Doc Mercer
EOG Master
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=republicans...
Republicans Tripping
Conservative critics used Obama's recent diplomatic trip to demonize the president. Unfortunately for them, their histrionics don't seem to be working.
The right-wing apoplexy can be explained in part by the frustration that flows from their inability to stop the Obamania that has overtaken not only the country, but also the world. They are confused by why, in such rotten times, a guy who they believe has done nothing of substance can be so popular.
According a Marist Poll survey released this week, voters not only approve of the president's job performance, but they also think he understands the problems at hand. "More than seven in ten -- 72% -- say Mr. Obama understands the problems facing the nation ... Even a notable proportion of Republicans -- 38% -- believe the president is in tune with today's key issues."
As some conservative operatives and pundits try to portray the president as an out-of-touch celebrity, more than two-thirds of Americans surveyed in the Marist poll say they "view President Obama as someone who cares about the average person. Sixty-seven percent say the president cares about people like themselves while just 25 percent disagree." The debate on the budget shows that Democrats are doing a better job, in some ways, of framing arguments against Obama than the Republicans are.
The conservative zealots face a tough row to hoe in trying to sell Americans on the idea that their president is a bumbling America-hater who just wants to be adored. There is no question that Obama's celebrity, coupled with his wife's sudden surge in fabulousness, may have eclipsed the very progress that came out of the Obama trip. But is that any reason for Rush Limbaugh to go postal on a Republican guest who suggested that the constant criticism of Obama, no matter what he does, is not a winning strategy for the GOP?
Heated rhetoric aside, the Republican appraisals of Obama's foreign-policy moves are typical fare. They simply say that he's weak on defense and national security, and that he will not protect us because he is a touchy-feely liberal who would rather make friends than command respect.
That Obama seems oblivious to these critiques has been the key undermining factor of their political effectiveness. One conservative columnist, Kathleen Parker, praised Obama's trip, remarking that his foreign policy lacked traditional machismo elements: "When you're the big dog, you can afford to smile. The saber is understood."
More Republicans need to realize that point before they turn themselves into the big dog's political fire hydrant. If they don't, that's the very best they could hope for