How Obama outsmarts his critics -- on the left and on the right.

[eridani]

88. Why would the general public think that the commission didn't mean business?

Not everyone is inside the beltway, you know. Anyway, the Republicans, in campaigning to seniors, didn't say shit about the Catfood Commission--they attacked PPACA for supposedly cutting Medicare, when all it did was cut Medicare Advantage subsidies. Instead of campaigning aggressively in favor of GOVERNMENT Medicare as more efficient, Democrats said nothing at all on the issue. I personally do blame Democrats for failing to promote a strong message in favor of public goods.

Those inside the beltway have not a clue about why Elizabeth Warren is such a rock star. It is because she has a strong message in favor of public goods, and directly attacks the notion that rich people get rich all by themselves. She defends the necessity of having a strong infrastructure of public goods in order to make private achievment possible, and the necessity of taxing the wealthy at high rates in order to pass the gift of good infrastructure to the next generation. Not only the Democratic base, but many uncommitted voters are desperate for this message.

It doesn't even have to be Grayson-style in your face. Warren is a mild-mannered church lady type who wouldn't say shit if she were standing in a pile of it. Obama and other Dems have the choice of using this messaging, but they refuse to.