The election year jitters are starting to surface. Over the weekend, some Democratic governors expressed some worry about the president's agenda and failed track record to date, as in "this guy is all over the place, can't accomplish a damn thing, and we're stuck defending this crap!" From Breitbart:
Democratic governors said Sunday they worry about President Barack Obama's track record on fighting Republican political attacks and urged him to better connect with anxious voters. Some allies pleaded for a new election-year strategy focused on the economy.
The Obama agenda has saddled Democratic incumbents with defending very unpopular legislation, including a stimulus package that only 6% of Americans think has been effective. Many believe that health care monopolized Congress over the last year when the focus should have been on jobs. But the White House is basically saying "we focused on the economy last week! It's now time to force health care and cap-and-tax on an unwilling electorate, again!" And that disconnect with the American public has many on the Left worried:
"It's got to be better thought out," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said. "It's got to be more proactive." And, he said, Democrats must hit back just as hard as they are hit by Republicans.
Eight months before the first midterm elections of Obama's presidency, most Americans are frustrated with—even angered by—persistent unemployment and gridlock in Washington. Democrats fear voters will punish the party in power.
The titular head of his party, Obama has watched his own popularity drop over the past year. He will bear at least some responsibility for the outcome in November, and Democrats are looking to him for political fixes.
In interviews at the National Governors Association's weekend meeting, several Democratic governors faulted the White House for losing the communications war against Republicans over what Obama has accomplished in his first year.
"We fought back only sporadically and pretty ineffectively," Rendell said, adding that "right out of the box, we lost the spin war" on the $787 billion economic stimulus bill passed in 2009.
Several Democratic colleagues agreed, and lamented that voters thought Obama focused too much on overhauling the U.S. health care system. Others fretted that Obama may appear to be out of touch with the concerns of Americans.
"I think he's got more work to do on that," said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, an Obama friend and ally.
Could Deval Patrick giving you accurate advice signify hitting rock bottom? It's got to be close. Anyway, the number one issue of concern with the American people is obviously the economy and the creation of jobs. For some reason this White House is refusing to address that issue, at least in a way that Americans think is effective, and with unemployment expected to hover where it is for months, that spells big trouble for Democrats everywhere.
