts through Congress. He kept that image until Iran-contra made him look old and out of touch.
Today, President Obama has suddenly shifted from the Great Compromiser to the Great Populist. Polls show the American people are with him, his advisers proclaim!
But there’s a problem. For nearly three years, Obama has governed in a gentle, “adult in the room,” conciliatory style. Sometimes he has seemed distanced and aloof from Americans’ economic struggles. As he struggled with Congress – first with his own party over health-care reform and this year with Republicans – he has too often looked ineffectual.
It’s hard to change an image like that. And, by trying to, you can look political, inauthentic and desperate – the worst sin of all.
The sad fact is that Obama has put himself into a box that will be hard to escape, no matter what polls say about the issues.