Obama Needs To Be "Captain Kirk" going forward and not "Mr. Spock."

RBInMaine

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Sat Nov-06-10 06:44 AM
Original message

Obama Needs To Be "Captain Kirk" going forward and not "Mr. Spock."

Edited on Sat Nov-06-10 06:57 AM by RBInMaine

The 2010 election cycle may seem like a "disaster," but one must always see the bright side. In some ways, it is a blessing in disguise IF Obama/Dems play their cards right this time.

The R's are convinced the electorate gave them a mandate to return to Bush/Cheney economics: massive tax cuts for the rich, massive deregulation,repealing Wall St. reform, and repealing healthcare reform.

Therefore, over the next two years, Obama/Dems have a GREAT chance to gain ground by LOUDLY, BOLDLY, and CLEARLY advancing their MADE IN AMERICA and REBUILDING THE MIDDLE CLASS agenda in STARK CONTRAST to the GOP plan to go right back to Bush/Cheney economics.

The 2010 election was NOT a massive repudation of Obama/Dem policies, many of which haven't even had time to go into effect and work yet. It was mainly typical midterm cycling compounded by frustration over the recession. When the issues are polled, Dem/Moderate positions win. On the healthcare law for example, most of its individual components poll high, and most people don't want it repealed. Tweaked maybe, but not entirely repealed. I think the R's are overstating their sense of a "national right wing mandate."

I think the next two years is going to see economic improvement, and the GOP doesn't have the votes to repeal the HUGE amount of Dem legislation passed in the last two years. If the Dems play their cards right and MESSAGE right, they can show the R's to be teabagger anti-middle class extremists who simply want to go backwards to the failed past.

What Obama needs to do this time is FRAME and THEME the next two years as the NEW ERA OF MADE IN AMERICA and REBUILDING THE MIDDLE CLASS. He needs to get LOUD, get EMOTIONAL, get POPULIST, and GO PUBLIC bigtime all over the country to town halls etc. Where he went wrong in his first two years was NOT on getting a lot of GOOD legislation passed but on his MESSAGING and STYLE. America needs a BOLD, STRONG, POPULIST, INSPIRING, TRANSFORMATIONAL leader during a recession who can capture the imagination and endearment of the nation, not merely a policy wonk technocrat. Not that Obama didn't get out some during his first two years, but he should have THEMED his presidency better and kept the YES WE CAN and HOPE AND CHANGE theme from his campaign going full steam. Much as was said in a recent OP ED, he instead hunkered down in transactional mode. America elected and NEEDED a CAPTAIN KIRK leader to take us BOLDY FORWARD and all too often we have instead gotten a reserved Mr. Spock negotiator. Keep "Mr. Spock" in the back rooms. Put "Captain Kirk" out in public OFTEN.
(Yes, I love that Star Trek analogy. :-)

Also, there will be divisions among the R's as they struggle to appease their teaparty wing. The GOP will continue to shrink demographically and appear too extreme for the American electorate, and Dems need to exploit this. They are too white and too far to the right for the electorate of the future.

In short, we have a great opportunity to make the R's appear as the Borg while we stand for the great ideals of the federation.