Vice President Joe Biden stoked a firestorm of liberal discontent with President Barack Obama on Monday – demanding that the Democratic base “stop whining†and start fighting Republicans instead of the White House.
Biden, speaking at a frozen yogurt plant in New Hampshire, said he wanted to “remind our base constituency to stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives. This President has done an incredible job. He’s kept his promises.”
WASHINGTON – Admonishing his own party, President Barack Obama says it would be “inexcusable” and “irresponsible” for unenthusiastic Democratic voters to sit out the midterm elections, warning that the consequences could be a squandered agenda for years.
“People need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up,” Obama told Rolling Stone in an interview to be published Friday. The president told Democrats that making change happen is hard and “if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren’t serious in the first place.”
Michael Gerson, writing in the Washington Post:
Though it is difficult to recall, there was a time when liberalism was identified with cheerfulness. Franklin Roosevelt, according to historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., “radiated personal charm, joy in his work, optimism for the future.” Meeting Roosevelt, according to Winston Churchill, was “like uncorking a bottle of champagne.” Hubert Humphrey was known as the “happy warrior,” displaying what Ronald Reagan described as “a truly buoyant civility.” “He was robust and energetic,” said Reagan. “He loved the battle. He was warm and affectionate. He was hearty and spirited.”
Who could argue that Obama currently radiates “joy in his work”? It is a chore, a sacrifice, for which we are expected to be grateful. The warriors have become dour. The champagne has gone flat. At the high-water mark of its recent political influence, liberalism is depressed, disappointed, deflated.
Stanley Fish, writing in the New York Times:
Liberal pundits and the politicians whose agendas they favor continue to misunderstand the Tea Party movement and, what is worse, fail to realize how much the disdainful tone of their criticism fuels it. This may be changing now as the ominous signs proliferate — the primary victories of Christine O’Donnell, Joe Miller, Rand Paul and Sharron Angle, the likely election victory of Marco Rubio and, in recent days, the startling news that Carl Paladino and Joe DioGuardi may be closing in on supposedly shoo-ins Andrew Cuomo and Kirsten Gillibrand (I say “may be†because there are conflicting polls). And of course there is Sarah Palin, who, despite endless analyses of her personal and political shortcomings, looms larger on the national stage every day.
It doesn’t look like it’s changing to me; it looks like they’re doubling down. Yeah, that’ll work.
If you read my posts closely, you’ll notice that I only criticize the Obama Administration very rarely and cautiously. However, I’d like to reiterate one piece of advice for the Administration that I started giving shortly after the election: stop talking the economy down. And to that I’d add stop talking the American people down and stop talking the Democratic base down. Being smart, going to all of the right schools, and getting elected are not enough. Not only does performance count, too, but so does attitude. Historically, the American people have elected the presidential candidate that presents the brightest picture of America, its people, and its future. 2012 will be no different. If President Obama wants to keep his job, he’s got to start being more upbeat.
It’s walking a tightrope but that can be done without sounding delusional. Go back and look at old newsreel footage if you need to.
