Here is Robert Gibbs' response to the pummeling issued forth by all takers at the GOP debate last night:
"I think what you heard last night from the Republican candidates was, let's repeat the very same policies, tax cuts for millionaires, removing responsibility from our financial system, many of those ideas are what they espoused to try to get us out of this problem. Those are the ideas that got us into this problem.
"I think what the president is focused on, you saw him down in North C Carolina yesterday meeting with CEOs about ways to continue to strengthen and grow this economy, is how do we improve education? How do we improve job training? And how do we invest in those jobs for the future?
"And I think all of that will create a strong foundation that will take some time to get us out of this hole. There's no doubt about that. But I think we are slowly making progress. The president doesn't believe, and I don't think many people believe, it's fast enough, and he's going to continue to work it through."
But is Mr. Obama running out of time on the jobs creation front?
"No," Gibbs responded. "Look -- I think -- he would be the first one to tell you that he doesn't think this economy is producing jobs fast enough. But again, I don't think this all happened in the last year, the last two years. It took us many years to get to this point, and it's going to take us a while to get out.
"We lost 3-and-a-half million jobs the six months before the president came into office. And in the past 15 months, we've created 2 million jobs. Again, that doesn't fill the hole that we've lost, because we certainly lost jobs in the beginning of our administration. And the key is, we've got to continue to make progress. It is slow, it's sometimes steady, and it's a little bit in fits and starts. But, I think the president has to continue to do what he's done, and that is focus on strengthening the economy and creating jobs."
I can't think of a more God-awful response to the GOP than this right here. This is exactly why this Administration has become so politically adrift. Their actions don't match their message, and their message is depressing.
Let me sum up the GOP message last night: "President Obama has failed to put America back to work." That is the most effective, part of their message that hits home, rather than all the small government crap.
So what is Gibbs' response? I'll sum that up too: "President Obama is making progress on the mess Republicans created. Please be patient."
Here's the thing: What the administration keeps calling "making progress" is for most of the middle and lower class, sucking. The thing to do is not to suck. But even if you concede that there is nothing the president can do, and things are just going to continue to suck, you can't also make the argument that you're making progress. You can't shrug your shoulders and point the finger and then say you're making progress. You're either not making progress and pointing the finger, or you're making it and taking credit. Since not even Obama himself wants to take credit for this crap economy, you can't also tout "progress." Shut up the BS about "making progress." This shit is not progress. This is sucksville plain and simple.
You don't need to read the extensive amount of polls and economic data to know that the vast majority of Americans do not think we are making progress. They think this shit sucks and they don't see any plan from anybody that is fixing it or will fix it in the future.
So the way to draw contrast with the Republican message of Obama failure isn't by trying to ask the people to be patient and then convince them of non-existent progress. The thing to do is to draw a sharp contrast between your policies and ideas and those of your opponent. Because the President is the President, he has the power to use his office to make those contrasts strikingly clear. Not to muddy them by trying to reach agreement with your opposition, but outlining the contrasts clearly with bright lines that nobody could misunderstand by striking a position of resolute defiance.
So, in short form, here is the message I would have handed to Gibbs before he went on TV:
What you saw last night was a Republican presidential field that has declared war on the middle class. President Obama even gave their methods a try. He cut taxes. He even extended the Bush tax cuts. President Obama was so willing to take any idea to get the economy moving, 40% of the stimulus bill was tax cuts, many of them for business.
Well, none of that stuff is working.
So now, this is what President Obama is going to do: He will announce, in the next couple of weeks, a major Federal jobs initiative that will put every able bodied construction worker in this country back to work rebuilding America. It's going to cost a lot of money, but by God this president is determined to put people back to work no matter what. Some of these things we are going to do by executive order, and some of them we are going to have to get through Congress. That's going to be hard, but you will see this President, every single day, going out and fighting these Republicans in their home districts. We may not win, but by God we are going to fight.
The Republicans will fight us because, like always, they only care about the rich. Their ideas are proven not to work. If tax cuts were going to make the economy work, we'd have 0% unemployment right now. President Obama realizes this because he's tried many of their ideas and they didn't work. Now its time to throw the entire Republican economic program in the garbage and try something new: an aggressive push by the federal government doing the things we all know need to be done.
Make no mistake, their isn't a single unemployed person or working man or woman the Republicans care about. Not one. But President Obama cares, and that is why, in a few weeks, you're going to see strong action that will put America back to work...RIGHT NOW.