Marc Ambinder: Will Obama's Recovery Resemble Reagan's Recovery?
[Marc Ambinder is the politics editor of The Atlantic. He has covered Washington for ABC News and the Hotline, and he is chief political consultant to CBS News.]
As everyone in politics struggles to discover the historical analogy that fits their preconception of what's going on, many Democrats have latched on to Ronald Reagan's first two years as a way of holding on to the hope that political equilibrium will restore itself naturally and President Obama will emerge after November in fairly good shape for re-election....
But then again, comparing Obama in 2010 to Reagan in 1982 is a-historical. The media environment is completely different. Process shapes policy more than ever, and this dynamic has become very easy for the average voter to see and comprehend. White Houses simply cannot "sell" messages or narratives in such a diffuse, ideologically polarized environment absent some sort of national catastrophe.
As much as we venerate Reagan's communication skills, it's important to remember that the economy got better for him. That mattered, perhaps more than whatever Mike Deaver and company did to sell it. Reagan gets credit for good execution when all that really mattered was getting an economic recovery. In that case, Obama's re-election fate hinges on the unemployment rate in winter/spring '12, not so much about the messaging now.
Read entire article at The Atlantic
As everyone in politics struggles to discover the historical analogy that fits their preconception of what's going on, many Democrats have latched on to Ronald Reagan's first two years as a way of holding on to the hope that political equilibrium will restore itself naturally and President Obama will emerge after November in fairly good shape for re-election....
But then again, comparing Obama in 2010 to Reagan in 1982 is a-historical. The media environment is completely different. Process shapes policy more than ever, and this dynamic has become very easy for the average voter to see and comprehend. White Houses simply cannot "sell" messages or narratives in such a diffuse, ideologically polarized environment absent some sort of national catastrophe.
As much as we venerate Reagan's communication skills, it's important to remember that the economy got better for him. That mattered, perhaps more than whatever Mike Deaver and company did to sell it. Reagan gets credit for good execution when all that really mattered was getting an economic recovery. In that case, Obama's re-election fate hinges on the unemployment rate in winter/spring '12, not so much about the messaging now.