So a talking head sticks a microphone in the President's face

[flamin lib]

and says, "Why are you so unpopular?"

When I took office the unemployment rate was 10.5%, now it's 5.7. Do they call me the employment President? No.

I saved the US auto business and made money for the tax payer doing it. Do they call me the car President? No.

I saved the banking industry and the world economy with it. Do they call me the economy President? No.

The stock market is higher than it has ever been. Do they call me the 401K President? No.

I decimated Al Qeada and killed Bin Laden. Do they call me the anti-terror President? No.

I passed the Affordable Care Act and now more people have health care than ever. Do they call me the health care President? No.

But let the Republicans say I fucked a goat and you know what they call me.

[world wide wally]

1. The problem is that 99% of the Democratic candidates just accepted the Repiblican view

of the president and ran their campaigns from the same perspective.
Kind of like running a hundred yard dash and giving your opponent a 50 yard head start.

[riqster]

3. True.

[Flatpicker]

4. It's

A consistent problem.

We allow our opponents to set the stage and then have to defend ourselves against it.

[Cosmocat]

14. I would go 10 steps further than that

WELL beyond the candidates, the ACTUAL OFFICE HOLDERS have spent 6 years cowering in a corner while republicans have relentlessly framed this president negatively.

Someone responded to a post I made about this point by noting that all of the governors the president campaigned for lost, as that was proof of how toxic the president was.

Well, no shit. They and every other democratic office holder let republicans make him "toxic" for six years.

Democrats have to stop with this shit ...

The only way you can win is when the republican have power for a period of time drive the country into a ditch.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. Don't you know those Dems were supposed to be the future of the party under Hillary?

[Ineeda]

2. I think what they call him is the

um, well, ah----it begins with N President.

[JDPriestly]

5. Here is why it works that way.

When I took office the unemployment rate was 10.5%, now it's 5.7. Do they call me the employment President? No.

That statistic is inaccurate for a number of reasons. Lots of long-term unemployed who have given up looking for jobs. They certainly aren't going to bother to vote for a Party that, in their view, is lying on the job numbers. Too many of the jobs now are insecure, part-time and pay less than jobs paid prior to 2007. Meanwhile prices have risen more than is admitted.

I saved the US auto business and made money for the tax payer doing it. Do they call me the car President? No.

Saved the auto business at the price of lower wages for auto workers, the decimation of Detroit, a bleak reminder to all Americans of the lost industrial miracle we once were.

I saved the banking industry and the world economy with it. Do they call me the economy President? No.

THIS IS THE WORST THING OBAMA DID. Americans who lost their houses and their futures in the Bush recession do not trust the president who "saved" the banking industry from the jail sentences they deserved. And no, for many, many Americans, especially young Americans with huge education debts and low-paying jobs, the President is not the economy president. And by the way, I know some of the parents of kids with staggering education debts and low-wage jobs, and they don't view Obama as the economy president either.

The stock market is higher than it has ever been. Do they call me the 401K President? No.
If you have a 401(K0, and you are in the stocks that have risen, then maybe you think Obama is the 401(K) president. But a lot of would-be Obama voters spent down their 401(K)s just trying to keep their mortgages paid while out of work since the recession and since working at lower wages in the recent years. So, we are mostly talking about the 401(K)'s of the upper middle class and people who tend to vote Republican.

I decimated Al Qeada and killed Bin Laden. Do they call me the anti-terror President? No.

We are entertained with one horror story after the other of extreme Islamists who want to kill us. ISIS anyone? Benghazi anyone? Afghanistan anyone? There is no sense that Obama has decimated terrorism. We are still at war. People do not understand that we need war in order to keep our military-industrial sector (and that is most of our industry directly or indirectly) going.

I passed the Affordable Care Act and now more people have health care than ever. Do they call me the health care President? No.

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is so slow that people really don't understand what it is about. Many states opted out of the most important part: the Medicaid subsidies. The donut hole for seniors won't be closed in 2019. And that is upsetting for a lot of seniors because we were promised something -- the closure of the donut hole -- and now it seems like that promise has been broken. We seniors are confused by this.

If you are going to do something, do it. The gradual implementation of Obamacare was a huge mistake. It should have been a quick switch with lots of public information available. That is a failure in the execution of the program, a failure of the executive branch. The gradual changes go unnoticed by people.

The Democratic Party needs to consult with psychologists and sociologists who specialize in how to influence voters. That's what the Republicans seem to do.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

7. Wrong, wrong and wrong

Last edited Wed Nov 5, 2014, 04:16 PM - Edit history (1)

First off the number of poison pills necesssry to pass the affordable care act were put there in order to undermine it AND pass it.

Detroits bankruptcy and lack of jobs was baked in to our new "outsourcing economy". GOP is fine with that.

Most everything else that stymies us came from the 80's & 90's. Deregulation, the ever growing gap between rich and poor will take more than one party to address. And certainly more than our corporate controlled congress.

[jtuck004]

10. Great, if you are only interested in excuses. n/t

[Demeter]

17. Stop dreaming, sleepless

wait and see what the next act brings: TPP, TPiP, cuts in Social Security forever, and still no jobs.

[jtuck004]

8. "The Democratic Party needs" < Some Democrats.

The details are people's lives, and many don't seem to see that.

Thank you, good context.

[leftstreet]

11. +1

[1StrongBlackMan]

15. My comments in Bold ...

Here is why it works that way.

When I took office the unemployment rate was 10.5%, now it's 5.7. Do they call me the employment President? No.

And the Left responds, at every opportunity: That statistic is inaccurate for a number of reasons. Lots of long-term unemployed who have given up looking for jobs. They certainly aren't going to bother to vote for a Party that, in their view, is lying on the job numbers. Too many of the jobs now are insecure, part-time and pay less than jobs paid prior to 2007. Meanwhile prices have risen more than is admitted.

... Rather than, "That's a great start and we could do more with a more supportive Congress!

I saved the US auto business and made money for the tax payer doing it. Do they call me the car President? No.

And the Left responds, at every opportunity: Saved the auto business at the price of lower wages for auto workers, the decimation of Detroit, a bleak reminder to all Americans of the lost industrial miracle we once were.

... Rather than, "That's a great start and we could do more with a more supportive Congress!

I saved the banking industry and the world economy with it. Do they call me the economy President? No.

And the Left responds, at every opportunity: THIS IS THE WORST THING OBAMA DID. Americans who lost their houses and their futures in the Bush recession do not trust the president who "saved" the banking industry from the jail sentences they deserved. And no, for many, many Americans, especially young Americans with huge education debts and low-paying jobs, the President is not the economy president. And by the way, I know some of the parents of kids with staggering education debts and low-wage jobs, and they don't view Obama as the economy president either.

... Rather than, "That's a great start and we could do more with a more supportive Congress!

The stock market is higher than it has ever been. Do they call me the 401K President? No.

And the Left responds, at every opportunity: If you have a 401(K0, and you are in the stocks that have risen, then maybe you think Obama is the 401(K) president. But a lot of would-be Obama voters spent down their 401(K)s just trying to keep their mortgages paid while out of work since the recession and since working at lower wages in the recent years. So, we are mostly talking about the 401(K)'s of the upper middle class and people who tend to vote Republican.

... Rather than, "That's a great start and we could do more with a more supportive Congress!

I decimated Al Qeada and killed Bin Laden. Do they call me the anti-terror President? No.

And the Left responds, at every opportunity: We are entertained with one horror story after the other of extreme Islamists who want to kill us. ISIS anyone? Benghazi anyone? Afghanistan anyone? There is no sense that Obama has decimated terrorism. We are still at war. People do not understand that we need war in order to keep our military-industrial sector (and that is most of our industry directly or indirectly) going.

... Rather than, "That's a great start and we could do more with a more supportive Congress!

I passed the Affordable Care Act and now more people have health care than ever. Do they call me the health care President? No.

And the Left responds, at every opportunity: The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is so slow that people really don't understand what it is about. Many states opted out of the most important part: the Medicaid subsidies. The donut hole for seniors won't be closed in 2019. And that is upsetting for a lot of seniors because we were promised something -- the closure of the donut hole -- and now it seems like that promise has been broken. We seniors are confused by this.

If you are going to do something, do it. The gradual implementation of Obamacare was a huge mistake. It should have been a quick switch with lots of public information available. That is a failure in the execution of the program, a failure of the executive branch. The gradual changes go unnoticed by people.

... Rather than, "That's a great start and we could do more with a more supportive Congress!

The Democratic Party needs to consult with psychologists and sociologists who specialize in how to influence voters. That's what the Republicans seem to do.

The Left needs a mirror.

Which message do you suppose is more encouraging to/for those that we seek to attract?

[JDPriestly]

24. Which message do you suppose is more encouraging to/for those that we seek to attract?

That question is too late out of the gate.

We could have made the arguments you suggest, but would they sell?

What people care about is how their lives are going. They blame the president for what is wrong in their lives.

And there is a good reason for it.

Obama for all his wonderful qualities reached his hand too far across the aisle. And I don't think he did it because he is a fool. I think he did it because his political "growing up" was during the Reagan administration and he actually believes somewhere in his heart that the conservatives and Reagan's rhetoric may have been right on a lot of issues, especially economic ones.

What do you think would have happened if Obama had come out forcefully and said from the beginning the things that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been saying for years?

Here is what I think: We had a great start with a Democratic Congress and we will do even better now because we have an even more Democratic Congress.

But we can't say that and we couldn't say that because we did not have a great start in terms of insisting on speaking and pulling for ordinary people.

We can't say that and we couldn't say that because the Obama administration made the banks and the very wealthy and the big corporations whole and made the rest of us pay the price.

The stock market, for example, is up. But small savers have to PAY THEIR BANKS to keep their small savings accounts for htem.

The stock market, for example, is up. But the little old lady who has her money in treasury bonds or in the local bank is earning less than 1% interest.

And corporations don't pay their share of taxes -- don't even begin to pay their taxes.

[Demeter]

16. You hit the highlights, but there's even more bad news.

But the BOG will be out there, shouting ponies, and unicorns and rainbows....

while real people are getting horseshit, hallucinations and rained on.

[lobodons]

6. Of course we all know what the GOP calls the President

And its with no Laurel and hardy handshake thats for sure.

[landolfi]

9. I say it's time to go all Bullworth on their asses

whatever that means, I am going by the president's comment and have not seen the movie. But it seems to me he ought to be laying it all out just it as it is, no varnish, let's call a spade a spade.

It probably doesn't matter, like Jackie Robinson he has to be outstanding to be perceived as average, and I think history will prove he was the smartest guy in the room. But that doesn't matter if you're in the back seat yelling at the driver as the car goes over the cliff. I just hope these Repuke numbskulls are arrogant enough to disagree on everything even among themselves. They've demonstrated their smugness and pettiness over and over again, so why would we expect them to be gracious with one another?

[1StrongBlackMan]

12. Here, let me add one edit ...

When I took office the unemployment rate was 10.5%, now it's 5.7. Do they YOU call me the employment President? No.

I saved the US auto business and made money for the tax payer doing it. Do they YOU call me the car President? No.

I saved the banking industry and the world economy with it. Do they YOU call me the economy President? No.

The stock market is higher than it has ever been. Do they YOU call me the 401K President? No.

I decimated Al Qeada and killed Bin Laden. Do they call they YOU the anti-terror President? No.

I passed the Affordable Care Act and now more people have health care than ever. Do they YOU call me the health care President? No.

But let the Republicans say I fucked a goat and you know what they YOU will call me.

Any further questions?

[JDPriestly]

26. I truly wish you were right. But the voters did not see it your way.

I honestly did not think we would do as badly as we did.

Might I add that here in California where the sane people live, we re-elected Jerry Brown with a landslide. I don't even need to look at the results in my district because I know that the Democrats I voted for won hands down.

Jerry Brown makes mistakes but basically he was unafraid to ask Californians to raise taxes -- on everyone but especially on the rich.

We voted to reduce our prison population.

We made some mistakes.

The propositions were phrased so as to trick people in a couple of cases.

But overall, in California where we sensible liberals live and work and raise our families, Democrats did very well, thank you.

My congressman, Becerra, is a good Progressive. I may see some issues differently than he does, but they are few and far between. He won, hands down. He always does. He goes to great effort to communicate with voters and on issues from immigration to education to healthcare to the banks to war, he is one of the Progressives in Congress. I vote for him with pride.

I wish Obama could have come across as the Progressive that Becerra communicates that he is. But you can't say you are for the public option on Friday and then two weeks later sign a bill that has no public option and remain credible. Sad but true.

And above all, you cannot even whisper in entire confidentiality, doors closed, windows shut, under the covers -- that you might want to reduce Social Security payments through some sort of accounting trick.

That Republicans were viewed by many voters as more likely to protect Social Security shows how poorly Democrats communicated what they stand for.

[1StrongBlackMan]

28. Why is it so difficult to understand ...

that what sells in CA, or parts of Oregon, or Vermont, does not sell in most of the rest of America ... for whatever reason, people might agree with the message/policy/agenda; but not vote for the Democratic candidate promoting it. (BTW, this morning Prosense did a great OP demonstrating this very point).

[peace13]

13. This was my father's favorite joke.

He was an engineer, a gardener, and a wonderful husband. His closer was ....but suck one c*&k.......

This is the same man that loved the line,'When you're being run out of town get in front and make it look like a parade!'

The thing about the folks we are dealing with is that the majority are not happy, kind people. They most certainly do not understand that what is best for the order might also be beneficial to them in the long run. Greed, selfishness and a fast track to heaven finish the palate.

[Samantha]

19. That is a myth the MSM perpetuates

without ever mentioning Congress is polling at extremely lower levels than our President. By comparison, his polling numbers are pretty good.

Sam

[JDPriestly]

27. It's about who really gets out to vote, not about the polls.

Young people are just to overwhelmed by the tough reality that they face to vote in a mid-term election. And the Obama administration has done nothing to help out.

Getting your pre-schooler in a really good day-care is very difficult. That's an issue that Democrats could have run on. We didn't because we don't really have a good plan for doing that.

I know some candidates tried to focus on student loans and minimum wage, but they apparently did not do a persuasive job of it.

People fear raising the minimum wage because they think prices will go up.

As for student loan relief, people fear that will mean higher taxes for all.

And God forbid the Obama administration should come out swinging on the real issues:

imposing top taxes on the stock market capital gains.

penalizing foreign companies that do not pay taxes on American profits here. (That's a tough one because lots of the money is hidden by accounting tricks.)

We need a new leadership in the Democratic Party, a progressive leadership that is not being lead around by the nose by the corporations and Wall Street.

[Hoppy]

20. Give me the name of that reporter and I'll kick the shit out of 'im.

Todd? Did you say Chuck Todd?

[sulphurdunn]

21. Big Money and Big Media

favor republicans and democrats want to take their place. That is all you need to know.

[B Calm]

22. Love it!

[Gloria]

25. God forbid the Dems ever run a CHECKLIST like this in an ad or

repeat it in unison throughout the country.

Will they EVER learn how to boil it down to simple terms and repeat it for all the idiots in this country????