Altrusim vs indifference is the story being played out in the US.

[sibelian]

I think that's the message that the Obama team should be putting out. And, largely, they are. Thus far their campaign focusses on specifics, individual stories, particular financial or social issues that highlight and form a narrative specificity to the ideological struggle. I think that Obama's team are doing very well indeed but could potentially do even better by actually going for the jugular and isolating from the rhetoric what it is about Republican thinking that makes it fail for ordinary people - namely that it's incompatible with human development, which is impossible without the concept of altruism.

Would you like to see Obama address this concept more directly? Would you like him to take on the "ideological" component of the right wing in blunter terms (the terms are already pretty blunt, to be fair)? Or would you rather they stuck to their current tactics (which are certainly extremely effective...)? Would you rather not spook the horses with bold statements?

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	Yes, the team could simplifiy the message and address the actual ideology behind the politics.
	1 (100%)
	No. Voters need simple stories to relate to.
	0 (0%)
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[Motown_Johnny]

1. I like that he is running directly against "Top-down/trickle-down fairy dust economics".

I think that he can be the transformational President that we all hoped he would be by continuing with this theme and then making tax reform the health care reform of his second term.


I'm very happy with the campaign as it now stands.

[sibelian]

2. Yes, I agree with your analysis.

I think a second term could start genuinely shifting things around. It's taken him four years working within the system just to get the Republicans out of the way.

[sendero]

3. Obama has recently..

... started employing rhetorical points that IMHO he should have been using since DAY ONE.

Blaming "top-down" economics on our current mess is correct and fair, and from my conversations with various folks I don't think they have made the connection - ridiculous ideas that have been repeated ad nauseum (i.e. that tax cuts for the rich create jobs) are still believed by way too many people.

I think Obama is on the right track now. The message needs to be simple because the right's message is always distilled to a simplicity and that seems to work for them.

[JDPriestly]

4. I don't think that you have to choose.

The individual stories illustrate and make poignant the ideological differences.

Obama is doing the right thing -- pointing out the ideological differences through specific stories. That is exactly how this should be done.

[HereSince1628]

5. I'd say altruism vs depraved indifference, but the split now has sharp edges & can't be ignored.

The Obama-Biden ticket will certainly be required to work this.

What remains to be seen is what working it will look like. If the campaign chooses the triangulation of the past 20 years, it's going to be 3 months of hell for people who have Progressive values.

[sibelian]

6. I suspect they think they can't afford any more triangualtion. Diminishing returns...

A very pragmatic strategy up to a point but ultimately dangerous....