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The One is Still Campaigning
First, a quiz. How many people attended President Obama's town-hall forum in Vermont? That would be none. Since becoming president, he hasn't set foot in a state he won by nearly 40 percentage points in November's general election. But thousands have heard Obama speak in Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana and Florida, all among the 16 states he has visited since taking office. In each of those places, his margin of victory or defeat last November was fewer than five percentage points. As recently as last week, Obama warned that the changes he is seeking in health care, energy policy and financial regulation require "taking on the status quo in Washington." And that, he told an audience of donors who paid as much as $30,400 a couple to see him, "requires the courage to look . . . beyond the next election." We never said he was strong on the courage thingy. Yet during his first five months in office, public policy and electoral politics have come together seamlessly in his domestic travel itinerary. On nearly every trip he has taken, Obama has followed the timeworn path of presidential travel - go where the votes matter most. Now for a little WaPo balance. "A smart White House is a savvy mix of policy and politics, and in our democracy there's nothing wrong with it," said Ari Fleischer, Bush's first press secretary. "If you're all substance and no politics, you lose support on Capitol Hill. If you're all politics and no substance, you lose support among the people." Fleischer added: "If people don't like it, they can move from a safe state to a swing state and see their president more." To Missouri, for example. With a whole nation to pick from, Obama chose to mark his 100th day in office with a town-hall forum in Arnold, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. He lost Missouri by just over one-tenth of one percentage point. Posted by: Bobby 2009-06-22 |
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