JONATHAN COHN JANUARY 26, 2011
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You could make a good case that President Obama's first two years were a policy success and a political failure. The Recovery Act and the auto industry rescue probably saved the economy from catastrophe and, along the way, promoted investments that should make America a more productive, prosperous country. Financial reform will restrain Wall Street at least a little bit while giving consumers new protections. The Affordable Care Act will make affordable, quality insurance available to nearly all Americans while starting to reengineer our bloated, inefficient medical care system.
But none of these measures are particularly popular and most arouse more suspicion than enthusiasm. And Obama's efforts to sell these programs don't seem to be helping.
Time's Michael Grunwald suggests that's why Obama is trying to put those debates behind him, as he largely did in last night's State of the Union. And Grunwald thinks the new strategy might just work:
At times in his presidency, most elaborately in the "New Foundation" speech, Obama has challenged these attacks, explaining how the deficit exploded before he reached the White House, how GOP tax cuts created far more debt than the stimulus ever did, how joblessness and the deficit would both be much worse without that "failed stimulus." Last night, he didn't really bother.
Apparently, Obama has moved past the debates of last year. Politically, at least, he lost them. He isn't renouncing any of his core beliefs or legislative accomplishments, but he isn't asking for a rematch, either.
This rope-a-dope is sure to frustrate progressives who are still spoiling for a fight. They're angry about Obama's recent compromise to extend the Bush tax cuts for the rich, and they don't understand why he's so solicitous of opponents who have opposed all his initiatives in lockstep, who seem to define bipartisanship as Democrats doing their bidding.
But Obama's approval ratings have been rising ever since he acknowledged his "shellacking" in November. He keeps signaling to the public that he's reaching out to Republicans, even though he's still pushing policies they've been denouncing for two years. It wasn't his choice to swim upstream — the midterm voters made that call — but evidently he's got something in common with those salmon. He gets even more complicated when he's been smoked.
5 comments
Yeah, the salmon crack was good--fresh water, salt water, and...smoked. Of course what the joke was based on was the idea that even Democrats can at least fake a little enthusiasm for making government (gasp!) smaller and more efficient. If this is rope-a-dope and it "frustrates progressives", that's an added feature.
- Robert Powell
January 26, 2011 at 3:33pm
What seems clever is Obama going for the center. The left wing and right wing have a proprietary interest in their ideology and want it settled that the other side is wrong. Independents lack such motivation and they decide elections. More power to BHO, but I would rather he explained why the Bush Tax Cuts are bad for the country. For instance, the lower 15% capital gains and dividend tax is diverting investment money from small business into the stock market. Jobless recovery.
- Nusholtz
January 26, 2011 at 4:51pm
Saying nothing isn't a strategy; it's the absense of strategy. It may work for awhile, but it won't take the Democrats through 2012. Of course, the public doesn't know what they want; more spending, less spending, whatever. It's a leader's job to inform the public what they want, and then offer a plan to provide it for them. Sure, Obama is a smart man. But I suspect he has little grounding in the area where he needs it the most. His performance in 2010 doesn't inspire confidence. And his high profile appointments this year (Daley and Immelt) are not encouraging. On the other hand, Obama loves basketball, and the stall has worked wonders for many weak teams.
- rayward
January 26, 2011 at 6:27pm
It occurs to me that the frequency with which I visit this excellent blog is diminished by its placement below that sinkhole of prejudice and posturing, The Spine. On graphics-heavy pages like TNR's, it's hard to scroll down, as you have to do to see CitzenCohn once the home page loads. What a shame. Jonathan, you deserve better placement!
- adsprung
January 27, 2011 at 12:03pm
Nush, he's explained these things repeatedly; what little of it makes it past the news filters is largely ignored by a populace who just wants everything fixed and doesn't give a rat's ass about the details. Sure, some of them may appreciate that he understands the situation, but at the end of the day if it ain't fixed they're gonna vote for the other guy.
- GSpinks
January 27, 2011 at 1:27pm