President Reagan's communication skills have got President Obama in hot water again. In the 2008 primary against Hillary Clinton he praised Reagan's oratory, much to the chagrin of his liberal base. Now the Great Communicator's words are back and they are sure to haunt Obama all the way to the day he packs up and leaves the White House in 2013.
During an interview with ABC's George Stephanopolous, Obama referenced Reagan's famous line asking voters if they were better off than they were four years ago, only he admitted they weren't better off. That's tantamount to admitting the failure of his policies — certainly not a line his campaign in Chicago would hope he would utter.
While Democrat operatives let out a collective groan of frustration at the poorly chosen words, Republicans were rejoicing across the country. In what is sure to become the focus of more than a few campaign commercials, Obama made the Republican's case for them succinctly in a single sentence.
Poll after poll shows this race is going to come down to jobs and the economy. Voters will choose the candidate who they think best affords them the opportunity to get back to work, to get the economy out of the worst slump since the Great Depression. Obama's statement that people are "not better off" than when they first elected him is exactly what Republicans will hammer him for in endless rounds of robocalls, TV ads and radio spots.
Thanks to Obama, they'll be able to use his own words to make that case.
Since Governor Hickenlooper has had a successful min-career this cycle as pundit-in-chief for Colorado Democrats on Obama's electoral future, we wonder what he thinks. Are Coloradans better off than they were 4 years ago?