Reflecting on his time in the White House, Schoen said there was "no debate" and a "clear recognition" by Clinton that a move to the center was the only viable option after humbling 1994 midterms. Conversely, he expects a "wild debate" in today's White House, one that will produce the predictable Obama vacillation... followed by an ill-advised populist-liberal charge right to the bitter end.
While most logical people would find such brinkmanship puzzling, many on the Left see it differently. Besides the fact that Obama lacks the political clout to take-on unions and the progressive Democrats in the House anyway, the argument will be made that it's best to produce a clear, unambiguous choice for voters in November -whether they can pass ObamaCare this year or not- and with the GOP then portrayed as sinister obstructionists.
Since this would involve promoting an agenda never openly acknowledged when he was getting himself elected in 2008 -and rejected in deep-blue Massachusetts just last week- it all seems a wild and wreckless gamble by Obama... which of course it would be.
And the pollster had no doubt re. what the administration's biggest mistake on ObamaCare was- "not getting the Republicans in the room". As noted by Bill Kristol on Fox News Sunday, Obama could have actually driven a lot of wedges into the GOP by working with selected factions, leaving them in dissarray... rather, he did the only thing that could have unified Republicans so quickly, ramming partisan legislation through while treating them like children .
Schoen said that the only viable strategy at this point is precisely what put Bill Clinton on the path to a second term -a focus on the economy/jobs and deficit reduction with moderate social welfare programs. But this is unlikely to be adopted by Team Obama, with pugnacious populists like Axelrod carrying the day. The upshot being Dems marching -like cannon fodder- into midterm elections that are a referrendum on the Porkulus, ObamaCare, and other unpopular legislation...
The likely result in November...?
"A comprehensive rejection of that