Election Impact
The Obama administration is reacting to recent events:
Item 1:
The public feud with Fox News ended with the premature departure of Communications Director Anita Dunn and the follow-up announcement that President Obama will grant an interview with Fox News White House correspondent Major Garrett. Evidently he is now considered a “real journalist”. As the Huffington Post gently puts it:
Fox News executive Michael Clemente met recently at the White House with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and since then the tensions between the two parties have cooled; senior adviser David Axelrod granted an interview to Garrett last week.
The president’s interview, coupled with Dunn leaving her interim post, are further signals that the administration is ramping down its battle against the cable news outlet.
“Ramping down”? I think the phrase is “full retreat”.
Item 2:
Exit polling showed economic issues to be predominant on voter’s minds in the recent off-year elections. While the Press Secretary emphasized that the elections were about local issues, the administration is reportedly concerned about the “tax and spend” charges being levied against them:
OMB is also reviewing a host of tax changes. The President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board will submit tax-policy options by Dec. 5, including simplifying the tax code and revamping the corporate tax code.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is pressing for substantial spending cuts to go with any tax increases to try to avoid the “tax and spend” label that has bedeviled Democrats, according to administration and congressional officials.
The current target is $200 billion in TARP funds not allocated that could be used to help reduce the deficit.
Item 3:
Jobs, jobs, jobs. With unemployment numbers proving that the Administration either lied or was mistaken when selling the stimulus bill and promising unemployment below 8%, a new focus comes on the heels of dire economic predictions. Reuters reports on remarks made by Janet Yellen, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco:
Addressing the nation’s battered housing market, Yellen said signs of stabilization were an important positive. But she cautioned that the high unemployment rate, currently at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, raised the threat of a renewed wave of foreclosures that could again pressure home prices.
Today, President Obama announced an upcoming “Jobs Summit”, as reported by ABC White House correspondent Rachael Martin:
The jobs conference will include chief executives from around the country, economists, non-profits and representatives from labor unions. The president said he’s open to hearing “any good idea” to stimulate job growth and incentivize employers to start hiring again.
These initiatives may help counteract the growing dissatisfaction independents have with the Democratic Party. A recent poll shows Democrats losing a generic congressional ballot, a sea change from the two most recent elections. But independents have proven to be hard taskmasters; they want more than just eloquent speeches and catchy sound bites. As Republicans found out in the last two elections, they want results. And this administration has, so far, disappointed them.
Cross-posted to Donklephant.
