Obama steps up his game

[ProSense]

Obama steps up his game

By Steve Benen

President Obama held a town-hall-style event in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, yesterday, and the change of scenery seemed to do him some good. Jonathan Cohn noted, “It looks like President Obama really has found his inner Harry Truman,” and if so, it comes not a moment too soon.

The video of the event is online and worth watching, but a few things jumped out at me. It was encouraging, for example, to see the president continue to press the line that our politics is broken, while laying out specific measures — payroll tax break, infrastructure investment, etc. — that would help the economy. I’d prefer a more ambitious approach, but at least this shows Obama’s focus is where it should be.

When the discussion turned to health care, the president played a little rhetorical game I hadn’t heard before. In discussing the Affordable Care Act, he noted that some call it “Obamacare,” adding, “Let me tell you, I have no problem with folks saying ‘Obama cares.’ I do care. If the other side wants to be the folks who don’t care, that’s fine with me.”

He also slammed his GOP presidential rivals for rejecting a 10-to-1 deal on debt reduction, suggested Mitt Romney has a case of “amnesia” when it comes to health care, and said, “(O)ne of the most effective ways that we could help the economy is making sure that we’re not seeing more teacher layoffs.” Congress disagrees, but Obama’s right.

But what struck me as especially important is when the president took the time to defend government itself.

“You’ll hear a lot of folks, by the way, say that government is broken. Well, government and politics are two different things. Government is our troops who are fighting on our behalf in Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s government. Government are also those FEMA folks when there’s a flood or a drought or some emergency who come out and are helping people out. That’s government. Government is Social Security. Government are teachers in the classroom. Government are our firefighters and our police officers, and the folks who keep our water clean and our air clean to breathe, and our agricultural workers. And when you go to a national park, and those folks in the hats — that’s government.

“So don’t be confused — as frustrated as you are about politics, don’t buy into this notion that somehow government is what’s holding us back…. on’t buy into this whole notion that somehow government doesn’t do us any good; government is what protects us. The government is what built the Interstate Highway System. Government is what sent a man to the Moon. It’s what invested in the research and development that created innovations all across this country.”

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[Tarheel_Dem]

1. Thank You Steve.

:kick:

[MrTriumph]

2. Ridiculous. Truman fought R's every minute of every day.

Lest it be forgotten, Truman even fought R's on how to confront the Soviets.

[theaocp]

3. Infrastructure mumbo-jumbo sounds WONDERFUL.

However, I don't believe the payroll tax break does anything, save slowly chip away at the funding for SS. Tax breaks offer very little in the way of stimulus.

[Armstead]

4. You know what would be a simple solution?

If President Obama would feel free to state such views (like defending governmen)t forcefully -- without constantly also feeling it necessary to spend the other half of his speaking time shooting it down by agreeing with and reinforcing the lies and distortions of the GOP, right-wing Corporate Cabal.

If he did that, he might actually re-energize his liberal base, and also win over many of those moderate independent swing voters we keeping about.

[Doctor_J]

6. Taking SS and Medicare cuts off the table, forcefully and consistantly,

would do both of those things (re-energize his liberal base, and also win over many of those moderate independent swing voters we keep hearing about). But he seems psychologically incapable of taking a stand on anything, especially a traditionally Dem issue.

[Armstead]

8. Yeah he shouldn't help the GOP chip,chip,chip away at the very foundations

For me, a red flag is always promising that those at or near retirement will be spared from any cuts or "reforms."

That's bullshit. I'm in the age bracket that would not likely be affected. But the next generations should not get screwed by the systematic dismantling of SS or medicare either. No Democrats should even be opening the door to that.

It's just Common Sense 101.....If you wanna save the SS system without dismantling benefits? Easy. Just make the structure more progressive, so people at the upper incomes pay into it proportionately a little more. Problem solved.

[ProSense]

9. Only

through spin is the President helping "the GOP chip,chip,chip away at the very foundations" of Social Security and Medicare.

President Obama saving Medicare

[Armstead]

11. Why doesn't he simply define the solution as making SS more progressive and equitable?

The percentage of income that people on the lower and middle brackets pay into SS is far higher than those in the upper brackets pay.

And why does he leave those "adjustments" vague? A simple solution is to bring in more revenue by a modest adjustment that would raise the ceiling on SS taxable income to bring in more revenue from the wealthy, which would also make the system at least slightly fairer.

[ProSense]

14. Because

"Why doesn't he simply define the solution as making SS more progressive and equitable?"


...it doesn't matter what he says. A week from whenever he says it, the same question would be asked.

The problem is the criticisms have turned into nitpicking not only of not using the exact words any critic wants, but also of how he says it, tone.

It's really becoming absurd.

[Armstead]

15. It's called necessary repetition. It's worked for the GOP for 30 years.

We might try it sometime. Maybe we'd have a little more success in persuading the American people that Democrats/Liberals/Progressives have better ideas.

[ProSense]

16. Well,

at least now you've acknowledged that he actual did what you wanted him to do.

That he doesn't repeat it as often as you'd like is another issue.

[Armstead]

17. ...a big issue. Perhaps the core issue

[Doctor_J]

5. He also chanelled his inner Reagan

"There have been times when Democrats aren’t always as flexible as we need to be," Obama said. "Sometimes I do get frustrated when I hear folks say, 'You can't make any changes to any government programs.' Well, that can't be right."

And when he said changes, he was talking about cuts.

I think he or his advisors are convinced that straddling these issues is a winning strategy politically, but it turns my stomach, and makes it hard for me to listen to him.

[ProSense]

7. Yeah,

"There have been times when Democrats aren’t always as flexible as we need to be," Obama said. "Sometimes I do get frustrated when I hear folks say, 'You can't make any changes to any government programs.' Well, that can't be right."

...change sucks, right?

This was good too.

[Armstead]

10. You just don't get it

Obama says some really great things. His administration has done some good things.

But he also undercuts those -- and hurts the larger goal of advancing a liberal agenda and message -- by burying them in counterproductive reinforcements of GOP right-wing corporate messages and memes, both in his speeches and his actions.

Why the hell say he is commitment to preserving SS, but at other times (or often in the same speeches) open the door to GOP "reforms" and acknowledgement of the GOP position.

He continually allows his great side to be neutralized by his own waffling and sorta conservative side.

[ProSense]

12. Hmmm?

"You just don't get it

Obama says some really great things. His administration has done some good things."

You said it, the rest is the spin of the day!

[Armstead]

13. I knew you'd say that....How predictable

[polmaven]

18. And you know

he was talking about "cuts" because...um...uh...oh! You wrote the speech?

[Doctor_J]

19. No, he was talking about cuts because that's what the members of "his party" don't want

When he speaks of things that Dems "don't want to change", he is talking about just that. Do you think he's battling the Democrats in Congress because they want to cut SS & Medicare and he doesn't???. If I have misunderstood these lines of his sales pitch, please educate me - what things is he talking about that he wants to change and other Dems don't?

Duh.

[polmaven]

20. Well, I am not a mind reader,

so until I have those pesky little things called "facts" (have you heard of those?), I will hear what he says, not what he doesn't say.

[Necronomiconomics]

21. O's pattern is to capitulate big time, then talk tough for a month to fluff the base