Wanted: Better messaging

Atrios schools the White House and I agree with Krugman, it's good enough to steal.

So let’s say Obama’s people have correctly deduced that there’s no chance in hell of getting anything through Congress. They have two basic options. First, they could get on the teevee every day and say, “This is my plan to help. Republicans in Congress won’t pass it.” They could hold rallies in Maine. Allies could run ads. At least people would know who is for and who is against…and just what it was that people are for or against.

Or they could send Axelrod to the Sunday bobbleheads to have him mumble some milquetoast platitudes about maybe trying to get Congress to do something. As Krugman said:

I have no idea what they’re thinking. It would be one thing if polls suggested a tolerable outcome in November, so that playing it safe could possibly make sense as a political strategy. But that’s not the way it is; and it’s hard to see what possible motivation there is for pulling punches. ...

Sadly, thinking the motivation has a lot more to do with corporate threats than it does with the public interest. And a misguided focus on fuzzy centrism when the times call for brutal clarity of vision.

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]