In a nutshell: failed communications.
So much has been written, already, one barely dares to add more "nutshells".
In contrast, for example, FDR sent out a small team of photographers, to get pictures of the New Deal in action and the hardship in the country. He understood it takes 50% getting the policy/message right, and 50% to get the message out.
But, the White House regulars perhaps don't realize that getting the policy right is probably just about half of the whole task.Seriously, just about half.
The rest is getting the message out, often before your opponents have time to shape the field. And that's before you factor in the end of a functioning MSM in getting information out.
If you stop and think about it, they haven't had really good messaging. You could make the case that it's been below average on some issues (especially healthcare).
Now, clearly, this Presidency is time-strapped. But, that's just an assessment of what is/was possible, not what is really required.
And the Democrats, as a group, seem to not have a strategy to get the message out, a costly endeavor in terms of time and money, against formidable headwinds, like the huge spend that has come from groups like the Chamber of Commerce.
In contrast, for example, FDR sent out a small team of photographers, to get pictures of the New Deal in action and the hardship in the country. He understood 50% getting the policy/message right, and 50% to get the message out.
To be a transformative figure, to practice transformative politics, the balance is probably about 80% time/cost on messaging and 20% on getting policy/message right. Some people are noticing that team Obama and the Democratic Congress haven't been up to the challenge of that.
[Headwinds include $3-million/wk from the Chamber of Commerce:
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