Obama Flails with His Message

Turnabout is fair play. In the 2008 presidential campaign Barack Obama gained traction by calling John McCain, whose campaign was veering back and forth in search of a thematic issue, “erratic.” Now it’s President Obama who is flailing about for a coherent message, Politico reports.

Obama ran on the theme of “hope and change.” But with his approval rating under 50 percent, clearly the president hasn’t delivered the goods. "Republicans have become the change we've been waiting for," says Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to McCain and President George W. Bush.

At a White House meeting last week, Democratic strategists complained that the administration doesn’t have a strong vision. They cite the White House’s suggestion that conservative groups are receiving foreign money as an example. “You can't expect people to connect the dots on the foreign money stuff," said an attendee at the meeting.