Washington, which churns out clichés as fast as any pro football broadcaster, is now obsessed with “control of the narrative.” In particular, the lack of such control by the Obama administration.
The narrative that President Barack Obama is expected to control is that of his presidency.
That wasn’t a problem for Josef Stalin. And Kim Jong-Il seems to handle it pretty effectively these days. But in a country with a free press and a vigorous political opposition, it’s impossible. That cliché should be retired, the way announcers have stopped saying “the name of the game is third and short.”
This is not to say that Obama has handled the public part of his job with the same skill he showed in his campaign. He hasn’t.
He lost momentum on health care and allowed lies to take hold because of his naive belief that, if he was patient, he could get Republican cooperation. On the oil spill, he hasn’t successfully connected the government he heads with the constituents, who are suffering.
But there are two huge fallacies in the idea that he somehow could control the narrative. The first is “control.” The second is “narrative.” More...
The narrative that President Barack Obama is expected to control is that of his presidency.
That wasn’t a problem for Josef Stalin. And Kim Jong-Il seems to handle it pretty effectively these days. But in a country with a free press and a vigorous political opposition, it’s impossible. That cliché should be retired, the way announcers have stopped saying “the name of the game is third and short.”
This is not to say that Obama has handled the public part of his job with the same skill he showed in his campaign. He hasn’t.
He lost momentum on health care and allowed lies to take hold because of his naive belief that, if he was patient, he could get Republican cooperation. On the oil spill, he hasn’t successfully connected the government he heads with the constituents, who are suffering.
But there are two huge fallacies in the idea that he somehow could control the narrative. The first is “control.” The second is “narrative.” More...
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This is an excellent piece discussing the difficulty modern presidents face trying to control the narrative (the spin) over events like the Gulf oil spill which are essentially beyond their actual control. As I see it the president is America's chief operating officer. He is held responsible politically for whatever happens under his watch. Citizens looking to blame someone in a time of crisis will usually blame the president. No modern president I can think of, save Ronald Reagan, has been able to avoid political responsibility in a time of crisis.
Obama has had some bad luck in this particular disaster. His endorsement of limited offshore drilling after opposing it during his presidential campaign hasn't helped. Secondly, the know how to stop the spill and to clean up the oil left by the spill is possessed almost exclusively by the oil industry and oil industry insiders. There is very little the government can actually do without the leadership and expertise of B.P. Finally B.P. management has consistently minimized the extent and the impact of the spill in its public pronouncements. As a result the public is angry and they want immediate action. They see their president as somewhat ineffectual. As a result his job approval numbers have been dropping. This oil spill debacle reminds the public of George Bush's failure to adequately mobilize federal resources, in a timely matter, after the Katrina hurricane hit New Orleans. Obama is seen by many as continuing in that tradition irrespective of the actual lack of real government culpability in its handling of this crisis.
Obama's seemingly initial trust of B.P. oil executives efforts is consistant with his conciliatory governing style. While the public at large was feeling anger and frustration Obama projected coolness and a perceived gullibility when describing the efforts of B.P. to halt the spill. He has sense changed his rhetoric and tone. He has used increasing strident language stating that if he had the power he would have fired B.P's chairman. Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and senate candidate Rand Paul Jr. have both criticized Obama's rhetoric as being to harsh on B.P. The president is in a no win situation. The final outcome of this catastrophe will go a long way in determining how much damage this has has done to Obama's political capital. If the oil spill damage to shoreline communities and industries is less than feared the damage may be minimal. If however the damage is extensive this catastrophe might dampen Obama's political viability, causing voters to question both his experience and leadership. Obama is riding on a B.P. tiger. He must hold on, remain presidential and use both the offices of the government and the bully pulpit to limit the physical and political externalities resulting from this crisis. He must convince the American people that he is in charge and that no one else could have handled the situation better than he. Mr. Obama has a lot of work ahead of him.
John H. Armwood
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