President Obama's image is coming into focus
The link below is to an interesting story about President Obama. The gist of the Politico article is that there are some themes or "storylines" developing about the Obama Administration. If more than one of catches firm hold in the minds of the public it could damage President Obama's chances at re-election.
Now you might say, give me an example - last year, the Democrats developed a story line that John McCain would be four more years of President Bush, it was not true, but it was a prospect no one really wanted. The Obama campaign picked up on that and was very successful in getting people to believe the story line and it had a lot to do with President Obama getting a significant number of votes from independent voters and conservative Democrats.
Here is the link to the article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091130/pl_politico/29993
Comments on a couple of the story lines:
1. One story line suggests President Obama is over-exposed. Interestingly, President John F. Kennedy - also a young and attractive man, was very much aware of the possibility that he could be in the media too much when he got elected. President Kennedy specifically avoided over-exposing himself and he retains a mythical aura to this day. President Lyndon Johnson, following President Kennedy, did exactly the opposite - putting his craggy face on the news quite often and he became closely associated with the negative events of the day.
Now you might say that President Johnson had Viet Nam. However, President Johnson also had some significant domestic accomplishments - passing civil rights legislation and Medicare and Medicaid. Also, President Bush had Iraq, and he did not go on TV too much, and responsibility for Iraq seemed to go to Secretary Rumsfeld and V.P. Cheney as much as to President Bush.
So this is a very valid issue raised by Politico.
2. There are two other themes - "He's a pushover" and "President Pelosi" - which are on point with a story line that was developing even before President Obama took office. That story line was the comparing of first Candidate Obama, then President-elect Obama to President Jimmy Carter.
This is a concern that I expressed last year as did some political cartoonists. Now it seems to be coming true, as some of the themes mentioned by the Politico article suggest. First, there is the story line of "President Pelosi," meaning that Nancy Pelosi is establishing herself as President Obama's equal. President Carter had exactly the same problem with then Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, back in the 1970s and this issue was mentioned
As for the "He's a pushover" story - that sums up Jimmy Carter to a "T." Not mentioned by Politico is that President Obama has continued some of the foreign policy practices of President Carter - criticizing our friends, speaking nicely to our enemies - and he has taken it further by apologizing for America's behavior. The jury is still out as to what effect President Obama's policies will have. After all, dropping 30,000 troops into Afghanistan - which it appears President Obama is about to do - will have a bit more meaning internationally than bowing to the Emperor of Japan.
3. Another theme, that has ominous undertones, is "That's the Chicago Way." Some of the actions associated with this theme in the Politico story harken back to the days of Richard Nixon. Particularly, the comments made by Obama Administration officials to the Chamber of Commerce and Fox News drew comparisons from a number of people in the political world to the Nixon years. I very much hope that is a trend the Obama Administration backs away from.
Now you might say, give me an example - last year, the Democrats developed a story line that John McCain would be four more years of President Bush, it was not true, but it was a prospect no one really wanted. The Obama campaign picked up on that and was very successful in getting people to believe the story line and it had a lot to do with President Obama getting a significant number of votes from independent voters and conservative Democrats.
Here is the link to the article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091130/pl_politico/29993
Comments on a couple of the story lines:
1. One story line suggests President Obama is over-exposed. Interestingly, President John F. Kennedy - also a young and attractive man, was very much aware of the possibility that he could be in the media too much when he got elected. President Kennedy specifically avoided over-exposing himself and he retains a mythical aura to this day. President Lyndon Johnson, following President Kennedy, did exactly the opposite - putting his craggy face on the news quite often and he became closely associated with the negative events of the day.
Now you might say that President Johnson had Viet Nam. However, President Johnson also had some significant domestic accomplishments - passing civil rights legislation and Medicare and Medicaid. Also, President Bush had Iraq, and he did not go on TV too much, and responsibility for Iraq seemed to go to Secretary Rumsfeld and V.P. Cheney as much as to President Bush.
So this is a very valid issue raised by Politico.
2. There are two other themes - "He's a pushover" and "President Pelosi" - which are on point with a story line that was developing even before President Obama took office. That story line was the comparing of first Candidate Obama, then President-elect Obama to President Jimmy Carter.
This is a concern that I expressed last year as did some political cartoonists. Now it seems to be coming true, as some of the themes mentioned by the Politico article suggest. First, there is the story line of "President Pelosi," meaning that Nancy Pelosi is establishing herself as President Obama's equal. President Carter had exactly the same problem with then Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, back in the 1970s and this issue was mentioned
As for the "He's a pushover" story - that sums up Jimmy Carter to a "T." Not mentioned by Politico is that President Obama has continued some of the foreign policy practices of President Carter - criticizing our friends, speaking nicely to our enemies - and he has taken it further by apologizing for America's behavior. The jury is still out as to what effect President Obama's policies will have. After all, dropping 30,000 troops into Afghanistan - which it appears President Obama is about to do - will have a bit more meaning internationally than bowing to the Emperor of Japan.
3. Another theme, that has ominous undertones, is "That's the Chicago Way." Some of the actions associated with this theme in the Politico story harken back to the days of Richard Nixon. Particularly, the comments made by Obama Administration officials to the Chamber of Commerce and Fox News drew comparisons from a number of people in the political world to the Nixon years. I very much hope that is a trend the Obama Administration backs away from.
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