Obama Uses Polls, Focus Groups To Aid, "Recovery"
Bloomberg reports that President-elect Barack Obama is using data from
polls and focus groups to shape the debate over his stimulus plan:
This is a good thing. A President not only has to set the right course for the country but convince the country it is the right thing to do an garner their support:
Public support trumps politics.
In a Nov. 26 news conference Obama said he has instructed his advisers "to make sure that we are proceeding on projects and investments based on national priorities and not based on politics." I believe he is a man of word. A President we can believe in.
David Axelrod, Obama's chief political adviser, along with campaign media adviser Jim Margolis, are encouraging lawmakers to use the word "recovery" instead of recession, and "investment" instead of "infrastructure." Those recommendations came from focus-group research indicating that such framing would make the package more appealing to voters.
This is a good thing. A President not only has to set the right course for the country but convince the country it is the right thing to do an garner their support:
"Not unlike news organizations, we poll public attitudes about where the economy is," Robert Gibbs, Obama's choice for White House press secretary, said in an interview. "We're not polling to see what should be in an economic-recovery plan."
Public support trumps politics.
Obama officials are polling on how to frame the economic proposals for voters and what language should be used, Gibbs said. They want to know "how America reacts" to the president- elect's stimulus proposals and the public's "attitudes toward the economy," he said.
In a Nov. 26 news conference Obama said he has instructed his advisers "to make sure that we are proceeding on projects and investments based on national priorities and not based on politics." I believe he is a man of word. A President we can believe in.
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Good. Let us begin the new day with optimistic posts.
I believe he is a man of word. A President we can believe in.
The better the issues are framed the harder it will be to frame our new prez.
January 9, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
On the other hand, Paul Krugman believes that the Obama team is trying to accomodate Republicans in congress by not allocating enough money to the package. Details and link to Krugman's criticism here: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/truthseeker77/2009/01/a-disappointing-stimulus-packa.php
January 9, 2009 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Re Krugman - Obama is filling every promise he made to "me." Krugman is one of the best in my book but he's not always right. Also I think he likes all the attention he's getting, lately, and wants to be a little controversial. He really has it in for poor Gupta. Who BTW I think is perfect casting.
January 9, 2009 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
If the GOP was playing this type of lingual gerrymandering, people here would be up in arms.
Would Harry Truman be guided by focus groups? I think not.
As Orwell said, when you control language you control thought. Sugar-coating the language is only going to keep the majority of the public believing we can get something for nothing.
And the backlash resulting from the realization of that fallacy will be frightening indeed.
January 9, 2009 6:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
They did much worse things than this for eight years. They lied every single day they got on the media, which is every single day.
They stole trillions and gave that money to their friends, to their supporters to their own companies.
Do not even try.
January 9, 2009 7:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
we can get something for nothing
We have always been at war with EastAsia
January 10, 2009 12:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
I thought we were at war with Eastasia. My bad. Maybe it's been war with Oceania the whole time.
January 10, 2009 12:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
war with Oceania
No worries.
Just wait a bit.
January 10, 2009 4:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe I'm being cranky but I kind of think this is stupid. Do you really need a focus group to know recovery sounds better than recession? Or to poll people to know where the economy is? It's in the shitter, that's where it is. I'd bet that's what their poll showed.
"to make sure that we are proceeding on projects and investments based on national priorities and not based on politics."
I would think no polling or focus groups would be necessary were that the case. Politics always plays a role. I heard they didn't want to go for a trillion dollar stimulus plan because it's a "politically sensitive" number.
January 9, 2009 7:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Framing is of the utmost importance.
Are you a baby killer or pro choice?
Are you for gun killers or are you for the right to bear arms?
Are you for income redistribution or a more fair and balanced system of taxation.
The Republicans have controlled this country for forty years by framing the issue.
January 9, 2009 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ha! I don't mean that he shouldn't use those words. Just wonder if they really need a focus group for it. I don't really care one way or the other, but Obama has a pretty good way with words so far, I would think he coulda figured this one out on his own.
January 9, 2009 11:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
if they really need a focus group for it
At first blush one would think (hope?) not--but I suppose it is the time that the focus group returns a surprize that you play for...if you've heard Frank Luntz on Obama, he is absolutely floored, partly by the focus group responses he clocked (I guess working for Fox during the big speeches, like the acceptance.)
Anyway, if the focus group results confirm your instincts 19 times out of 20, you just paid for the whole program by avoiding the mistake you were fixin' to make on issue #20.
January 10, 2009 12:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
I believe if people think things are bad they tend to make things worse. If they understand the problems... If they can see a light at the end of the tunnel... If they have a leader that they can trust... Then, they will take that trip... Buy that car... Remodel... Things will get better.
Please don't be cranky. When I go to the doctor, who I trust, and he says, "recovery," I feel better instantly. "Recession," I don't feel so good.
Believe. Treat yourself to something nice this weekend. It's for your country.
January 9, 2009 7:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was going to do a whole post on this, but since I'm feeling lazy and it fits here, I'll shorten it to a comment...
Either you guys need to go back on your meds, or I need to go back on mine...
I'm basically a "glass half full" kinda person. I'll search high and low for a silver lining, and if I can't find one, I'll make one up...I just can't see the point in gettin' myself all worked up over something that may or may not happen. (sorta like Mark Twain's "I've been through some terrible things in my life, and some of them actually happened.")
I define worry as fretting over things that are beyond my control. Worry is a bad thing. It saps your energy. It robs you of your life. I find that a far more useful strategy is to plan. Figure out the worse case scenario, form a plan to deal with it, then start incrementally ratcheting back to a more probable outcome and how I'll deal with that. Then I start workin' the plan...
In the meantime, I live. I do my work, I smell a few roses. I spend time w/ family and friends. I work on my hobbies. I educate my self about something. I try to improve my surroundings, be it my home, or my community. I pray. I exersise.
I do anything except run around screaming that the sky is falling and encouraging others to do the same. In my whole life I was clinically depressed once, and a little Paxil took care of that...
But all this doom and gloom stuff around here has me about ready to do myself in and get it over with. You'd think Obama had already been in office for years, shot his wad and we're still goin' down the crapper. I've never seen anything like it (except for maybe when y'all were scared poopless that a few point decline in the polls meant that McCain and Palin were going to win!)
Maybe you just enjoy the misery...I don't know. All I know for sure is that if you're not going back on your meds, I'm going back on mine, 'cuz I'm not coming to your pity party w/o a fight.
For the 1st time in a long, long time, this country has something to look forward to, horrible economy and all...I'll be damned if I'm going to let you rob me of enjoying it.
January 9, 2009 9:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nice comment, still.
You rock.
January 10, 2009 12:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Like ack ack says, you rock.
January 10, 2009 7:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Public support trumps politics."
Manipulating public support is the scary side of a so-called "democracy". If Obama's idea of "I'm going to listen to you" amounts to running focus groups and polls and then using that data to sell us a bill of goods, I'm sorry I supported him.
January 10, 2009 5:51 AM | Reply | Permalink