INABILITY TO STOMACH CONFRONTATION AND HIGH LEVEL OF CONFLICT A BAD HARBINGER FOR NEXT TWO YEARS
The man just isn't up for the job. His "strategic think" is off-the-wall in the wrong direction.
You know, it's funny. I was going to question his ability to lean toward "audacity", before this news broke. Despite expert analysis of the moment, they appear to lack a sense of the moment. It's hard to describe. I'm not even talking about grand gestures.
I'm talking about the simply ability of the President to give a speech in Sleepy Hollow that starts a national debate rampage (they should have some experience, even if he did it inadvertently on the mosque). Read some old Greenspan speeches. All you need is an assessment of the facts; a plain, dry judgment; a wry, catchy phrase; and some time to "nurture" it as it grows.
Now, he's sent out a signal that Democrats will be terms takers, not terms makers on tax cuts, despite being in nominal "control" of two branches of government.
No shaping the terms of the debate. No changing the mind or the perceptions of the public. No, "I'm the President, and I'm going to tell you what you need to know, not what you want to hear."
Just, sit in the WH with a bunch of polling data, presumably, and a vague reference to "the world as we find it" and rest on your health care laurels.
When you have an over-extended opponent, like the 2010 GOP-Teapublicans, and a lay-up right in front of you, you don't call a time out and kick the can down the road two years.
Update:
President's Commission: "It Is Cruelly Wrong to Make Promises We Can’t Keep"
David Axlerod, model of courage: We can do and say anything, as long as it isn't permanent.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Axelrod Prepared to Give GOP-Tea Their Brand Back With Both Hands
