Obama isolated from Dems ahead of 2012
Steve
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44812.html
Obama isolated from Dems ahead of 2012
By: Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei
November 8, 2010 04:30 AM EST
President Barack Obama has performed his act of contrition. Now comes
the hard part, according to Democrats around the country: reckoning
with the simple fact that he�s isolated himself from virtually every
group that matters in American politics.
Congressional Democrats consider him distant and blame him for their
historic defeat on Tuesday. Democratic state party leaders scoff at
what they see as an inattentive and hapless political operation.
Democratic lobbyists feel maligned by his holier-than-though take on
their profession. His own cabinet � with only a few exceptions � has
been marginalized.
His relations with business leaders could hardly be worse. Obama has
suggested it�s a PR problem but several Democratic officials said CEOs
friendly with the president walk away feeling he�s indifferent at best
to their concerns. Add in his icy relations with Republicans, the
media and, most importantly, most voters and it�s easy to understand
why his own staff leaked word to POLITICO that they want Obama to
shake up his staff and change his political approach.
It should be a no-brainer for a humbled Obama to move quickly after
Tuesday�s thumping to try to repair these damaged relations, and
indeed, in India Sunday, he acknowledged the need for �midcourse
corrections.�
But many Democrats privately say they are skeptical that Obama is
self-aware enough to make the sort of dramatic changes they feel are
needed � in his relations with other Democrats or in his very approach
to the job.
In his effort to change Washington, Obama has failed to engage
Washington and its institutions and customs, leaving him estranged
from the capital�s permanent power structure � right at the moment
when Democrats say he must rethink his strategy for cultivating and
nurturing relations with key constituencies ahead of 2012.
�This guy swept to power on a wave of adulation, and he learned the
wrong lessons from that,� said a Democratic official who deals
frequently with the White House. �He�s more of a movement leader than
a politician. He needs someone to kick his ass on things large and
small, and teach him to be a politician.�
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) expressed a much deeper frustration to
POLITICO: that the president never had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi�s
back � and it cost both of them. �They not only failed to defend her
and her accomplishments on their behalf,� said Miller of the White
House, �they failed to defend themselves.�
Tuesday�s losses have left high-level Democrats feeling freer to open
up about White House missteps over the past two years � complaints
that were repressed when Obama was strong, but now are being aired as
clues to his team�s isolation as he tries to regain command of the
capital after his midterm thrashing.
Consider state party leaders. Many feel slighted by a president they
helped elect. The slights are both big and small. In July, Obama was
visiting GM and Chrysler plans in the Detroit area and invited the
local House member - but other Democratic lawmakers who stood to
benefit from the exposure were left in the cold.
"President Obama has done a lot for the people of Michigan, including
rescuing state services and saving GM and Chrysler,� said former
Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard, a Democrat and Obama supporter. �We'd
like to see a political operation in Michigan commensurate with his
achievements."
Other Democrats are fuming at Obama�s decision not to endorse the
Democratic candidate for governor of Rhode Island � and shun
conventional political interactions, including refusing to meet with a
group of black ministers at a campaign event this fall.
This is problematic because in a 50-50 country, political
infrastructure matters � and the consensus among Democratic
consultants is that Obama has allowed theirs to atrophy by neglect.
Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink took it further,
hitting a �tone-deaf� Obama White House to explain why she narrowly
lost her campaign, saying the administration mishandled the BP oil
spill and hasn�t fully grasped the political damage done by Obama�s
health care reform push. �They just need to be better listeners and be
better at reaching out to people who are on the ground to hear about
the realities of their policies as well as politics,� Sink told
POLITICO.
On their own, some gripes about Obama look like little more than
trivial violations of Politics 101. But they have had the cumulative
effect of leaving the president and his team isolated from many of the
constituencies required for success in Washington:
-- When Obama was giving the commencement address in the University of
Michigan�s �Big House� stadium last May, he mingled in the home-team
locker room with university deans and regents. Across the tunnel, in
the visitor�s locker room, several members of Michigan�s Democratic
congressional delegation -- including Senate Armed Services Chairman
Carl Levin and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr. -- waited
patiently.
Some had brought grandchildren so they could get their picture taken
with the president. But they never got to see him. Obama didn�t cross
the tunnel to see the lawmakers.
-- In June, during an East Room reception for top supporters at Ford�s
Theatre, several of the attendees were disappointed that they didn�t
get to shake the president�s hand and take a photo, as they had in the
past. Instead, Obama greeted a few people down front, reaching over a
rope line.
�People thought they were going to a reception with the president, not
a campaign event,� one attendee recalled.
-- One veteran Democrat recalled a group of Obama donors who were
chatting at last December�s State Department holiday party, hosted by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. �Half of them were upset because
they had not been invited to a White House party,� this Democrat
recalled. �The (other) half was upset because they had been invited to
the White House, and were kept behind a rope line instead of getting
to greet the president.�
-- The president invited Senate chairs and ranking members over for
dinner in March 2009, but came in after they were seated and went back
to the residence without shaking hands or visiting each table.
One well-known Democrat summed up the cost of the slights and the
seeming indifference to basic political courtesies this way: �These
are little things that are not going to affect public perceptions. But
it affects the infrastructure of how you put together a campaign.
These are the people that you need to raise money, to give money, to
organize, to show up, to speak out.�
Several top Democrats explained that Obama�s unorthodox ascent in 2008
left him with little appreciation for the conventional machinery that
most ambitious natural politicians nurture obsessively.
�Because Hillary had all the institutional support [in the primaries],
he came here without a support structure,� said one Democratic
lobbyist. �They made a decision that was a good thing, and tried to go
around all those institutional players. But as a president, you can
co-opt a lot of those constituencies. You don't have to be captured by
them."
The problems run deeper. Big-dollar donors and liberal special
interests feel used, and only in the last month has the White House
made an effort to play nicer with them. Some donors contend the White
House should have encouraged its own counterpart to the outside GOP
groups like American Crossroads, rather than griping about the new
competition.
Democratic lobbyists say they�re upset that the president had not only
vilified their profession, but frozen them out of discussions on key
issues. By one light, this is precisely what Obama promised to do in
an effort to restore faith in government. By another, it simply
enhanced the Congress-K Street power nexus because most of the
horse-trading was done on Capitol Hill with White House control.
While the lobbying community is usually covered by the media like a
crime beat, most lobbyists are policy experts who often provide input
on commissions and other advisory boards. So lobbyists argue that the
White House shunning has cost the president valuable advice, political
intelligence and institutional backup.
And business leaders, even the few who continue to be Obama-friendly,
say they are convinced he is hostile to free markets and the private
sector. Some of these executives have balance sheets flush with cash
but are reluctant to add jobs or expand in part because they don't
trust Obama�s instincts for growth.
�He used anti-corporate, confrontational rhetoric too for legislative
gain, and kept doing it after folks found it gratuitous,� a top
executive said. �During health reform it was the bad, evil hospitals.
. . Same with financial regulation: It was fat cats, greed,
corruption.�
Other executives complained that Obama did not do enough outreach,
even after the friction became clear. And executives who did get an
audience complain that he is too often behind a podium, not doing the
off-the-record question-and-answer sessions that would make them feel
more involved and maybe promote understanding between the two sides.
�The thing they�re most proud of is that during the campaign, they had
a game plan they believed in and they stuck to it, even when everyone
told them they were going to lose,� said a well-known Democratic
official, summing up a widely held view of the White House. �They
didn�t believe what outside people said. So they have this siege
mentality, and it�s closed the door.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44812.html
--
The leftists' concept of "freedom" involves living
forever as a child in the loving arms of benevolent,
caring mother government who will supply them with
all the needs she thinks they should have and will also
insure that everything they say and do will comply
exactly with her plan for them.
sAMMY
> corruption.”
>
> Other executives complained that Obama did not do enough outreach,
> even after the friction became clear. And executives who did get an
> audience complain that he is too often behind a podium, not doing the
> off-the-record question-and-answer sessions that would make them feel
> more involved and maybe promote understanding between the two sides.
>
> “The thing they’re most proud of is that during the campaign, they had
> a game plan they believed in and they stuck to it, even when everyone
> told them they were going to lose,” said a well-known Democratic
> official, summing up a widely held view of the White House. “They
> didn’t believe what outside people said. So they have this siege
> mentality, and it’s closed the door.
>
> http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44812.html
>
> --
>
> The leftists' concept of "freedom" involves living
> forever as a child in the loving arms of benevolent,
> caring mother government who will supply them with
> all the needs she thinks they should have and will also
> insure that everything they say and do will comply
> exactly with her plan for them.
Obama is isolated from the entire country. that is what happens when
you elect someone that is not a real American.
Lamont Cranston
> On 11/8/2010 6:04 AM, Steve wrote:
>>
>> http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44812.html
>>
>> Obama isolated from Dems ahead of 2012
>> By: Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei
>> November 8, 2010 04:30 AM EST
>>
>> President Barack Obama has performed his act of contrition. Now comes
>> the hard part, according to Democrats around the country: reckoning
>> group that matters in American politics.
>>
>> Congressional Democrats consider him distant and blame him for their
>> historic defeat on Tuesday. Democratic state party leaders scoff at
>> what they see as an inattentive and hapless political operation.
>> Democratic lobbyists feel maligned by his holier-than-though take on
>> been marginalized.
>>
>> His relations with business leaders could hardly be worse. Obama has
>> friendly with the president walk away feeling he�s indifferent at best
>> to their concerns. Add in his icy relations with Republicans, the
>> why his own staff leaked word to POLITICO that they want Obama to
>> shake up his staff and change his political approach.
>>
>> It should be a no-brainer for a humbled Obama to move quickly after
>> indeed, in India Sunday, he acknowledged the need for �midcourse
>> corrections.�
>>
>> But many Democrats privately say they are skeptical that Obama is
>> self-aware enough to make the sort of dramatic changes they feel are
>> to the job.
>>
>> In his effort to change Washington, Obama has failed to engage
>> Washington and its institutions and customs, leaving him estranged
>> when Democrats say he must rethink his strategy for cultivating and
>> nurturing relations with key constituencies ahead of 2012.
>>
>> wrong lessons from that,� said a Democratic official who deals
>> frequently with the White House. �He�s more of a movement leader than
>> a politician. He needs someone to kick his ass on things large and
>>
>> Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) expressed a much deeper frustration to
>> back � and it cost both of them. �They not only failed to defend her
>> and her accomplishments on their behalf,� said Miller of the White
>> House, �they failed to defend themselves.�
>>
>> Tuesday�s losses have left high-level Democrats feeling freer to open
>> up about White House missteps over the past two years � complaints
>> that were repressed when Obama was strong, but now are being aired as
>> capital after his midterm thrashing.
>>
>> Consider state party leaders. Many feel slighted by a president they
>> helped elect. The slights are both big and small. In July, Obama was
>> visiting GM and Chrysler plans in the Detroit area and invited the
>> local House member - but other Democratic lawmakers who stood to
>> benefit from the exposure were left in the cold.
>>
>> "President Obama has done a lot for the people of Michigan, including
>> Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard, a Democrat and Obama supporter. �We'd
>> like to see a political operation in Michigan commensurate with his
>> achievements."
>>
>> Democratic candidate for governor of Rhode Island � and shun
>> conventional political interactions, including refusing to meet with a
>> group of black ministers at a campaign event this fall.
>>
>> This is problematic because in a 50-50 country, political
>> consultants is that Obama has allowed theirs to atrophy by neglect.
>>
>> Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink took it further,
>> lost her campaign, saying the administration mishandled the BP oil
>> health care reform push. �They just need to be better listeners and be
>> better at reaching out to people who are on the ground to hear about
>> POLITICO.
>>
>> On their own, some gripes about Obama look like little more than
>> trivial violations of Politics 101. But they have had the cumulative
>> effect of leaving the president and his team isolated from many of the
>> constituencies required for success in Washington:
>>
>> -- When Obama was giving the commencement address in the University of
>> locker room with university deans and regents. Across the tunnel, in
>> congressional delegation -- including Senate Armed Services Chairman
>> Carl Levin and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr. -- waited
>> patiently.
>>
>> Some had brought grandchildren so they could get their picture taken
>> the tunnel to see the lawmakers.
>>
>> Theatre, several of the attendees were disappointed that they didn�t
>> get to shake the president�s hand and take a photo, as they had in the
>> past. Instead, Obama greeted a few people down front, reaching over a
>> rope line.
>>
>> a campaign event,� one attendee recalled.
>>
>> -- One veteran Democrat recalled a group of Obama donors who were
>> Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. �Half of them were upset because
>> they had not been invited to a White House party,� this Democrat
>> recalled. �The (other) half was upset because they had been invited to
>> the White House, and were kept behind a rope line instead of getting
>>
>> -- The president invited Senate chairs and ranking members over for
>> dinner in March 2009, but came in after they were seated and went back
>> to the residence without shaking hands or visiting each table.
>>
>> One well-known Democrat summed up the cost of the slights and the
>> are little things that are not going to affect public perceptions. But
>> it affects the infrastructure of how you put together a campaign.
>> These are the people that you need to raise money, to give money, to
>>
>> Several top Democrats explained that Obama�s unorthodox ascent in 2008
>> left him with little appreciation for the conventional machinery that
>> most ambitious natural politicians nurture obsessively.
>>
>> he came here without a support structure,� said one Democratic
>> lobbyist. �They made a decision that was a good thing, and tried to go
>> around all those institutional players. But as a president, you can
>> co-opt a lot of those constituencies. You don't have to be captured by
>> them."
>>
>> The problems run deeper. Big-dollar donors and liberal special
>> interests feel used, and only in the last month has the White House
>> made an effort to play nicer with them. Some donors contend the White
>> House should have encouraged its own counterpart to the outside GOP
>> groups like American Crossroads, rather than griping about the new
>> competition.
>>
>> vilified their profession, but frozen them out of discussions on key
>> issues. By one light, this is precisely what Obama promised to do in
>> an effort to restore faith in government. By another, it simply
>> enhanced the Congress-K Street power nexus because most of the
>> horse-trading was done on Capitol Hill with White House control.
>>
>> While the lobbying community is usually covered by the media like a
>> crime beat, most lobbyists are policy experts who often provide input
>> on commissions and other advisory boards. So lobbyists argue that the
>> White House shunning has cost the president valuable advice, political
>> intelligence and institutional backup.
>>
>> And business leaders, even the few who continue to be Obama-friendly,
>> say they are convinced he is hostile to free markets and the private
>> sector. Some of these executives have balance sheets flush with cash
>> but are reluctant to add jobs or expand in part because they don't
>>
>> �He used anti-corporate, confrontational rhetoric too for legislative
>> gain, and kept doing it after folks found it gratuitous,� a top
>> executive said. �During health reform it was the bad, evil hospitals.
>> .. . Same with financial regulation: It was fat cats, greed,
>>
>> Other executives complained that Obama did not do enough outreach,
>> even after the friction became clear. And executives who did get an
>> audience complain that he is too often behind a podium, not doing the
>> off-the-record question-and-answer sessions that would make them feel
>> more involved and maybe promote understanding between the two sides.
>>
>> a game plan they believed in and they stuck to it, even when everyone
>> official, summing up a widely held view of the White House. �They
>> didn�t believe what outside people said. So they have this siege
>> mentality, and it�s closed the door.
>>
>> http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44812.html
>>
>> --
>>
>> The leftists' concept of "freedom" involves living
>> forever as a child in the loving arms of benevolent,
>> caring mother government who will supply them with
>> all the needs she thinks they should have and will also
>> insure that everything they say and do will comply
>> exactly with her plan for them.
>
> Obama is isolated from the entire country. that is what happens when you
> elect someone that is not a real American.
ROTFL! Bonding wingnuts!