By Nathan L. Gonzales
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs created a firestorm by admitting that the House majority is in play but House Democrats should be more worried about his subsequent analysis rather than his political prognostications. Did you catch that?
I think theres no doubt there are enough seats in play that could cause Republicans to gain control. Theres no doubt about that" Gibbs said on Meet the Press on July 11. This will depend on strong campaigns by Democrats."
Did you catch that?
This falls elections will depend how individual Democrats campaign not the performance of the President. And it sounds an awful lot like the spin coming out of the Democratic losses in Virginia and Massachusetts not long ago.
Gibbs remarks probably werent accidental or merely off the cuff analysis. Thats not how White House operatives normally operate. Given that Gibbs comments have to be seen as part of the messaging coming out of the White House.
Nine days before Gibbs sat down with David Gregory veteran Washington Post reporter Dan Balz
wrote a piece about Democratic prospects in November and senior Obama advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe sounded similar themes.
Plouffe and other Democratic strategists say Obama will play an important role in making the case that the Republican Party is one of obstruction and indifference" Balz
wrote.
But they think the outcome in November will depend as much on the skill of candidates in mobilizing potential supporters who are now disinclined to vote"
Again the emphasis is on the candidates not the national political context.
The Democratic National Committee has begun a program designed to increase
turnout in November among the first-time and irregular voters who backed Obama in 2008" Balz wrote later in the piece.
But advisers say many of these voters wont show up in November unless candidates make personal connections with them."
Again its incumbent upon Democratic candidates to make the personal connection with voters. If they dont its their own fault.
House Democrats have good reason to be paranoid because the White House has already started laying down the argument that if the party gets clobbered in November its because it ran too many Creigh Deedses and Martha Coakleys and not because voters are upset at the President and the direction of the country.
White House Lays Foundation for Post-Election Damage Control from The Rothenberg Political Report
