Courtesy of Politico:
President Barack Obama is taking blame for the Democratic drubbing in last week’s midterm elections, saying “the buck stops right here at my desk.”
“Whenever, as the head of the party, it doesn’t do well, I’ve got to take responsibility for it,” the president said in a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation."
Obama also said one lesson from the midterms was that his party has to do a better job selling its policies.
“We’ve got to reach out to the other side and, where possible, persuade,” he told host Bob Schieffer in the interview taped Friday at the White House before he left on a week-long trip to Asia. “I think there are times, there’s no doubt about it, where, you know, I think we have not been successful in going out there and letting people know what it is that we’re trying to do and why this is the right direction.”
I think this is bullshit.
I think the President is being very magnanimous by taking on the blame for something that ultimately is the fault of timidity by the Democrats and candidates who believed that if they hid from their progressive ideas, and the successes of this President, that it would make them more attractive to the voters.
I think if Democrats would have walked out among their constituents with their chests puffed out with pride over what they had accomplished and sold it with the same fervor that Republicans used to sell us the Iraq war, many of them could have emerged victorious.
And at least if they lost they could still look at themselves in the mirror and say that they stayed true to themselves, true to the President, and true to their party.
I just read Chapter 6 to Mein Kampf about war propaganda. Mein Kampf was published in 1925. I had forgotten how mind-numbingly similar to the Repub/Koch playbook this chapter is on repeating the message until the masses accept it. No backtracking, no apology. Stay with the message. It has to be simple for the masses so everyone remembers each message. Why can't democrats play the same game?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they don't wanna model themselves after the Nazis?
DeleteNo they shouldn't model themselves after Nazis...that's not the issue. It's the repetition of a message for the masses. Even advertising models repeat a little jingle over and over until it sticks in a consumer's head. That's the way Repubs do it.
DeleteThis is what I mean:
"But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success.
The purpose of propaganda is not to provide interesting distraction for blasé young gentlemen, but to convince, and what I mean is to convince the masses. But the masses are slow-moving, and they always require a certain time before they are ready even to notice a thing, and only after the simplest ideas are repeated thousands of times will the masses finally remember them."
Hitler was an master of persuasion. I do not condone Nazism or the horrific deeds they perpetrated. Far from it. But the democrats need to get on message and then repeat it until it's stuck in voters' heads.
President Obama is a gentlemen. I think the real problem was that Democrats failed him. All Democratic candidates fighting against incumbent Republicans should have hammered away at the incumbents' voting records and the effect of those votes on the real interests of the American people. The GOP gained a House majority in 2010 because of "jobs, jobs, jobs, remember" And then not one jobs bill made it to the floor of the House. The last two sessions of the House of Representatives did absolutely nothing because of GOP intransigence. They were elected to help govern the country, all of it and all of its citizens, and they failed miserably. Republicans in Congress got great salaries and benefits but have done absolutely nothing in return. So why did voters reward them in November 2014?
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
So why did voters reward them in November 2014?
DeleteEndless brainwashing by Fox News with their endless screeching and culture of fear to an ignorant, Sarah Palin-primed, racist tribe who would vote goats into office.
And Democratic candidates who should be ashamed to call themselves progressive -- fucking wimps! who betrayed Obama. and all the great things he has accomplished. 10.5 million jobs and unemployment at 5.8. I heard nothing about THAT!
A plague on both their houses -- no wonder kids don't vote.
Classy move by President Obama.
ReplyDeleteEffective leaders take the heat rather than trying to cover their own asses by pointing out the individual mistakes by their team members.
People want solutions, not excuses.
It's all well, and good, that he takes responsibility but that isn't worth a whole lot when in the final analysis the Party, as a whole, has been effectively marginalized during his terms in office. There is only one way to treat the Rethuglican Party, and it is for sure NOT the way he has been doing it. Fire must be fought with fire, not a water pistol. Rethugs have had their way with the tenor of politics for these past six years, and O's leadership has done little to change that. "Is there a way to change that in these last two years?" I doubt it, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't try. I think he should enlist the help of Howard Dean in crafting a way to show the country what they have actually bought into by giving the Rethugs control. They should set Dean up as an appointed spokesman for the Democratic Party, and the WH, to refute, as they come up, any and every Rethuglikan prevarication as they are presented by the Rethugs. Either that, or put Michelle on the case. She seems to have bigger balls than O does.
ReplyDeleteLovely.
DeleteExcept, excuse me----Mrs. Obama does not need bigger effing balls than any man. Its enough that she is a strong woman.
Relax, Angela 7:17. It is just a figure of speech, not an aspersion relative to women generally, or Michelle specifically. If anything I was trying to pay respects to the strength she has shown us all, and did not in any way wish to defame her.
DeleteWe're on the same side, so if you can, cut me some slack.
Sorry, johnie2xs, but speaking for myself, I wish to never read anyone talking about balls. No slack given here.
DeleteAlso speaking for myself, I am sick and tired of reading baseless comments that the President doesn't have "balls" or that his "balls" aren't big enough. He shows incredible courage every single day.
Naaaaaahhhhhhh . . . . . No slack . . . . .
DeleteWell, okay.
I just get sick of people saying the damned president doesn't have balls------Sarah Palin anyone? And I don't think we pay respect to Michelle when we diss her husband to give her a compliment. Michelle doesn't have to run this insane country.
I know we are on the same side-----but do you get that the republican meme of a cowardly Obama has taken root----even with democrats? We should put that shit down, now. Basically, with no back up from his party we expected the President to defend everything he did------alone. The party is a shit burger as we both know.
Namaste.
You are correct Gryphen.
ReplyDeleteAll the chicken shit Dems who ran away from all the
administration has done deserved to lose---although the country does not deserve the wingnuts that walked through the door. Of course, the only democrat who campaigned with the president ( Schauer from Michigan) is the only new democrat heading to the senate.
A lesson for cowardly democrats.
I absolutely can't stand mitch mcconnell, but at the same time I don't feel bad his Democratic opponent lost, (she should have) I understand KY hates Obama, I get that, but run away from the President that's trying his best to undo all the damage g w bush done? What the fuck is a Clinton Democrat?
DeleteOf course, the only democrat who campaigned with the president ( Schauer from Michigan) is the only new democrat heading to the senate.
Delete----------------
Gary Peters is the new senator and he did have President Obama campaign for him.
Mark Schauer ran for governor and lost to the republican, however I have read some articles that are questioning whether there was some " funny business" going on at the polls. I think Schauer should have reminded the voters about Synder's lie that he would not pass Right to Work, then turned around and passed it. We go back to the same thought, the democrats fail to slam back the republicans with the truth.
Yes, President Obama is a class act and I think the Dems (all of them) should have been better at " tooting their own horn". Why do they shy away from all the good that has happened on their watch? It is very frustrating.
ReplyDeleteYou can't persuade a brick wall. Surely the president knows this. The Republicans' sole purpose is to obstruct him. They are not shy about admitting it. Admit it? They shout it from the rooftops.
ReplyDeleteThe people the president needed to persuade were his own party. Not to excuse their wimpiness and cowardice, but he bears some blame too for doing such a piss poor job of inspiring them.
Exactly, Bingo....!!! I have posted the same thing on many comments..It's the candidates and the DNC to blame, 100%..I saw GOP voter drives, commercials, etc...no Democrats doing that, none...just some chickenshit candidates influenced by a concerted GOP slander campaign to smack Obama for everything...If you really get down to it, Obama is doing a great job despite all obstacles..the GOP did one thing right, they hit Obama hard thru their media sites and it has been relentless, and the Democrats ran like idiots, my respect level for DWS has gone way down
ReplyDeleteI think the blame should begin with the DNC. Where were they when we needed them?
ReplyDeleteBetween running away from the President and the damn emails they sent out that were absolutely horrible and non stop (half of them made me feel like a collection agency was after me) I think it's pretty obvious that it was the candidates and the dnc's fault.
DeleteI voted but I lost the excitement of voting around August.
Evidently Howard Dean had the same idea that I had: we should have had a Howard Dean-like campaign.
ReplyDeleteDidn't see him on "Meet the Press" yesterday, where he said "you cannot win if you're afraid."
Oh, how I wish he were in the ring. The Republicans fight dirty, repeat and repeat lies until they become the fabric of the discussion.
Tough-talking Dean, a Bill Bradley: not mealy-mouthed, apologetic Democrats but a full-armored party ready to fight for what's right.
WHEN A TRUE GENIUS APPEARS IN THE WORLD, YOU WILL KNOW HIM BY THIS SIGN: THAT ALL THE DUNCES ARE IN A CONFEDERACY AGAINST HIM----JONATHAN SWIFT
ReplyDeleteHow much of this "shellacking" was due to voter intimidation, voter suppression, Ds being flipped to Rs in the voting booth, Diebold, etc. The exit polls, public opinion polls, extraordinarily low polling numbers for republicans overall suggest that there is more going on than dissatisfaction with President Obama.
ReplyDeleteThis was the test run for 2016. It seems to have gone very smoothly for the republicans. No one is challenging the results other than to say the polls were skewed. Really? By that much? Absent national voting laws, expect much more of this incongruenty in the future.
Magnanimous? He's coddled the GOP and bent to every one of their pranks from day one, then he decided not to deal with terrorists when they shut the fucking government down? Sorry, he can saddle a bit of the blame, but most of it goes to the democrats who didn't bother coming out to vote in droves. They did it when he got elected and four years later, so we all know they CAN, but they didn't this time because farting in a bathtub or whatever more pressing thing they had to do was more entertaining.
ReplyDeleteNow everyone's doing monday morning armchair quarterbacking. He's one man, and look at all he accomplished, mostly on his own. Joe Scarborough is doing the "told ya so" dance while praising the good old days when HE was in washington and things got done because both parties worked to get things done. Good for you, Joe S., but who was President when you were in DC and was not doing your job a badge of courage?
Except, it wasn't his fault.
ReplyDeleteI blame the apathy, the laziness and the stupidity of Democrats that don't think the midterms are important enough to vote.
EVERY election is important. Even if no one is running for anything.
Our right to vote was paid for in blood and it is highly disrespectful to ignore it like it was some sort of painful inconvenience or imposition.
I liken Americans voter apathy to school.
There are countries where children beg to be able to go to school, while in this country kids cut classes, are truant, disrespect teachers, fool around, vandalize and in general just waste their FREE education. An opportunity children in other countries would love to have.
Well, there are plenty of people in other countries that would love to have the opportunity we have to vote. Some cannot vote, in other countries they can but are pressured to vote a certain way or denied access. They defy threats of violence or even death to vote. They proudly display proof they've voted even if it might mean their deaths.
Americans take so much for granted, free education, clean water, clean streets, sewer systems, a vast selection of food at the store and merchandise in colors, sizes and materials.
We are a nation of plenty and have been spoiled by it. We take all we have for granted.
Especially voting.
I don't see it stopping people from complaining.
There should be a law. You don't vote you can't complain.
Bernie Sanders thinks making election day a holiday will fix it.
Nope. The stores will just have a sale and turn it into a capitalist opportunity, just like they have destroyed Thanksgiving.
No, this was not the President's fault. This was the fault of every American that chose not to vote.