Legal Commentary

Finetuning The Message

By Big Tent Democrat

Finally it seems someone in the White House has done some work on the message they want to convey. In Madison, Wisconsin, President Obama stopped whining and dropped the "you Dem voters need to stop whining" jag, adopting a better approach:

President Obama delivered an impassioned argument to young voters Tuesday night, declaring that the changes he promised in 2008 are underway and that "now is not the time to give up." "The biggest mistake we could make is to let disappointment or frustration lead to apathy . . . that is how the other side wins," Obama said. "If the other side does win, they will spend the next two years fighting for the very same policies that led to this recession in the first place."

[. . . Russ] Feingold did show, dismissing the idea of an enthusiasm gap between the parties. Obama picked up the theme, announcing to the crowd at the outset that he was "fired up" - another 2008 echo. Then, with his sleeves rolled up and his shirt unbuttoned at the top, Obama rolled out a rollicking 45-minute campaign speech. He defended his record, joked with the crowd and challenged the conventional wisdom that Democrats are going to lose in November. "The prediction among the pundits is, there's going to be a bloodletting for Democrats. That's what they're saying in Washington," Obama said, drawing boos. "And the basis of their prediction is that all of you who worked so hard in 2008 aren't going to be as energized, aren't going to be as engaged." He continued: "Wisconsin, we can't let that happen. We cannot sit this one out. We can't let this country fall backward because the rest of us didn't care enough to fight."

"We can't let that happen." Finally, Obama is not whining about people not cheering him. Instead he is saying everyone needs to roll up their sleeves to fight back the extremist GOP onslaught and to keep trying to move forward. This is the right message. One last thing - keep Biden off the stage please.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 29, 2010 (boomark / email).