Krugman: Obama's Economic Stupor

[BurtWorm]

Why isn't Obama killing McCain in the polls? Krugman believes he would if he hit harder on the economy.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/opinion/18krugman.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1219061174-IZsFuX8V3n4MJC8k/3Wbww

...


No, the problem isn’t lack of specifics — it’s lack of passion. When it comes to the economy, Mr. Obama’s campaign seems oddly lethargic.

I was astonished at the flatness of the big economy speech he gave in St. Petersburg at the beginning of this month — a speech that was billed as the start of a new campaign focus on economic issues. Mr. Obama is a great orator, yet he began that speech with a litany of statistics that were probably meaningless to most listeners.

Worse yet, he seemed to go out of his way to avoid scoring political points. “Back in the 1990s,” he declared, “your incomes grew by $6,000, and over the last several years, they’ve actually fallen by nearly $1,000.” Um, not quite: real median household income didn’t rise $6,000 during “the 1990s,” it did so during the Clinton years, after falling under the first Bush administration. Income hasn’t fallen $1,000 in “recent years,” it’s fallen under George Bush, with all of the decline taking place before 2005.

Obama surrogates have shown a similar inclination to go for the capillaries rather than the jugular. A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed by two Obama advisers offered another blizzard of statistics almost burying the key point — that most Americans would pay lower taxes under the Obama tax plan than under the McCain plan.

All this makes a stark contrast with the campaign of the last Democrat to make it to the White House, who had no trouble conveying passion over matters economic.

...


Of course, Mr. Obama hasn’t given his own acceptance speech yet. Al Gore found a new populist fervor in August 2000, and surged in the polls. A comparable surge by Mr. Obama would give him a landslide victory this year.

But it’s up to him. If Mr. Obama can’t find the passion on economic matters that has been lacking in his campaign so far, he may yet lose this election.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Krugman is a very smart man.

[Captain Hilts]

4. Yes, he is. nt

[lunatica]

2. I'm worried about losing my Condo

Because I can't make ends meet, so yeah, I'd like to hear something encouraging. Nothing yet though. But if I lose my home it won't matter who's President. I'll still be in poverty.

But I'll warm my belly with the afterglow of knowing we're kicking ass in some country somewhere, showing how mighty we are, so it's OK.

:sarcasm:

edited to add sarcasm

[KharmaTrain]

3. Did You See Bill Moyers Journal?

He had Andrew Bacevich...a professor at Boston University. The man claims to be a Conservative and had the misfortune of losing a son in Iraq. The hour is incredible television...he gives an excellent anaylsis of the Imperial Presidency and how its been both marketed and discredited. He boils it down in an extremely concise manner...and listening to him speak is compelling. I strongly recommend catching this week's show if you can...

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html

The upshot is that this country needs to have a serious look in the mirror...to see how we've lived on a lot of promises and lies that now are ruining the basic infrastructre of our society. A President can't nor shouldn't be the do-all end-all to every problem. We don't need to project the "big stick" that has led to disastrous wars and trillions squandered for little to no effect and to the detriment of our own health, education and future.

It's a strong dose of reality that was also very refreshing to watch. It's far too intelligent for the corporate media to even come near.

Cheers...

[JHB]

5. "go for the capillaries rather than the jugular"...

That's an apt phrase, particularly regarding the Democratic leadership vs. the Republicans for a good quarter-century. Beats my own "lots of huffing and puffing, but never 'blow the house down'".

I'm stealn'!

[Phoonzang]

6. Yep...he's talking about the wrong kind of change

:hide:

[European Socialist]

7. Lately I have seen some effective ads by Obama on the economy

And I must say It's about time--Definitely the way to go!!!!

[Nikki Stone1]

8. We seem to have the same problem every election: a lack of passion in our candidates

Al Gore--and I love the man--was either still nerdy or so tightly controlled by his staffers during the 2000 campaign that he never came across with passion. It took a couple of years before Al Gore the firebrand came out of the woodwork.

John Kerry seemed quite cold and unreachable personally; Bruce Springsteen showed more passion than Kerry did.

Barack Obama has a great speaking voice (phenomenal vocal timbre) and radiates youth; but his passion is reserved for general ideas like "Hope" and "Change." He needs to channel that energy into substantive issues like the economy.