Reply #37: Saw a good take on this in the Guardian

[suffragette]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/aug/10/obama-administration-gibbs-and-the-base

I'm the guy who just wrote 6,000 words on why disgruntled liberals should take it easy on Obama. And even I find this offensive.

You don't go out of your way to dis your base. Especially after Obama just extended an olive branch, speaking via video to Netroots Nation. Liberals understand that the administration is not going to accomplish everything they want. Some activists deal with this reality gracefully, and some don't. But a White House should not rub the activists' noses in dirt. Even while failing to accomplish liberal goals, the White House should from time to time signal that it shares those goals. You blame Republicans, and everybody's happy. It's pretty simple.

In fact it's so simple it raises the question of whether Gibbs did this intentionally, dog-whistling to someone else. But that's too clever by half. What, some midterm strategy to appeal to independent voters? Base voters are more likely to vote in midterms. At a time when the enthusiasm gap is already pretty steep, this just makes it worse.

Gibbs and Rahm and Axe and company would do a lot better trying to come up with an overall strategy for the fall elections, because as of yet there is not one. And to the extent that this constitutes a strategy, it's one for defeat, or worse defeat.




"Dog-whistling" sums it up fairly well.