It is interesting that Obama was heckled at a fundraiser in the New York last night. Times have changed, indeed. What’s more compelling and telling is that the sitting Democratic President couldn’t sell out a Democratic fundraiser….in New York…less than 6 weeks before a watershed election.
Yikes!
Supply and demand kicked in and prices for tickets dropped to 50 bucks…and still 200 seats were empty according to Gail Sheehy at the Daily Beast. Should I repeat that this was in NEW YORK CITY, were one is born with a Dem voter registration card in one hand and a Tammany Hall top hat in the other. Times are tough for this President.
Aside from the hecklers (who are the anti-fainters from Obama’s rallies of old…the universe must find balance, after all.) the crowd was enthusiastic. Why wouldn’t they be? they got to sit in a room with a POTUS and nibble on free nibblies, all for less than a movie night with a date.
The Dems are still raking in money. There should be no concern for them financially. But they ought to be alarmed when they can’t fill seats at cut-rate prices in the bluest of blue cities.
For me, one of the most fascinating aspects of the Obama term so far is how inept he is at connecting. It’s startling how much his skills as a motivator/manipulator have fallen off. Sure, the GOP and their media cabal have been brutal. But one can’t blame them for Obama’s lost message. One can blame Obama’s self-inflicted wounds to an extent, and the political arrogance of Reid and Pelosi. The bulk of the problem though must be chalked up to this: Obama’s got no through line. He’s got no story.
Any fan of NBC’s now dead show Heroes knows what losing the story is. The first season of Heroes was driven and compelling. Then, after the show became a hit, it also became a narrative mess. Viewers gave up. The show was cancelled.
Presidencies must have plots. They must have narratives that are comprehensible. We must know their themes. Clinton’s theme, after 1994, was: On the job for you. W’s was: Defending the homeland. Reagan’s: Strength and rebirth. Obama’s theme is…what? It seems 20 months in his theme is: I wanted to be President and now I am. The end.
It may seem trite to compare a good leader to good storytelling. But good leaders came first, and a good story-teller knows they have something in common with a good leader. Both know the story they are telling inside and out and both know it must have resonant themes. In too many instances Obama doesn’t seem to care for the biggest part of his job: To bring the people in to a narrative. We elect leaders to lead. To tell a compelling story with their actions. Not to shove, whine, and blame. If Obama understood this basic element of leadership he could have passed any law, and been popular to boot. He could have even sold us on that crock of a health care law.
Through this lens, I guess one can see why Obama can’t fill all the seats at a Democratic fundraiser in Manhattan. His show has no center. No theme. Therefore it has grown tiresome. People have better things to do.
” It’s startling how much his skills as a motivator/manipulator have fallen off. ”
Agreed, and what amazed me is that it happened election night. His speech was pure crap, uninvolved and tepid. He showed absolutely no leadership that night, and none since. His presidency has been an abismal failure and we can not expect anything for the next two years. What a waste.
And his inaugural speech was a real dog, I thought. Totally flat. It seems that all that his operation was about was winning. And once they had won, they stopped working, stopped even trying to create the illusion of being interested or involved.
Agree! He checked out early.
Great post! “I wanted to be president….” Key word “wanted.” He wanted the title and the perks, not the work.
That’s a really interesting observation, John: the leader and the narrative. I’d never thought of it that way but I think you’re definitely onto something. And maybe part of it is this “not knowing” what [if any] vision Barack Obama had/has for the country. In the beginning it was this world community/citizen thing and Obama was emperor of the Universe, calming the winds, parting the seas. Hillary played with that meme. It all seemed pretty silly to me. But two years in and we still don’t know, beyond the fact that this is all about him: his historic presidency, his historic legislation, his, his, his. Somehow, the American public was left out of the storyline.
I think you pretty much nailed it: I wanted the Presidency [at least the title]. And now I’ve got it. I remember listening to Poppy Bush when he was asked why he wanted the office. His reply, “because it’s the big enchilada.”
Trophy time. Pretty miserable answer, IMO.
Christie from NJ said something interesting last night about whether he would consider running for POTUS. He said he didn’t want it enough [that certainly wasn't Obama's problem]. But he also said he would need to be thoroughly convinced he was “ready” for the job, and right now he knew he wasn’t. That could flip overnight, of course, and it may have been a shot across the Administration’s bow. But it made me pay attention.
Too bad Obama and his handlers were not as self-critical and insightful. The Dem leadership, too.
Hope & Change? It blew away in the wind.
Please, Peggy Sue, Chris Christie is a thug and he IS lusting to be president. With all of New Jersey’s financial problems, he still has time to take this month off to travel around the country meeting and greeting — and endorsing candidates who will undoubtedly endorse Christie when the time comes.
Christie’s administration not only screwed up and lost New Jersey a $400 federal million education grant, Christie lied to the public regarding what he knew about the error in the application and when he knew it.
Christie does NOT think he in not ready — he’s already out there scouting for support.
Didn’t Obama also say he wasn’t ready shortly before he started running? I could be wrong about that…
I hope people take Christie at his word.
I’m not banging the drum for Christie, duck. I’m merely saying the comment got my attention. Whether he meant it or not, the response itself was refreshing. And if, in fact, he does a 180, the remark will come back to haunt him.
I’m not living in Jersey now. But it’s my home state and New Jersey is as near insolvency as you ever want to get. Regardless of who was Governor, it’s an absolutely thankless job. Times are going to get harder and the pain is going to be widespread.
I talked to a friend of mine [living in state] recently. She and her husband both work public jobs, she for one of the southern counties, he for a local school in a support capacity. They’ve managed to keep their jobs but salaries are frozen, no new hires and hours have been cut. They’re both terrified that their pensions may eventually be radically reduced or thrown out the window. It’s not their fault but if the pensions are unfunded, where is the money going to come from?
No easy answers and plenty of blame to spread around. I don’t claim to have a solution. But when the money’s gone, it’s gone.
They ALL say they are not running, right up until the day they announce.
Yes, New Jersey has financial problems, so WHY was Christie’s first act as governor to give a TAX CUT to everyone making more than $400,000 a year.
Christie is just like all the Republicans: they give tax breaks to the rich and then WHINE there is NO money to pay the state’s bills or meet its budgetary obligations.
Christie asked for all state employees to take a 10% salary cut. I asked my Republican Assemblyman’s aide if that meant Christie would take a salary cut as well. She was aghast that I would suggest such a thing, but her answer was “no.” The NJ governor gets free housing, free insurance, free pension, a hefty food allowance, and free transportation everywhere he goes.
If the “small” people who work for the state can make the “sacrifice,” why can’t Christie?
Christie is like all the Republicans: if ordinary people still have some money left, they say,”hand it over, so we can give tax breaks to the rich.”
Duck said:
“Yes, New Jersey has financial problems, so WHY was Christie’s first act as governor to give a TAX CUT to everyone making more than $400,000 a year.”
As I said, I’m not living in state, so I wasn’t aware of that move. But the “why” [among other unknown reasons] is because he’s a Republican and their whole schtick is that tax cuts to the wealthy increase employment and boost prosperity.
Trickle down the yellow brick road.
Even though, there’s no evidence for the claim. In fact, the evidence is quite the contrary when you compare Clinton’s higher tax rates/job growth numbers against his Republican counterparts.
Btw, when I mentioned Christie to my friend in Jersey? She said she and her husband refuse to utter his name. He, who cannot be mentioned, is “not” terribly popular in our old neighborhood.
What a mess!
Christie’s been out in CA stumping for Meg Whitman, fellow tapeworm.
I suggest that anyone who thinks Chris Christie is some sort of good guy read the Wikipedia article on him (for starters): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Christie
Chris Christie is an absolute horror. I have friends in NJ and they keep me filled in on how he is cutting public school teachers left and right. Anyone who fires teachers and gives huge tax cuts to the wealthy is a complete waste of space, IMHO.
If he ran for President, he’d probably get as many delegates as Rudy NineEleven. (For those not keeping track, he spent $40 million for 1 delegate.)
I absolutely agree that he lost the narrative. I think the reason is that his campaign was his narrative: hope, change, the first black president, and post-partisanship. Alas, once the campaign is over, you must deliver on that narrative.
He delivered none of it, and he doesn’t seem to understand why he isn’t still worshiped and adored. He is like a broken record. He will never change or learn from his mistakes. He’ll just keep repeating the same tired old bullsh@t every single day and he will never understand why it has stopped working.
The thing about Barack Obama is, he’s BORING. I have been bored by hin for three years now. I just want him to go away and let Hillary take over in 2012. Let someone who knows how to lead take reins. It would be a welcome change indeed.
Yeah, he’s boring – I never got the ‘greatest speechmaker ever’ thing about him. He’s not a great orator, or even very good. He talks down, not with. If you’re part of his in-group, I suppose he’s better, but if you’re not, he doesn’t care and he’s not speaking to you. Is it that he needs a narrative? I don’t think he can connect, period, narrative or not. He’s very stilted and wooden.
To my mind, one of the qualities of a great orator is the ability to connect with ordinary people, to be down to earth and understandable (this is why their speeches tend to endure), and to think on one’s feet, to have a gift of eloquence when needed. Charm also helps; that charm however tends to come in being able to relate to the common man. This is part of Sarah Palin’s huge appeal. She, as opposed to Obama, connects. Yeah, she’s got narrative, but she’s also got that spark. It drives some nuts, her use of language, but she speaks the language of her audience. Obama does not.
Agreed
His speeches were ‘great’ in the same way a Lifetime script is ‘poignant.’
I think you just described the Big Dawg.
The Obama presidency reminds me of the old saw about dogs who chased cars, ‘what would they do if they caught one ?’
LMAO
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