A Preview of Post-Election Storytelling ("...bracing for an avalanche of nonsense...")

[jefferson_dem]

A Preview of Post-Election Storytelling

I'm bracing for an avalanche of nonsense tomorrow night about why Barack Obama is responsible for the expected Republican landslide. Here's a guide to what you should expect.

It's long been obvious that Obama's political standing would decline as a result of the poor economy and the passage of time. Similarly, substantial Democratic losses in the House were always likely given the large number of seats the party had to defend in a midterm election in which it controls the presidency. The continued weakness of the economy subsequently appears to have enhanced the Republican advantage, helping to produce tomorrow's pro-GOP wave.

Instead of focusing on these structural factors, journalists and other political figures have constructed a staggering number of ad hoc claims about messaging, tactics, etc. to "explain" what has happened to Obama and the Democrats:

-Obama's message is not populist, thematic, simple, and/or comprehensive enough;

-Obama failed to "connect" with voters (in part because he often uses a Teleprompter);

-Obama has an "empathy deficit";

-Obama has no chief economic spokesperson, lacks sufficient political and policy integration, has failed to distance himself from congressional Democrats, and needs to delegate more to his cabinet on domestic policy;

-Obama is seen as an elitist;

-Obama is too dependent on a small number of senior advisers;

-Obama failed to establish a rationale for his agenda during the campaign;

-Obama is a "legislative president" who "is not a great pitchman for his policies";

-Obama is "too articulate";

-Obama "forfeited control of the narrative" and has failed to offer a "theory of the case" or "The Sentence";

-Obama dislikes politicking, lacks intensity in campaigning, and shows indifference on the stump;

-Obama is unlucky and "Americans get nervous when they have a snakebit president";

-Obama was too liberal (see also here);

-Obama was not liberal enough and should have shown more "resolve";

-Obama sounds too pessimistic;

-Obama has not defined himself, and Americans don't know who he is.

<SNIP>

To help entertain you tomorrow night, I've created a handy bingo chart of these claims so you can play along with the pundits at home:

http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/.a/6a00d83451d25c69e2013488a1a926970c-800wi

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-nyhan/a-preview-of-post-electio_b_777188.html

[bluestateguy]

1. Time for the White House to roll out a shiny new object for the media to chew on

And it will have to be something big, big enough to get their attention away from the things you mentioned above.

[AspenRose]

2. "Not bipartisan enough"

That's another one.