ASK NOT WHAT THE UR WILL EVER DO FOR THE LEFT, BUT WHAT THE L:EFT CAN DO FOR HIM:

Democrats unhappy with Obama's tactics plot change: Prominent party members discuss going their own way to fight back – especially on fundraising issues. (Tom Hamburger and Matea Gold, 11/19/10, Chicago Tribune)

Frustrated by what they see as President Obama's weakness in battling Republicans, leading Democratic donors and tacticians have begun independently plotting their political recovery — including building a network of outside fundraising and campaign organizations to compete with those formed this year by Republicans. [...]

Many disaffected Democrats complain that the Obama administration needs to be more aggressive in advocating positions to rally the party's base and differentiate it from the Republicans. White House officials who attended the Democracy Alliance meeting, including Austan Goolsbee, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, and Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, were pressed about the administration's stances on taxes, job creation and the environment.

Mr. Obama can benefit greatly from defining himself, even if only accidentally, as not the lunatic Left.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 19, 2010 6:59 AM