Call me cynical but I personally believe that almost everything Barack Obama does between now and the 2012 Presidential election, to which Michelle Obama indicated Barack Obama would be fighting for reelection in, will be aimed at his reelection bid and attempting to change public perceptions of the Obama agenda after the "shellacking" Democrats took in the 2010 midterms.Many news stories out just nine days after the midterms are indicative of that very point.
Despite the same words being said before the midterms, a "60 Minutes" interview with Barack Obama shows the President understands the public's perception of him as a "classic, traditional, big-government liberal," and Obama admits that is not something the "American people want."
He blames Republicans for that perception, discounting the public's own view of the actions he has taken since he became President which has increased our national debt by $3 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of the Public Debt.
"I think that what happened over the course of two years was that we had to take a series of big emergency steps quickly, most of them in the first six months of my administration," said Obama. "Each of them had a big price tag. And people looked at that and they said, ‘Boy, this feels as if there’s a huge expansion of government.’”
When Kroft interjected that “it was a huge expansion of government,” Obama suggested that the growth in the federal government that had occurred during his watch could be blamed on emergency measures taken early in 2009 to deal with the economic situation at the time.
"What I didn’t effectively, I think, drive home,” said Obama, "is that we were taking these steps not because of some theory that we want to expand government. It was because we had an emergency situation and we want to make sure the economy didn’t go off a cliff. I think the Republicans were able to paint my governing philosophy as a classic, traditional, big government liberal. And that’s not something that the American people want.”
Obamacare's price tag tops a trillion and no one can say that was an "emergency" measure taken in the first 6 months of Obama's presidency, but I digress.
So, I think it is fair to say, using Obama's own words that America doesn't want a big government liberal and that he doesn't see himself as one.
Moving right along.
How does a President who is seen as a big government liberal change those public perceptions?
How about allowing the bipartisan debt reduction commission to release a preliminary proposal which highlights cutting massive discretionary spending both domestic and defense?
How about also in the same period of time allowing officials to indicate that they would be willing to compromise on tax cut extension for the wealthy to provide tax cut extensions for the middle class?
Nice start in showing Independents, moderates and the elderly, all worried about the economy, that he is willing to compromise and he really isn't a big government, spend and tax liberal.
Liberals at this point have got to be asking themselves, "how could he do this to us?"
They won't like the answer, but keeping in mind the premise here that everything Barack Obama does in between now and the 2012 presidential election is aimed at getting reelected, the answer is very clear.
Obama understands that far left progressive liberals are not going to vote for a Republican, any Republican in 2012.
According to the latest polling on ideology, 42 percent of the public self identifies as conservative or very conservative, 35 percent self identifies as moderate and only 20 percent self identifies as liberal or very liberal.
In 2012, Barack Obama already has most of the 20 percent who consider themselves liberal, he needs the 35 percent that consider themselves moderates.
Far left liberals are already going nuts over Obama's opening salvos to attract the Independents and moderates he had in 2008 but lost over the last two years. (See here and here)
Barack Obama and liberals had two years of a Democratic one party rule where Congress rubber stamped and fought for Obama's big government agenda, at the cost of many of their political careers when they lost the majority in the House of Representatives by the biggest turnover in 70+ years.
Nine days after the 2010 midterms and already liberals are whining, complaining and stomping their feet at what they are seeing.
But remember, it is all Republican's fault.
Grab the earplugs, pop your popcorn, kick your feet up and be prepared. It is about to get very loud.
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