Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama
President Barack Obama is mad as hell that Democrats seem to have lost their resolve, and he's telling them about it.
Pulling out all the stops in an effort to lessen the expected losses in the House and Senate in November's midterm election, Obama is telling Democrats that they lack the energy of Republicans, and if they don't step up, the gains Democrats have made will be lost and this country will slide backward:
"It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines," the president declared in a Rolling Stone magazine interview.
Obama is also taking his message to the young voters who energized his campaign and who helped propel him to office. Speaking before a crowd at the University of Wisconsin, Obama said:
"We can't let this country fall backward because the rest of us didn't care enough to fight."
In many ways, the lack of enthusiasm from Democrats doesn't make a lot of sense. It wasn't that long ago that Obama was drawing record crowds and folks were falling out in the stands. The economic collapse made it clear that something was wrong in this country.
Now, just 21 months after Obama took office, even Democrats have fallen by the wayside.
It's the unfortunate result of an impatient society, one that thinks the mere act of electing someone means that person does all the work and our participation is no longer required.
"People need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up," Obama said in the interview. "Bringing about change is hard -- that's what I said during the campaign."
"But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place," Obama said.
It takes more than 21 months to make significant changes.
First-time Democratic voters and liberals should realize that. The question they should be asking is how much of their policy goals would be accomplished if John McCain had won and what will happen to the accomplishments Obama has made if Democrats lose?
Some are questioning Obama's tough-love approach, saying that he's alienating people who have a right to be angry with him.
"We are focused on motivation, not laying blame or pointing fingers, because the consequences for sitting this election out could be disastrous," said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director.
The Republican Pledge to America should make it easy for voters to see what their choices are. For example, after Wall Street's near collapse and the discovery of the unscrupulous behaviors that were taking place, the best solution Republicans have for Social Security is to let those under 55 invest in the stock market?
That's not even creative.
The all-or-nothing approach is not going to work.