John Ellis concludes his framing of Obama’s reelection prospects, in which I think he confuses the popular vote (which is optional for a president) with the electoral vote (which is mandatory) with something with which I actually agree:
“Framed choice†is Team Obama’s only hope of holding enough white voters to avoid dismissal. The “framed choice†strategy is basically this: Everyone knows that pensions (Social Security) and health care (Medicare, Medicaid, child health programs) are going to bankrupt the nation unless they are “right-sized†to revenue and existing debt. Whoever is elected president in 2012 will have to “right-size†these programs over the course of the next four years.
The framed choice for the white voters who will decide this election is this: Who do you think will better protect the interests of working-class and middle-class families when the inevitable cuts are packaged? Who do you want negotiating for you when it comes down to who gets hurt and who doesn’t? Do you really want Mitt Romney and a bunch of right-wing congressmen making these decisions? Only a Democrat can be trusted to properly right-size the great Democratic social welfare programs.
The remaining questions are is Obama the right candidate for that job either and if not what Democrat is?
John Ellis is full of shit. He acts as if the magnitude of the problem can be nuanced by “the right Democrat.”.
Guess what, this issue should have been dealt with 20 years ago. The horse is out of the barn. It’s going to be ugly, and you are going to get a turnaround mans solution out of fiscal necessity, not the solution of a genteel financial idiot.
Yeah, we need Drew, er, Mitt. Because only a guy who can stride manfully into the boardroom snapping out orders to his subordinates, well, Senators and Congressmen and Supremes, and formulating policy which will instantly be implemented throughout the company, I mean, um, country, and, of course the 50 subordinate min-countries we call states, and also Europe and Japan and China, and yeah . . .
No problem. Big turnaround once we have one of the several available Mitts in charge bringing his whiteness and a square jaw and sweet, sweet business-bromance to Drew and all those people who are exactly like Drew and have exactly Drew’s needs and Drew’s opinions.
Once Drew’s clone is in charge Drew will be happy. Problems solved.
I’ll just voice my continuing annoyance at people expecting the President to do things outside the power of the office. The President can’t “right-size” anything – that’s the job of Congress.