President Obama's Speech: Start of A Campaign to Blunt The 'Weak Leader' Rap


January 25, 2012
By Joe Rothstein
Editor, EINNEWS.com

Read the polls and you clearly see how President Obama is perceived after three years in the White House. Simply put: “nice guy, weak leader.”

That may not be a fair or accurate assessment on either count---personality or achievements---but it is what it is. The “weak leader” image at a time of economic distress and uncertainty makes him highly vulnerable in this year’s election. The “nice guy” image is what keeps his positive numbers in the low to mid 40 percent range and gives him a shot at a second term.

Against the backdrop of dozens of Republican presidential debates where buffoonery proved the clear winner, the President could raise his nice guy score in the State of the Union address just by seeming reasonable. It was a low bar to clear and he did. Pollster Stan Greenberg conducted a focus group of 50 Denver voters during the speech and found that the President’s personal standing went up 16 points.

But to win reelection, the President will need stronger leadership creds. That’s what the State of the Union message was designed to do--—begin patching up a leadership image shredded by continuing high unemployment and a series of cave-ins to relentless Republican opposition.

Much of the media commentary about the speech characterized the President as adopting a more “populist” position for the campaign ahead. That really misses the mark. President Obama’s speech was not so much “populist” as it was designed to position him as the insider’s outsider.

The public overwhelmingly is upset over the common wisdom that Washington is “broken.” President Obama took that on directly, sided with the public and used strong and direct language to challenge Congress to do something about it.

The public overwhelmingly believes that the super-rich should be doing more to share in recovery from the budget crisis. President Obama reminded everyone that he’s been on their side of the argument all along and promised to ratchet up the heat from the inside.

The President’s demeanor wasn’t confrontational, but many of his words were those of a President embarked on a campaign to recapture the high ground of a no-nonsense, get-it-done, I’m-on-your-side leader. The kind of leader the majority of voters believed they would see in an Obama White House.

“I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.”

“No American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas.”

“The rest of us are not bailing you out ever again. And if you’re a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can’t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices -- those days are over.”

“Anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”

Tough words. But words now weighed against a three year landscape of performance, which the majority of voters consider less than adequate. Three years after taking the wheel of government, most voters believe the President should have done more to help the economy recover and less to contribute to the nation’s debt.

“An Economy Built to Last” was the President’s connecting theme. The message was look forward, let’s not dwell on the messy present.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are both trying to win voter favor by campaigning as leaders who know how to solve tough problems, as opposed to an Obama who’s tried and failed.

But neither of them is emerging as likeable candidates. And doubts about their leadership claims grow wider with every new TV spot each of them airs.

The November election is shaping up as one where the soaring hope and change expectations of 2008 will give way to a fingers-crossed, hope-for-the-best decision in 2012.

Romney, Gingrich or whoever else shows up on the November ballot to challenge President Obama will lose the likeability battle. The President’s nice guy persona is too deeply embedded in public consciousness to be easily shaken.

But they could win the more important battle, presenting themselves as competent leaders for tough times.

The President’s hopes rest with neutralizing the leadership argument. If voters cast ballots in November believing that the President has learned from his mistakes and will be more effective in a second term he will be hard to defeat.

The State of the Union speech was the President's biggest media event so far this year in a campaign to make that case.

That’s why he kept repeating, “challenges remain and we know how to solve them.”

And why “An Economy Built to Last” sets the stage for voters to reset their expectations of the Obama tenure as a long-term project rather than a four-year sprint.

(Joe Rothstein can be contacted at joe@einnews.com)