"To the Editor,
"In a slightly parallel universe, it would be interesting to see how Democratic senators would have fared if, instead of running from President Obama, they had embraced this leader who saved the country from another depression; saved the auto industry; brought unemployment down from 10 percent to below 6 percent; killed America’s greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden; passed health insurance reform; and put out constant fires."If instead of embracing the flawed media narrative of a “failed presidency,” Democratic senatorial candidates had embraced Mr. Obama’s monumental accomplishments, I believe they would be returning to Washington next year as senators, not as lobbyists.JOHN E. COLBERT
Chicago, Nov. 5, 2014"
Amen to that. I believe the greatest failing of this election cycle was the Democrats losing the message battle and allowing the Republicans to demonize President Obama and his accomplishments. Then all they had to do was link the Democratic candidate with Obama, and they did this in infinite repetition of tv ads.
I, too, am disappointed that he does not have Lyndon Johnson's ability to strong-arm congress into passing his legislation, nor Bill Clinton's charm (and craving to be liked) to shmooze them, and that, despite his soaring speeches, he has not been able to move people to action like Bobby Kennedy in his presidential campaign, cut short by an assassin's bullets.
No president can fully satisfy all our wishes. But President Obama's accomplishments are far greater than he gets credit for, even in his own party.
When asked about specific policy positions, the people side more with Democrats on issues than with Republicans. This is true of health care, sensible gun control, immigration reform, minimum wage (several states passed ballot initiatives to raise wages in their states), gay marriage. They support these issues, but they vote for the other guy who opposes them.
Why didn't that become a battle cry for Democrats?
To the extent that President Obama has failed us, we have failed him even more by not drowning out the Republican trash-talk.
And most of all, we have failed him by not giving him a congress that the was willing to work with him, instead of being committed to making his policies fail.
When asked about specific policy positions, the people side more with Democrats on issues than with Republicans. This is true of health care, sensible gun control, immigration reform, minimum wage (several states passed ballot initiatives to raise wages in their states), gay marriage. They support these issues, but they vote for the other guy who opposes them.
Why didn't that become a battle cry for Democrats?
To the extent that President Obama has failed us, we have failed him even more by not drowning out the Republican trash-talk.
And most of all, we have failed him by not giving him a congress that the was willing to work with him, instead of being committed to making his policies fail.
Ralph
No comments:
Post a Comment