May 23, 2010 11:18 AM
Obama still campaigns against Bush - huh?
When I was a radical leftist, we used to complain about the tired old rhetoric. As The Who would say, "Meet the old boss - he's the same as as the old boss." Wonder when my ex-compatriots will wake up and smell the coffee. . .
Obama campaigning against Bush--again
By CAROL E. LEE | 5/22/10 8:43 PM EDT
The W.H.'s mid-term election strategy is becoming clear: pit the Dems of 2010 against Bush-era Republicans.President Barack Obama is trying to ride the wave of anti-incumbency by taking on an unpopular politician steeped in the partisan ways of Washington.
It doesn't matter that George W. Bush left office 16 months ago.
The White House's mid-term election strategy is becoming clear - pit the Democrats of 2010 against the Republicans circa 2006, 2008 and 2009, including Bush.
It's a lot to ask an angry, finicky electorate to sort out. And even if Obama can rightfully make the case that the economy took a turn for the worse under Bush's watch, he's already made it - in 2008 and repeatedly in 2009.
It's not clear that voters still want to hear it.
"If you're the leader of a large corporation and you're in power for a year and a half and you start off a meeting with your shareholders by blaming your predecessor, that wouldn't go over very well," said Merle Black, a political science professor at Emory University. "This is a very weak approach. ... And I can't imagine it having an impact on these very swing voters."
Some Democrats would like Obama to shift his argument.
Read more at Politico.
Posted in 2010 elections, 2012 elections, Obama Nation | Permalink
