Will Obama Get It Right?
2014-01-14 - by
Democrats fondly hope that, when he comes to NCSU tomorrow, President Obama finally gets his economic message right.
He has struggled at that all five years in the White House. For all the good he has done, he has never done well at explaining what he’s doing.
In retrospect, maybe he should have spent his first year just driving home what a disaster George Bush left behind – and how difficult the road back would be. Instead, the Spock-like President went straight to what he was doing about the problem. And he got saddled from the get-go with the bailout and stimulus born by Bush & Co.
Ever since, he has struggled to balance hope with gloom-and-doom. He has tried different lines and tacks. (One reporter reminded me of his “Sputnik moment” theme; that never achieved liftoff.)
The President never had a simple phrase like New Deal or even Two Americas. He never had Bill Clinton’s gift for explaining stuff and feeling your pain.
The one time he and his team got the message right was in 2012 against Mitt Romney, and that was a negative message: Romney is a cruel bazillionaire who likes to fire people like you.
Now Obama gets a reset, in Raleigh and in his State of the Union. He better get it right this time. Otherwise, his message will be real simple in his last two years: this Republican Congress is screwing you.
Posted in General, National Democrats
Will Obama Get It Right?
2014-01-14/
Democrats fondly hope that, when he comes to NCSU tomorrow, President Obama finally gets his economic message right.
He has struggled at that all five years in the White House. For all the good he has done, he has never done well at explaining what he’s doing.
In retrospect, maybe he should have spent his first year just driving home what a disaster George Bush left behind – and how difficult the road back would be. Instead, the Spock-like President went straight to what he was doing about the problem. And he got saddled from the get-go with the bailout and stimulus born by Bush & Co.
Ever since, he has struggled to balance hope with gloom-and-doom. He has tried different lines and tacks. (One reporter reminded me of his “Sputnik moment” theme; that never achieved liftoff.)
The President never had a simple phrase like New Deal or even Two Americas. He never had Bill Clinton’s gift for explaining stuff and feeling your pain.
The one time he and his team got the message right was in 2012 against Mitt Romney, and that was a negative message: Romney is a cruel bazillionaire who likes to fire people like you.
Now Obama gets a reset, in Raleigh and in his State of the Union. He better get it right this time. Otherwise, his message will be real simple in his last two years: this Republican Congress is screwing you.
Posted in General, National Democrats