What Ever Happened to Obama?

I just read Obama’s most recent interview with Rolling Stone, and though a lot of it was standard Obama, one thing that really struck me was how his rhetoric toward Republicans has changed.  When he took office, Obama was extremely deferential toward the GOP, constantly seeking bipartisanship and cooperation, but now he doesn’t hesitate to sum them up by saying that this is what they stand for: “We just want these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which will cost us $700 billion and which we’re not going to pay for.”

On the other hand, “standard Obama” isn’t all bad: this guy really has a silver tongue.  I mean, just listen to him sum up his Presidency so far:

When I talk to Democrats around the country, I tell them, “Guys, wake up here. We have accomplished an incredible amount in the most adverse circumstances imaginable.” I came in and had to prevent a Great Depression, restore the financial system so that it functions, and manage two wars. In the midst of all that, I ended one of those wars, at least in terms of combat operations. We passed historic health care legislation, historic financial regulatory reform and a huge number of legislative victories that people don’t even notice. We wrestled away billions of dollars of profit that were going to the banks and middlemen through the student-loan program, and now we have tens of billions of dollars that are going directly to students to help them pay for college. We expanded national service more than we ever have before.

But here’s what gets me: if he’s this good (and we’ve all known for some time that he is), why are the Democrats miserably inept at whipping up their base?  It’s not just an Obama-centric problem: I find it puzzling that the Republican Party consistently outperforms the Democrats in promoting its message and getting its supporters excited about all things conservative.  Obama seems like the obvious solution to this problem: he’s eloquent and charismatic, and there’s no question that he was able to generate some serious enthusiasm during his campaign, to say the least.  But as soon as he hit the Oval Office, it’s like the Democratic Party forgot how to make use of that.

Part of the problem is that incumbents always take a hit when the economy is bad.  But I also think that (weirdly enough) the President himself is not the best spokesman for his own party.  When you take the raw energy of the campaign trail candidate and run it through the institutional channels of the Presidency, Obama necessarily becomes toned down, more scripted, and less inspiring.  It’s just part of the game.  And since the Democrats don’t have anyone nearly as inspiring as Obama, they’re forced to confront the enthusiasm gap that separates them from the Republicans.  So far they’re not doing such a good job.

–Aaron Bekemeyer

(Image by Violentz used under a Creative Commons license.)