THE MOMENT OF MAXIMUM DANGER FOR ANY POLITICAL PARTY...:

Democrats in Congress fail the sales pitch: They have not done a good job communicating the virtues of their economic and healthcare policies — a big problem for the party as the midterm election nears. (Janet Hook, 6/02/10, Chicago Tribune)

For all President Obama's skills as a communicator and party leaders' skills inside the Beltway, they have not done a good job communicating the virtues of their policies, even to potentially receptive voters. [...]

[W]hat is especially damaging for Democrats is that even many Americans who may benefit from their policies are dissatisfied — about the high level of spending by Congress or about compromises that have been made.

Congressional Democrats have been looking to the White House to help explain their policies and tout their accomplishments — especially on the economy, where the problems and solutions are so complex.

"He needs to take the country to school on the economy," said House Appropriations Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.), who said he worried that Obama's ability to use his bully pulpit to build support for healthcare and other policies had been eclipsed by the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.

Critics say Democrats' policies could have gained more traction if the White House had a stronger commitment to promoting them.

...comes when they convince themselves that the electorate that has rejected them would be supportive if only the morons could understand what was being done for them. This is the point at which you move beyond bad policy to demonstrating genuine contempt for the voters who disapprove of it.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 3, 2010 5:48 PM