Today, NPR had a segment on the administration’s attempt to convince the American people that the $862 billion economic “stimulus” package has been beneficial. As NPR reports, the media plan does not appear to be working. Despite a nationwide tour, and dozens of speeches from the president and other Washington officials, approval ratings for the “stimulus” spending bill remain low – as general frustration over Washington’s overspending continues to build.
Given the facts, Americans’ mood should come as no surprise (please see Public Notice’s recent op-ed on the issue). Here is excerpt from the NPR story:
So far this year, Obama has made more than a dozen trips on what the administration refers to as the “White House to Main Street Tour.” He generally tours a business that is adding jobs because of the economic Recovery Act. The speech is very similar from one stop to the next.
“We’ve aimed to grow our economy by harnessing the innovative spirit of the American people,” he said two weeks ago at the groundbreaking for an electric car battery plant in Holland, Mich. “Because we did, shovels will soon be moving earth, and trucks will soon be pouring concrete where we are standing.”
It is an overt sales pitch that Americans appear not to be buying. And there are those who believe that the president, like yesterday’s rock star, has been touring too long.
“Just saying it over and over again is not going to convince anybody that things are really happening,” says Ed Rollins, who was political director in the Reagan White House. “If I were running the political operation at this point in time, anytime I’m outside the White House, I’d be campaigning.”
There is a campaign element to many of these trips. The speeches tend to be in swing states.
“I think the president and his team have been road-testing themes for the midterm” on this economic tour, says former Democratic consultant Bob Shrum, who now teaches at New York University. “Getting a message through takes a long time, and developing that message can also take some time, so I think this is cumulative.”
He says the White House is trying to create a narrative, laying the foundation for when people begin to feel the recovery. That message may take hold when the unemployment rate drops — assuming the unemployment rate drops.
