PSPS Obama Week One Notes

Main Argument:

• The author argues that the 2010 midterm elections were a major political defeat for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party

• Republicans gained significant power by taking control of the House of Representatives.

Main point - 2010 midterm election:

• The author rejects the idea that the election was simply a “split decision.”

  • Republicans won the House.

  • Democrats narrowly maintained control of the Senate.

• The author describes the election as a major Democratic defeat.

Authors view of Obama:

• The author argues that Obama needed to learn from the election.

• Obama himself described the election as a political “shellacking.”

• The author believes Obama:

  • Failed to connect effectively with voters.

  • Focused too much on policy and not enough on politics.

  • Made mistakes by prioritizing health care reform before reducing unemployment.

  • Allowed Congressional Democrats, particularly Nancy Pelosi, to have too much influence.

• The author argues that Obama should return to his earlier message of reasoned centrism.

• The author argues that Obama should be particularly concerned about losing independent voters.

• The author believes Obama made a mistake by:

  • Prioritizing health care reform before addressing unemployment.

  • Allowing Congressional Democrats to drive the administration's agenda.

  The author argues Obama sometimes blamed:

  • Campaign strategy

  • Politics

  • Voters' fears and frustrations

• The author believes a leader should accept responsibility rather than blame voters.

• The author strongly criticizes the way health care reform was passed.

• The author argues that it was:

  • Too partisan

  • Too polarizing

  • Harmful to Obama's image as a leader

How did the Republicans have so much Success:

• The Tea Party movement is presented as an important force behind Republican gains.

• Several controversial Tea Party candidates lost their Senate races:

  • Christine O’Donnell

  • Linda McMahon

  • Sharron Angle

• The author argues that these losses actually helped Republicans by preventing the Tea Party from being associated too heavily with candidates viewed as extreme or unqualified.

• Marco Rubio is presented as an especially important figure for the Tea Party.

  • He won a large victory in Florida.

  • His Cuban-American background was connected to the broader idea of the American dream.

  • His speech helped give the Tea Party a more positive public image.

• Fox News is described as portraying Tea Party supporters positively.

• The New York Times is described as portraying them negatively.

• The author suggests that both perspectives were overly partisan.

• The author argues that America is not necessarily becoming permanently more polarized.

• Instead, election results may reflect the structure of American voting districts:

  • Moderates are more likely to come from competitive districts.

  • Strongly partisan districts tend to elect more ideological candidates.

Obamas Public Image:

• The author argues that Obama's public image changed dramatically between 2008 and 2010.

• Early in his presidency, Obama was portrayed as:

  • Highly successful

  • Intelligent

  • Charismatic

  • Almost impossible to criticize

• Later, he was increasingly portrayed as:

  • Arrogant

  • Detached

  • Lacking empathy

  • A politician who believed he knew best

• Cartoonists initially had difficulty finding ways to portray Obama because of concerns about racial stereotypes.