A few critics and pundits who repeatedly criticize Obama for failing to connect with "Reagan Democrats" are worried they might lose that grounds for criticism. In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday morning, Obama addressed questions posed to him in a civil and direct fashion, and Obama's critics are fuming.
"What is this guy trying to do, run for President of the United States?" asked one detractor. "We insist that he confine himself to championing the liberal blogosphere and let the entire Fox News viewership define him through caricatures of his positions and associations."
Some Clinton supporters feel that these caricatures supported and sometimes created by Fox News have been a boon to their candidate.
"We've painted Obama into a "liberal" box and we would appreciate it if he'd stay there," one critic said. "If he starts stepping up his public efforts to engage voters to the right of people like Michael Moore, we're going to have a lot harder time dismissing him as a Michael Dukakis sort of candidate. This guy is a liberal elitist and the sooner he accepts that the better it will be for all of us who don't support his candidacy."
There is also frustration among some that Obama may be trying to live up to one of the major claims of his campaign--that he will attempt to overcome party divisions to create a productive dialogue and maybe get some things done for the country.
"We've tried really hard to dispel this notion that Obama will transcend party lines and reach across the aisle to get things done," said one frustrated detractor. "The fact that Republicans like Lincoln Chaffee, Chuck Hagel, and Colin Powell have had complimentary things to say about this guy hasn't helped our efforts, and this adult conversation with Chris Wallace of Fox News isn't helping, either."
The interview also fueled criticisms of Obama for lacking "toughness."
"Being tough is about fighting and bickering with people who don't share your views. You either shut them out or you call them names. Otherwise, you might end up doing something like passing health-care reform legislation or having a consistent stance on foreign policy."
In fact, this problem Obama has with the traditional red and blue divide to some represents a larger problem he has.
"When an outfit like Fox News is trying to polarize a debate, to reaffirm the kind of partisanship that's defined our politics in recent years, the way to deal with that is to bolster that perception by taking your ball and going home, or going on the air and calling them mean Republican stupid-heads," the critic suggested. "This approach also makes it easier for us to call Sen. Obama a whiner or a wimp whenever he objects to Republican talking points."
Since Sen. Clinton has turned against progressives and threatened to "obliterate" the nation of Iran and anyone near it in her attempts to court more moderate voters, her supporters are upset that Obama may be trying to address moderates with a less divisive purpose in mind.
"If Obama starts addressing the general electorate, launching 50-state voter registration drives, and working with the Democratic Party to win the election in November, what does that mean for Sen. Clinton, who is still calling for another primary debate with Obama in the hopes of convincing voters that she's still a viable candidate?"
Indeed, to some it seemed Sen. Obama was intentionally trying to move past the contentiousness of the primary campaign and into the general election.
"I mean, Jesus, when Sen. Clinton started consorting with the Republican Party at least she was using them to try to damage Sen. Obama," said one critic. "But Obama was even civil to the Clintons and their supporters in this interview, suggesting that maybe they weren't trying to be racially polarizing in the primary campaign. What's he trying to do, reconcile the intraparty factions and strive for unity in the fall?"
