A lot of people in the progressive blogosphere are frustrated that the president seems perfectly willing to castigate Congress but totally unwilling to specify that it is the Republicans and not the Democrats who are the problem. I think it’s a valid criticism but we should also acknowledge how the president’s remarks are being reported in the corporate press:
Los Angeles Times: Obama to GOP: Put country before party
ABC News: Obama Goes On The Offensive In Michigan: Republicans Are Playing Politics At The Country’s Expense
Washington Post: Obama in Michigan: House Republicans play politics ‘at the expense of our country’
NY Times: Obama Urges Voters to Scold Republicans
My problem with the president’s approach is not that he isn’t helping himself, nor even that his approach doesn’t make perfect sense. If the corporate press is going to report that he’s calling out the Republicans even when he isn’t specifically doing that, then it’s better for him not to look like every bit the same partisan hack as John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.
The problem is that in blasting Congress as a whole, he’s feeding the narrative that our government sucks, doesn’t work, and can’t do anything right. That’s true at the moment. But leaving that impression is harmful to progressive and Democratic politics over the long-term. I don’t need the president to be a bomb-thrower, but I wish he would consider the damage he does to his own cause when he feeds a blanket condemnation of Congress.
When he blames Congress, he should be clear that Congress can function if we put the right people in office.
