WASHINGTON — Democratic governors said Sunday they worry about President Barack Obama’s track record on fighting Republican political attacks and urged him to better connect with anxious voters. Some allies pleaded for a new election-year strategy focused on the economy.
“It’s got to be better thought out,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. “It’s got to be more proactive.”
And, he said, Democrats must hit back just as hard as they are hit by Republicans.
Eight months before the first midterm elections of Obama’s presidency, many Americans are frustrated with — even angered by — persistent unemployment and gridlock in Washington. Democrats fear that voters will punish the party in power.
The titular head of his party, Obama has watched his own popularity drop over the past year. He will bear at least some responsibility for the outcome in November, and Democrats are looking to him for political fixes.
In interviews at the National Governors Association’s weekend meeting, several Democratic governors faulted the White House for losing the communications war against Republicans over what Obama has accomplished in his first year.
“We fought back only sporadically and pretty ineffectively,” Rendell said, adding that “right out of the box, we lost the spin war” on the $787 billion economic-stimulus bill.
Several Democratic colleagues agreed and lamented that voters thought Obama focused too much on overhauling the health care system. Others fretted that Obama may appear to be out of touch with the concerns of Americans.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter suggested that the White House set too high expectations of how quickly the stimulus plan would create jobs.
“If there was a communications issue,” he said, “it was, perhaps, over the pace at which jobs would come back.”
