He tried to make the case for more time. He tried to defend his policies. He emphasized that his his vision is just getting started and that "this is a make or break moment for the middle class and that we can't turn back now."
 |
| Kevin Lamarque / Reuters |
Despite the cheering crowd and the distinct number of new Obama 2012 t-shirts, the president has received some criticism for his "lukewarm" speech and the lack of specific details for his 2nd term agenda.
To make maters worse, many in the media have noted his inability to fill the 20,000 seat arena at Ohio State University. The arena appeared to be around 2/3 full with approximately 14,000 in attendance.
This is significant because during his 2008 campaign, the president faced overflowing crowds and sold out arenas everywhere he went. This smaller turnout would have been unheard of during his 2008 campaign.
One can't help but ask, is the Obama enthusiasm waning? Are these the winds of "change?"
***
One day after the dismal Labor Report showing a slowing trend in job creation during the month of April, President Obama tried desperately to ignite some enthusiasm around his campaign.
The most pointed moment of his speech came when he tried to reframe the question that Mitt Romney is now charging all Americans to ask themselves, "Am I better off now than I was four years ago?" Obama said that the real question all Americans should be asking is, "Will we be better off years down the road?"
Only problem? We've heard this already.
Four years ago, Barack Obama challenged Americans to ask themselves, "The real question is will this country be better off four years from now?"
(Click below to see the RNC ad showing President Obama posing this same question in 2008).
Sorry, but we have watched this president spend $5 trillion to make this country "better off than we were four years ago" and although this might be an "inconvenient truth," we are not better off.
Romney campaign spokesperson Amanda said, "Americans will hear a lot from President Obama in the coming months, but what they won't hear from him is that fact that his policies have wreaked havoc on the middle class. Americans know that they are not better off then they were four years ago."
***
Over the weekend, news of the slowing economy and President Obama's campaign launch dominated the Sunday news shows.
Senator Marco Rubio was interviewed on Fox News with Chris Wallace. He had some sharp criticism of the president and why he faces an uphill battle in November. He said that Obama's greatest weakness is not simply a weak economy, but rather that voters will see that he has nothing new to offer them.
Rubio said, "When this president ran for office in 2008, he said he was going to be different, he said he was going to be a post-partisan uniter that brings everyone together and three and half years later the president, quite frankly, has become like everyone else in Washington D.C."
Rubio went on to say, "I remember the speech in 2004 when he spoke at John Kerry's nominating convention. And he said there wasn't a red America or a blue America, there was a United States of America. Whatever happened to that Barack Obama? The president we have today is a typical Washington politician that's prone to hyperbole and divisiveness and false outrage."
I fully agree.
***
Four years later, Americans are yearning for substance and longing for concrete solutions. Lofty and inspiring rhetoric may have worked in 2008 when this country was ripe for change, but after 3 1/2 years, we see that rhetoric does not promise solutions. Rhetoric does not guarantee results.
In 2012, we are beginning to recognize that rhetoric is nothing more than an overused campaign slogan.
On Saturday, as President Obama tried to get us to look "Forward," he was clearly hoping to mask the broken economy and replace it with reminders of his 2008 optimism and confidence.
But it came off as a desperate plea.
He just wants more time. He wants us to be more patient---but at this point of time, we just might be too broken to grant it.
So as this president attempts to distract us from looking back at the lack of "hope" or see how things have actually "changed" for the worse, Mitt Romney is going to emphasize that four more years will not grant Obama the adequate know-how to actually fix things.
 |
| Image from pbs.org |
Mitt Romney will remind us that millions have dropped out of the middle class and are now living below the poverty line. Romney will remind us that an historically low level of Americans are actually working. Romney will remind us that more Americans are dependent on food stamps than any other time in history. Romney will remind us how much this president has tried with $5 trillion to make things right.
Romney simply needs to remind us that we believed Obama once already--and his efforts failed us.
Obama wants to remind voters how bad things were when he took office, Mitt Romney is simply going to remind voters how bad things have remained since he took it.
***
Mitt's message appears to be resonating.
Today's USA Today / Gallup Poll shows that Obama's lead is down to 2 percentage points in 12 battleground states.
Even better news? Politico.com reported today that according to a Politico/George Washington University's poll, in a nationwide test, Mitt Romney "edges out President Obama 48 - 47 percent among likely voters and he has opened up a 10-point lead among independents."
I think these are the winds of "change."
Go Mitt!
No comments:
Post a Comment