The Not So Great Communicator
by Big Dog on Nov 7, 2010 at 17:58 Political
Barack Obama is supposed to be a great orator and communicator though anyone with a brain can see that when he does not have a teleprompter and a script he sounds like a stuttering fool. Obama blamed the beating his party took in the last election on his inability to communicate how good his agenda was and how good what they did was for the average schmo on the street. Yep, you folks are too dense to see what is good for you.
Truth be told, Obama spoke about his health care reform more than 50 times and his minions were out on the streets trying to explain it as well. The reality is that he communicated it quite well and the American public did not buy it. We did not buy his health care, cap and trade, his ramming things down our throats or the arm twisting and back room deals that took place.
“Making an argument that people can understand,” Mr. Obama continued, “I think that we haven’t always been successful at that. And I take personal responsibility for that. And it’s something that I’ve got to examine carefully … as I go forward.”
We heard it and we understood it. It was not bad communication Barack, it was bad policy.
But maybe, just maybe, your minions and you would have been able to communicate the health care bill better if say, you all had read it.
Remember, while you were communicating it to us Nancy Pelosi said we had to pass it to see what was in it.
That sounds like a recipe for disaster and you felt that disaster on election day.
Keep on believing that you did not communicate well enough and you will be in for another trouncing come 2012.
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: communicate, election, health care, law, lies, Obama, shellacking
If you look inside the national exit poll results for any sign that voters overwhelming rejected pieces of the Democratic agenda you won’t find it.
This idea that the Democrats lost because they “rammed” through unpopular legislation is simply not supported by what we can see overall. You might find that in a few races of course but nationally there is no indication that such a thing lead to the GOP victory.
You’ve also called it a “teanami” or something like that and I find that a little deceiving as well. The tea party was very successful in a few key races but they certainly don’t appear to be the deciding factor in swinging the 65 or so seats to the GOP.
I read those reports, and the first thing that came to mind was Nixon and his group think. I think Obama might actually believe that the only reason he lost at this election IS because he failed to communicate. He might actually believe that everyone really wants his version of Marxism, he just didn’t sell it right. I hope that’s true, because then he’ll spend the next 2 years trying to tell everyone how wonderful Marxism is. I think that would be funny because, even now, I don’t think there’s a majority of voters who want that. Oh sure, there’s at least 30-40% of voters who do, but I don’t think it’s a majority, at least not yet.
Obviously Obama is spinning. He can’t say the real problem is the hole the economy fell into was too deep for Democratic policies to dig us out of in just two years. That will just get turned around on him again by your side saying the Democrats failed which you’ve been saying pretty much since the day the stimulus was signed into law. It’s much easier simply to say it’s a failure to communicate policy.
Well Adam, you obviously do not pay attention. You glean a few things from a few exit polls or add categories together for a better outcome. The reality is that people rejected the policies and the way it was done. A whole lot of people who voted for health care lost their jobs. That is the only exit poll you need.
And I think what you mean to say is that 4 years of Democrats in Congress tanked the economy and the failed policies that tanked it could not get it out in two years. The Democrats were in control of the economic collapse and it belongs to them.
The Democrats did fail when they signed the stimulus because that has never worked in the past and it will never work in the future. It is a failed economic theory.
Perhaps things will go better now and you can learn something.
“A whole lot of people who voted for health care lost their jobs. That is the only exit poll you need.”
Yes, health care was such a major issue in the election that all of 18% rated it as a top priority. No, 62% of people said the economy was their number one concern.
“And I think what you mean to say is that 4 years of Democrats in Congress tanked the economy…”
Sorry. No matter how many times you say it you still can’t make it true. We know who was in Congress at the time has absolutely nothing to do with the housing bubble bursting and the deep recession that followed.
“The Democrats were in control of the economic collapse and it belongs to them.”
Completely untrue of course.
“Perhaps things will go better now and you can learn something.”
If by go better now you mean the economy will continue to recover as it has been doing all year and the GOP will take the credit for it. We’re at +1.1 million private sector jobs so far this year in 10 months. I’m sure we’ll be back to full employment in no time at all as soon as the GOP takes control and usher in an era of small government again just like the last time they controlled Congress…
“Making an argument that people can understand,” Mr. Obama continued, “I think that we haven’t always been successful at that.”
In other words you people are too stupid to understand that my policies are so great and good for you and we have to make you understand that.
“A whole lot of people who voted for health care lost their jobs. That is the only exit poll you need.”
I find that to be a completely unconvincing argument. Consider this information I gathered tonight:
Essentially you can argue the health care vote doomed the 41 of the 62 Democrats that lost but you shouldn’t discount the fact that most of the 41 were single term or 2 term Democrats that won in conservative districts in 2006 and 2008. In traditionally blue districts we saw many retire and not seek re-election which means it’s harder to say if the health care vote mattered. It doesn’t seem that convincing to me.
One more way to look at it: Only 32 Dems voted no and 220 voted yes in the House on the final bill. The breakdown of how Dems voted versus if they won or lost is no better than if we randomly selected such from races. You’re going to get a majority of the losing Dems having voted for health care simply because of how the numbers are and not because voting for health care makes you more likely to lose.
One thing that stands out, Adam, is that NO REPUBLICAN voted for health care, and that might be the most telling in the long run.
Many Dems, whether they voted for healthcare or not WERE PERCEIVED as doing so- a guilt by association sort of thing- ands if Republicans cannot be seen as an effective counter to the Dems, they will be tossed out also, until there ARE some people who will take a stand for limited government and less spending.
No matter the party, we should ALL be concerned about the deficit, but the Dems don’t even talk about it, much less use austerity measures like, say, NOT GOING ON A MULTI- MILLION DOLLAR TRIP when we cannot afford it.
Clearly Obama felt the trip was worth the money since he’s been helping to nail down trade deals there in India worth much more than the cost of the trip. Folks have said that could have been done by phone but our relationship with India is important when it comes to the situation with China so perhaps these things shouldn’t be phoned in.
To say the Dems don’t talk about deficit reduction ignores all the times they have talked about it. Hopefully the deficit reduction panel will get taken seriously from both sides after this election but it could all just crumble either way.
Obama reminds me of the Fonz- you know, back in “Happy Days”- and the Fonz couldn’t say that he was wrong, no matter how he tried- Barrie is much the same way, although I would add the word “jihad”- he can’t say that one either, without qualifying it, and watering it down so much that NOONE really knows exactly what he said.