HONOLULU -- President Obama has a New Year's resolution that will shape his reelection strategy at the dawn of 2012: Keep beating up on an unpopular Congress. All the way from the vacation-spot of the 50th state.
If that approach sounds much like the way the president ended 2011 -- with a barnstorming tour and speeches evoking populist themes -- that's because the White House believes it hit upon a winning formula toward the end of a bruising, politically damaging year.
After taking his lumps during the summer's bitter debt-ceiling debacle, Obama switched tactics, eschewing an "inside game" based on direct negotiations with Capitol Hill Republicans for an "outside game" focused on harnessing public opinion. It culminated two weeks ago when Speaker Boehner gave in under enormous public pressure and agreed to an Obama-backed, two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. Another win for the One! Administration aides say that Obama emerged from the showdown with public consensus that he, not Congress, is more willing to rise above Washington's partisan gridlock. And as he enters his reelection campaign year, Obama intends to "double down" on his outside strategy, pressing the message that he is fighting for the middle class against a Congress beholden to special interests, aides said. I've heard that a thousand times, and an no less skeptical.
Even if he were so doing, why should I vote for someone so bad at it?
Obama's decision to exploit his bitter divisions with Capitol Hill Republicans signals a shift from his 2008 campaign promise to soften the tone of debate in Washington and bridge the partisan divide, something the president has recently conceded could take longer than two terms in office.
"Vote for me -- I'm a failure."
It also means his legislative agenda could grind to a near halt in this election year. We should be so lucky.
Obama will resume his nationwide jobs tour with an appearance in Cleveland on Wednesday, and his State of the Union address Jan. 24 will echo the populist themes the president laid out in a speech in Osawatomie, Kan., in early December. Campaign, vacation, campaign, vacation - it's exhausting!
White House aides say that if Obama is not forced to engage Congress in regular partisan brinkmanship -- "putting out fires," as Earnest described it -- the president will have a larger playing field to articulate a broader agenda for the nation as he heads into the election. The administration views the looming February fight over the payroll tax cut as the final must-do legislative initiative and the last potential cliff-hanger vote on Obama's domestic jobs agenda. Obumble is going to avoid cliff-hanger votes? How's he going to do that?
There are signs that the boost in the polls that Obama enjoyed coming out of the payroll tax debate has evaporated. A Gallup poll last week showed his job approval rating back in the low 40s -- where his ratings have hovered most of the fall. At the same time, Congress's approval rating is at an all-time low, suggesting that both parties have been dragged down by the constant bickering. Also, Obama's assault on Congress could wind up tarring Democratic legislators who are facing tough reelection campaigns.
"It's really disappointing to hear that the president has already given up on tax reform, strengthening our energy security, making it easier for employers to hire or the basic operations of government," said a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). He's focusing on re-election, Mitch, and taking back the House, so Nancy can be restored to the throne.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/01/2012 14:19 ||
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The middle class? The bourgeoisie are the natural enemies of lefists.
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Administration aides say that Obama emerged from the showdown with public consensus that he, not Congress, is more willing to rise above Washington's partisan gridlock. And as he enters his reelection campaign year, Obama intends to "double down" on his outside strategy, pressing the message that he is fighting for the middle class against a Congress beholden to special interests, aides said. 
