First and most important, keep the perspective that informs your take on the Obama Administration's performance; good, bad, ugly or indifferent. For some, you may have a foot (borrowing a couple is allowed) in each of those categories with the pedal being mashed by a lead foot on one category pretty hard. Fine. It is crucial to have a firm opinion that is uniquely yours to eventually garner even a modicum of Change that America desperately needs.
Re-electing the president is not the most important issue right now. Today somebody will go to bed hungry. This week somebody you know will lose their house/home, unemployment benefits, healthcare benefits, a job, their electricity or another utility, car, student loans or any other item affecting their quality of life. His reelection and how he is doing in the polls does nothing for those of us facing these challenges today. The important part to figure out is the Who is baking What into the president's Economic plan slated for unveiling in September. The people making decisions and advising the president are in no danger of being homeless or helpless in the face of austerity measures.
However; those advisers are the very people who need advocacy directed right to their very privileged doorsteps. Should Leon Panetta be whining about keeping America safe when he's advocating for more guns against less butter? If almost 20% of America is on Food Stamps have we not already failed the keep America secure test? David Plouffe is crafting an ironic political strategy aimed at 51% of likely American voters and the requisite 270 Electoral College with a very definitive model of what is a red state and what is a blue state. That political calculation towards where are the most independents does not address the economic issues and opportunities that should be center stage for all 50 states and the territories.
A political difference can be made by directly engaging Obama's inner circle, rather than him. Engage the source of the recommendations of whichever policy choice or political strategy that is near and dear to you as a Supporter or Critic.
The promissory note for a better America is now in the hands of President Obama. His office has a quote woven into the Oval Office rug that he and his senior team walk upon every day. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward Justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. often spoke those words in homage to a 19th century Boston abolitionist, Theodore Parker. Bending the arc just a mite towards Justice at this time means focusing on the immediate need, a source of demand to create good jobs for Americans to feed, clothe, house and educate their families.
Supporters of the President are put off by words of disappointment and disaffection. Though you disagree strongly, please understand the reasons for these feelings, for that is the best (easiest) path to political redemption that increases the pool of supporters. Acknowledge and accept the legitimacy of Critics without any loss of what makes you an Obama advocate. The more vociferous the critic you can turn because of good policy, the better GOTV friend later. Turning the hardcore Critic towards your cause is the best way to bridge the gap. That feat can be done ONLY by those Supporters willing to try and turn the tide. Reengaged Critics are excellent folks to take on GOTV because they can empathize with a disillusioned voter. To bend that arc a Supporter needs policy choices that help in that effort. Good policy is good politics.
Will the intrepid Supporter get all the intransigent Critics - that is not the goal. The goal is to help influence in the drafting of good policy today, especially on the economy & jobs now that mirrors the values each holds dearest. Dislike the person next to you helping to bend the arc if one must, but acknowledge they are at least fellow travelers putting weight in the direction required. Accept that that may be the best outcome, an unhappy voter that still votes counts the same.
Supporters need to use their vaunted advocacy skills to talk about what they are hearing in terms of jobs and the economy to the president's inner circle. Write words of support to the presidents advisors stating the path is not the same as 2007/8. Here are the policy choices that make the most difference. Here is what the need is for jobs and why. Tell presidential advisers, especially those in charge of political strategy how much larger the potential pool of support would be if the Moral Arc bent towards Justice, especially economic. Say why your support is strong and how to get more.
Critics can ignore the Supporters up until its time to draft the jobs/economic policy, which is right now. While President Obama may focus on Austerity Grand Bargains, it is time to get his advisers involved replete with understanding how they are wrecking America's Promise. Their tinted bubble has made it too easy for some of those in the Obama inner circle to dismiss the plight engendered by failures of policy at the local, state and federal levels. Tell them to go BIG or resign. Running up a debt for never-ending war is inexcusable when the arc of the moral universe is being bent towards anarchy and annihilation of American Values and its Spirit. They need to fight for rights and Democratic values by recommending policy that does right by the American people.
Explain the failures and where independents jumped off the bus. Provide evidence that some of their current thinking is muddled by an over-reliance on the president's rhetorical skills and under-performance on actual policy. Examine the effects of bi-partisanship for the sake of bi-partisanship and how to use presidential power in a more robust manner. Deliver it from a Main Street perspective and what they may not see. Tell your stories of why the disillusionment.
Critics need to engage Supporters to help with good policy.
In my view, the president should swing towards History when talking about his economic policy. Rethink the Grand Bargain and make it about the People, protection of the Safety Net and their needs informing revised budget priorities and debt plans. Make the speech from the Lincoln or FDR Memorial and talk about how the country goes forward (Win The Future) by renewing the Best from our shared past - jobs programs. The president needs to task his Justice Department for accountability and ask Congress to complete a report on what happened and bring recommendations to stop it from happening ever again - name names. Equal Justice Under Law.
Though the messages from a Critic or a Supporter to Obama's inner circle will have different tones and style, the bottomline is still the same. The presidents' advisers can listen and focus on bending the Arc towards Justice or be out of a government job one way or another.
Policy
Joe Biden, Vice President
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor
William Daley, Chief of Staff
Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State
Hilda Soldis, Secretary of Labor
Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense
Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
Eric Holder, Attorney General
Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
Roy LaHood, Secretary of Transportation
Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Kathleen Sebilius, Secretary of Health & Human Services
Peter Rouse, Counselor to the President
Jack Lew, Office of Management & Budget
Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council
Lisa Jackson, Director Environmental Protection Agency
Politics
Michelle Obama, First Lady with interests on Food policy & Military Families well-being
Jill Biden, strong interest on education & Military Families well-being
David Plouffe, Senior Political Strategist
Jim Messina, OFA
Debbie Wasserman Schulz, Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Jon Favreau, Speechwriter for the President
David Axelrod, Head of the president's re-election campaign