Obama admits failing to sell successes to Americans

[ZombieHorde]

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama acknowledged he had failed to persuade Americans of his administration's successes, following an election hammering which saw his party lose control of the House of Representatives.

"We were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn't just legislation, that it's a matter of persuading people," Obama told CBS show "60 Minutes" in excerpts released Friday.

"We haven't always been successful at that," the president added.

"I take personal responsibility for that, and it's something that I've got to examine carefully as I go forward."

-snip-

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5htTJV59DrMfrb9ns2atTSYsHWBcw?docId=CNG.89c96e59c479e63644d023208c721a83.931

[msongs]

1. don't "examine" it....DO SOMETHING ABOUT it n quit being so passive nt

[GOTV]

5. I like that we have a prez that's a thinker but is he aware that thinking is not acting?

[dave29]

10. Would you say you want him to be "The Decider" ?

Seems like that's what a lot of folks want.

[uponit7771]

2. I said this morning that the failure to communicate is one of the biggest dem faults

[Rosa Luxemburg]

17. Dems should have taken over the MSM

[ananda]

3. What a sad downslide of a presidency that once had potential.

nt

[TeamJordan23]

6. Don't give up. This presidency will rise again. I guarantee you that. nm

[ProSense]

9. He is not the first President to have his party suffer losses in mid-term

He'll survive. Reagan did and so did Bill Clinton.

[GOTV]

4. Obama finally had his "Duh" moment? Yes Obama it is your fault ...

... and yet I see no changes. He's still talking like the GOP is not a problem; that he can work with them.

Start by firing Geithner.
End the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy now during the lame duck session.
Stop coddling the GOP.

[ProSense]

7. He should have

blamed the media.

"We were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn't just legislation, that it's a matter of persuading people."

This message is going to get a lot of attention because President Obama took responsibility for the loss. Imagine that, owning up to the Party's failure to convince the American people after a huge loss?

He'll survive not blaming the media, Americans or Rahm (as Richard Wolfe reported).

[bigwillq]

8. Him blaming the media would sound like a crybaby.

Not that it's not true. We should have other DEM advocates do that — blame the media. Coming from him, imo, it would just sound like whining, and it'll give the right-wing something else to criticize him about.

[Clio the Leo]

11. They're already all over this "$200 million a day" India trip BS...

.... dont know when I've ever seen the WH push back so hard on an internet rumor. Good.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Sounds like his Public Relations department failed him.

Wasn't the Bush Administration calling people like Tim Russert to tell them what to say?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. the MSM is right wing they aren't going to be told!

[Orsino]

13. The country's political narrative is not crafted in the White House...

...if indeed it ever was.

It's not the president's fault that the 24/7 media lied us into handing the House over to the worst possible stewards.

[treestar]

14. Not like the M$M helped any

also, he shouldn't admit this publicly. I know he likes to take responsibility, but look at this thread. it gets you no where.

[ZombieHorde]

15. Your first point is right, your second point is likely. nt

[phleshdef]

16. He needs to rest and rebalance himself. He has been working his ass off, really, for 4 years now.

Non-stop campaigning, then onto governing, reportedly running a White House that almost never sleeps. Running town halls left and right in order to push healthcare and then financial regulation. Then back to campaigning for the mid-terms only to suffer the infamous "shellacking".

I think he is finally starting to get worn down a bit and there isn't a soul that can fault him for it. He needs to rest and then hit the reset button and come back swinging, full on populist. He needs to come back start threatening Republicans with a speedier end to the war in Afghanistan if they won't let the Bush tax cuts on the top 2% lapse. Cite the deficit and call it an emergency. The beat them over the head for even thinking about repealing the parts of healthcare reform that are socially just, like the ban on pre-existing discrimination and policy cancellation after you get sick. If I were advising him, I'd tell him to cast aside even worrying about a second term and just go with his gut, get angry, be the "angry black man" they will paint him as, fuck it.

[spooky3]

21. agree +1000

[Life Long Dem]

19. I agree there is a failure to communicate

But I don't agree that this falls entirely on Obama. Not when everything you hear from the media is negative.

[Thrill]

20. Blame the Media. And they are still doing it. Reporting the Republicans

are going to repeal healthcare. Instead of educating people on the process. Thatthey can't repeal shit without Obama's signature

[cigsandcoffee]

22. This is what Republicans used to say during the W years. n/t