Obama’s Second Verse: Same As The First
The Politico reports:
The White House on Sunday began harnessing every part of the Democratic Party’s machinery to defend President Obama’s budget and portray Republicans as reflexively political, according to party strategists.
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[O]fficials throughout the party plan to hammer the idea that Republicans are just saying “no” to the president’s budget plans without offering their own alternative.
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David Plouffe, manager of Obama’s presidential race, helped design the strategy, which includes the most extensive activation since November of the campaign’s grassroots network. The database—which includes information for at least 10 million donors, supporters and volunteers—will now be used as a unique tool for governing, with former canvassers now being enlisted to mobilize support for the president’s legislative agenda.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee pushed the “Party of ‘No'” line with respect to their party’s massive spending package in January. The same spin turns up time and again in the establishment media.
Although I once opined that Barack Obama’s netroots could be the most important tool in US politics, his last netroots appeal was widely seen as a failure.
Beating the “Party of ‘No'” drum has not stopped Pres. Obama’s approval numbers from dropping below where George W. Bush was in an analogous period in 2001. Nor has it stopped the establishment — now including David S. Broder — from declaring The Oneymoon is over, well before the end of the traditional 100 days. The Democrats must be hoping that pumping up the volume will distract people from the substance of the Obama Administration’s plans.
It’s not hard for the GOP to 100% defuse this by offering their alternatives.
When the democrats continuously reject legislation like Mccain’s earmark stripping proposal, their competing budget, and all that, it’s pretty hard to convince people that the GOP is just saying ‘no’.
Most democrats out there don’t want this level of spending and corruption. the GOP is out there, organizing protests, talking about superior tax cuts and tax holidays, and we all can see the foreign policy that protected us for 8 years falling apart rapidly.
North Korea launching ICBMs, russian nuclear bombers in Cuba, abandoning our missile shield. And the GOP says ‘no’. Spending 4 trillion on pork crap that isn’t going to actually stimulate the economy. Yeah, I’d hope we’d be saying no to that.
Obama is just doubling down. He was trying to call his behavior bipartisan, and now he’s saying the GOP has nothing to do with it. He’s going to own his miserable failure 100%.
Juan (4cdfb7) — 3/15/2009 @ 11:45 amWhen you say Obama’s poll numbers now are worse than Bush in ’01 at a comparable period, do you mean “all pollsters” or Rasmussen alone?
Andrew (ad20d2) — 3/15/2009 @ 11:58 amAndrew, you can check RCP if you’re interested in the other polls, but it’s kinda pointless.
the fact is, Obama has slipped in popularity very quickly. The press has never, in the entire nation’s history, been anywhere near this far in the tank for Obama, and no pres has lost popularity so quickly. That’s stunning.
Especially when you consider just how contentious W was when he took office. The democrats were so violent he wasn’t even able to take the walk to the white house in Jan 2001. Now, Obama has slipped below.
Juan (4cdfb7) — 3/15/2009 @ 12:04 pmAndrew,
Rasmussen & Schoen are using Rasmussen’s numbers, though presumably Schoen doesn’t disagree. CNN’s averaged polling shows that Obama has dropped to where others have been at this point (within MoE), so many polls show a negative trend for Obama. At the link, CNN spins that trend as “going strong,” but dropping poll numbers are dropping poll numbers.
Karl (8966b4) — 3/15/2009 @ 12:09 pm“pumping up the volume will distract people from the substance of the Obama Administrations plans.”
O’Dumbo has no plan other than taking responsibility for every aspect of your life away from you and having the government control it. Isn’t that the world wide definiation of Socialism/Communism?
Scrapiron (4e0dda) — 3/15/2009 @ 12:15 pmThere is an interesting and rather nonsensical sociological phenomenon that’s been evident in this society and others through the eons — certainly several decades ago — in which a person who somehow does not conform with the group around him (or her) in general — in regards to that person’s racial background, or ethnicity, or religion, or gender — has to therefore work harder or display greater aptitude or qualifications in order to be hired for the job, or to fit in as smoothly as possible at the workplace, or certainly to be accepted as a member of a snooty, elite private club.
The guy currently in the White House at least can’t claim he has started off his presidency with that particular burden on his shoulders, certainly based on all the goodwill evident in opinion polls that has greeted him since January, if not before.
Mark (411533) — 3/15/2009 @ 12:27 pm“The Democrats must be hoping that pumping up the volume will distract people from the LACK OF substance of the Obama Administrations plans.”
There, fixed that for ya.
pa (79e888) — 3/15/2009 @ 12:33 pmThanks Karl.
Andrew (96e177) — 3/15/2009 @ 12:46 pmOh yeah, loads of competent, honest, bright pols of the African-American persuasion. Media sure was hard on the likes of Wilson Goode and the current mayor. Yeah, they positively excoriated the stuttering black mayor from N.C. That’s why he got a pass on everything, including his handling of the Jack and Jill Africa Move assclowns’ debacle while the other city brass were sued.
aoibhneas (0c6cfc) — 3/15/2009 @ 12:51 pmWho was the black paragon congressman who had a place in Bimini? How great a judge was Alcee Hastings before being a Congressman in S.Fl. despite being impeached by Congress for being a crooked judge? Then there’s William Jefferson, the mayor of Detroit city, the mayor of D.C. reelected despite arrest for cocaine. David Dinkins was another very hard worker as is the current junkie Guv of NY or the great Guv of Taxachusetts Patrick Deval. All prime examples of exemplary leadership that blacks can be sooo proud of for sure. Imagine how hard Fat Teddy and Lurch would have had to work had THEY been black. Let’s not forget the drones of all colors in the Urkel administration or Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel and a host of others who struggled to be world class patriots and law abiding tax payers..jajajajaja, what a farkin’ joke.
And hookers. Don’t forget the pair of whores in the room with him at the time…
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 3/15/2009 @ 1:01 pmSo we had the strategy of lies and slander to get elected; now the strategy of lies and slander to both obscure and advance the lies; soon the strategy of lies and slander about the lies and slander to get re-elected.
Hope and change.
rrpjr (b31634) — 3/15/2009 @ 1:02 pmHe’s desperate to pass his enormous budget and TARP II as quickly as possible, but this is not going to work. Many members of his own party are resisiting any additional pork – laden expenditures because they’ve already heard from their constituents that enough is enough. Hearing about AIG’s incredible tone – deaf announcement of million – dollar bonuses from taxpayer monies is just the tip of the iceberg at this point – and yes, Paulson deserves an equal share of the blame for that fiasco.
Dmac (49b16c) — 3/15/2009 @ 1:19 pmAIG needs to pay those bonuses in order to retain quality, competent people to run the business well. What a crock.
Didn’t one of those brokerage banks getting bail out money use it for big bonuses in the millions for their London-based people?
But we have to admit Urkel is not tone deaf- now there is talk of bail-outs for small business owners. Who will end up paying for all this largesse? How many want their health benefits taxed, as is now the word coming from O’s team? Wondering just when stagflation will rear its ugly Jimmy Carteresque head?
How much will Walmart raise prices to pay for union demands, either agree to through a passed card check or an”impartial” federal mediator?
aoibhneas (0c6cfc) — 3/15/2009 @ 1:26 pmDmac – I have to wonder if AIG was/is being tone-deaf, or if the AIG high-ups have resigned themselves to the demise of AIG due to the highly-public sentencing before the trial had even started ?
The way things have gone for AIG, they basically could not do anything right … tell someone that often enough and loud enough, and you place them in a position where it no longer matters if they screw up, they are going to be repeatedly told that they did so … and *that* leads predictably and precisely to people living “up” to what people keep telling them they will do …
For whatever reasons, we have moved, in the past couple of years, to a place where it is much more important to fix the blame rather than to fix the problem … and that is compounded by the tendencies of far too many to believe perceptions rather than facts …
As I said to a colleague a quarter century ago, when she tried to tell me that “Perceptions are more important than facts”, while that *can* be a true statement, when that statement is true, then prejudices reign … and if we don’t want to support a society where prejudices rule us, then we have to fight against those who believe that “Perceptions are more important than facts” …
Prejudices have their place and usefulness in Life … personally, I don’t stand in front of 18-wheelers on freeways that are heading towards me at 55 mph … actually, I try not to stand on freeways if I can avoid it … and that isn’t because I have tried it and thus can know from experience that it is a Bad Thing … I freely and proudly admit I am prejudiced against such a behaviour …
A prejudice stops being useful, and becomes a liability, when facts are no longer able to overcome said prejudice …
In the way back when, I had a prejudice that raw fish tasted bad … I hadn’t eaten any raw fish at that time – it was simply a prejudice … then, more recently, I had the chance to try some excellent sashimi in a reputable restaurant – and the fact of how good that sashimi was as a sensory experience caused me to re-evaluate and reject the former prejudice …
I still don’t stand on freeways when I can avoid doing so, and I will continue in that prejudice until I have fact-based reasons to re-evaluate it …
Alasdair (6b086e) — 3/15/2009 @ 1:38 pmaoibhneas – in healthily prosperous times, yes, AIG *did* need to pay bonuses to keep the most competent stafff they could find if they wanted to be more certain of retaining their services … I would bet small amounts of pocket change that some of those might even have been contractually agreed-upon as part of the hiring of some of the recipients … agreed-upon during more prosperous times yet possibly without an ‘escape clause’ for times such as these into which we are currently falling …
Are the bonuses “tone-deaf” from a PR perspective ? Yup …
Last time I checked, however, honouring legal contractual obligations hasn’t stopped being a legal requirement even when said obligations may have become massively tone-deaf from a PR perspective …
(On an un-related note: ecstasy or joy ???)
Alasdair (6b086e) — 3/15/2009 @ 1:50 pmAIG needs to pay those bonuses in order to retain quality, competent people to run the business well.
Yes, the same people who ran the company into the ground, along with the economy.
For whatever reasons, we have moved, in the past couple of years, to a place where it is much more important to fix the blame rather than to fix the problem
If a company agrees to use taxpayer funds to abdicate their colossal failures, and then keeps rewarding said failures, then I don’t agree with your premise. I think Paulson should’ve told Bush that AIG had to fail, and fail ASAP, so that the bottom could be reached quickly, and then the bad assets could subsequently be re – allocated. I didn’t believe the distinction between AIG being a “utilitarian” company that could not be allowed to go bankrupt – just as I don’t believe that GM is too big to fail. My mortgage is currently with Citicorp, and I could care less if they go bankrupt and have to sell off their wildly divergent and unweildy business interests – bad business decisions must be allowed to be judged by the marketplace, not the government. A command – and – control economy does not work – you’re going to see why when the Chinese economy finally has a less than zero percent growth rate, and massive unrest will erupt across the country.
Dmac (49b16c) — 3/15/2009 @ 2:05 pmThere was some discussion of the AIG bonuses this morning and one opinion that made sense to me was that AIG decided that the feds were going to rescue them and they have dared them to do anything else. A bankruptcy judge would have something to say about bonuses. Also, George Will pointed out that Obama and Geithner are showing great respect for contracts a month before they plan to legalize cram-down legislation to cancel mortgage contracts.
Mike K (90939b) — 3/15/2009 @ 2:36 pmLi’l Davie Plouffe had better use his alleged database while he still can. By this time next year, most of those 10m donors will be too busy trying to evade the IRS, looking for new jobs, or filling out unemployment forms.
MarkJ (d2394a) — 3/15/2009 @ 3:12 pm“Last time I checked, however, honouring legal contractual obligations hasn’t stopped being a legal requirement even when said obligations may have become massively tone-deaf from a PR perspective …”
What I heard on news radio today was that Ed Liddy, the current CEO of AIG, claims that virtually all the bonuses stem from contractural obligations. Not honoring the contracts would just invite litigation.
Speaking of contracts and rights, did AIG stockholders vote on the plan for the government to dilute the fuck out of them through these rescues? Usually NYSE companies require shareholder votes for so much dilution unless they’re relying on a bylaw or stock exchange exemption. Just askin’.
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 3/15/2009 @ 3:13 pm“Rasmussen & Schoen are using Rasmussen’s numbers, though presumably Schoen doesn’t disagree. CNN’s averaged polling shows that Obama has dropped to where others have been at this point (within MoE), so many polls show a negative trend for Obama.”
More on polls here:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/03/yes-obamas-approval-ratings-are.html
imdw (4f0ff0) — 3/15/2009 @ 9:10 pm