The meta frame is shifting.
We are losing control of the narrative and along with it the power to turn our ideas into progressive outcomes.
Intertwined and tightly related components of the American political ecosystem (i.e. administration, congress, MSM, hate radio, cable news, liberal and conservative blogsphere, local papers, think tanks, et al) are in the process of phase shifting from the 2005-09 dynamic equilibrium that strongly favored democrats and progressives, to a new frame that supports and undergirds a more favorable rendering of republican-conservative policies and politics.
The phase shift away from the 2005-09 equilibrium towards a 2001-05 like equilibrium is supported by massive new positive feedback loops (teabaggers, townhalls, blue dogs, conservative political efforts, a weak adminstration and democratic senate, the MSM, hate radio) that could become the new steady state in 2010 and beyond.
In this shift we may have (or may be missing if we don't add some negative feedbacks into the system) missed our best opportunity for securing long term progressive change and policies.
What the administration, congress, and the liberal blogsphere does in the next 90 days will determine if we can re-capture the frame and the 05-09 equlibrium, or if we are headed into a more regressive phase.
Just reviewing the change in the tone and content of the leading stories at the major papers (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, FT, USAToday, etc.) and media outlets (cable news, hate radio and the networks) from April to August shows the magnitude of the problem.
I don't have a precise timeline or map of when and how the flow state changed, but it certainly started before the August recess and town hall healthcare debacle. Unfortunately I think the problem lies at the very heart of the administration, in the temperment and attitude and approach of the President himself. He is by makeup a person who trusts in the good will of others ... even republicans ... who in their own deep cynicism see this as a weakness.
They are right. When you are dealing with people like Chuck Grassley and Mike Enzi who are happy to fuck with the President in classic Animal House fashion then it is a weakness.
So can the President (and congress) stop fucking up???
I'll be looking to his speech next week to see if he understands the nature of the problem and its proper remedy.
One last thing. Having been a strong supported of Obama's presidency since mid-2007 I wanted to give big props to the folks who supported Hillary and had questions (reservations really) about Barack's toughness and approach to politics and the legislative process. You were 100% right to question those qualities. Let's hope you were wrong and/or the President has changed.
Denying that the frame and narrative is changing won't help.
We need the president to step up, and with all his rhetorical gifts, shift the narrative back to the one we owned from 2005-09.