President Obama’s hopes for being reelected hinge on whether he can convince the American people that the economy is getting stronger. But he also wants to convice voters that Republicans are to blame for any lack of improvement. The problem is that pursuing both strategies at the same time complicates the White House’s messaging, because part of attacking Republicans as obstructionists involves talking down the economy.
“(W)e’re going to keep the pressure on (Republicans) because, you know, it’s not like we’re in normal times here,” senior Obama advisor David Plouffe said on “Meet the Press” this past Sunday. “The economy is still, for many people, still in crisis.”
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He later added that, “there’s far too many people still out of work, the middle class still feels a lack of security…”
In a press conference following the G20 summit in France today, Obama reacted to today’s job numbers and tried to strike a similar balance.
“I’m worried about putting people back to work right now, because those folks are hurting and the U.S. economy is underperforming,” he said, later adding, “So my hope is, is that the folks back home, including those in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, when they look at today’s job numbers — which were positive but indicate once again that the economy is growing way too slow — that they think twice before they vote “no” again on the only proposal out there right now that independent economists say would actually make a dent in unemployment right now. There’s no excuse for inaction.”
Talking about middle class insecurity and an “underperforming economy” still in “crisis” that’s “moving way too slow”? It’s the type of language you’d expect to hear in a Republican attack ad.
