To say that the American people are angry is an understatement. The political brain of Americans today reflects a volatile mixture of fear and fury, and when you mix those together, you get an explosion. The only question at this point is how to mitigate the damage when the bomb detonates in November.The bad news is that it's too late for Democrats to do what would have been both good policy and good politics (and what the House actually did do), namely to pass a major jobs bill when it was clear that the private sector couldn't keep Americans employed. The "Obama Doctrine" should have been that Americans who want to work and have the ability to contribute to our productivity as a nation should have the right to work, and that if the private sector can't meet the demand for jobs, we have plenty of roads and bridges to fix, new energy sources to develop and manufacture, and schools to build and renovate so our kids and workers returning for training can compete in the 21st century global economy. From having spent much of the last four years testing messages on a range of issues, from immigration to taxes and deficits, I can say with some certainty that nothing John Boehner or Eric Cantor could say could come within 30 points of generating the enthusiasm -- particularly among swing voters -- of a message that began, "We don't have a shortage of work ethic in this country, we have a shortage of work." That message resonates across the political spectrum. And it isn't even the strongest message we've tested in the last weeks or months that beats back the toughest deficit-cutting language the other side can muster. (Emphasis added)
Pete Peterson, Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein would take severe umbrage were Obama to take such a tone. Unfortunately for Obama, they have already taken umbrage at MUCH less aggressive comments from the WH, so he is well on his way to alienating everyone. The best hope is that he will become Secretary-General of the UN, President of the World Bank or Managing Director the IMF in or shortly after 2012. Given the footprint of the USA, that might be a mercy to all and a salve to Obama's ego.
The great mass of people are desperate for a hopeful alternative and are rejecting the standard diet of bad choices that establishment politics has on offer. A third party campaign that started in Dec. 2010 with such a platform and a stated intent to caucus with the Democrats, but on their own terms, could become an irresistible force by the summer of 2012. Meanwhile, it could make the whole edifice and brand of Mainstream Economics toxic in the public sphere.
As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
What would be the biggest, most obvious obstacles? -Money -A mind-boggling media assault labeling the whole thing political terrorism, with a generous helping of "They'll kill what remains of our economy" thrown in. - the very real risk of another Robert Kennedy event.
That said, I'd work for that campaign, as long as the candidate wasn't a bible-waving fundamentalist dingbat or a Beckwit. Note that the slogan is not incompatible with some pretty unsavory candidates. Capitalism searches out the darkest corners of human potential, and mainlines them.
