OBAMA GOES BACK TO THE FORMER JOB – AT 6:02 P.M. ET:  The fellas from CNN were on earlier, talking about Obama's trip to New Hampshire today.  David Gergen made the point that Obama seemed more a candidate than a president.

Yup, and that's the problem.  The guy does one thing really well – he campaigns.  Governing?  Well, he's not quite into that.  Hey, it's a lot more fun to talk to teenagers in Nashua than to an Iranian dictator in a steamy room.  A man's gotta live.

The problem for us is that Obama's campaign skills can be very effective.  In 1948 Harry Truman ran against the "do nothing" Republican Congress, and he made the charge stick.  (It was also accurate.)  Republicans must snap back at Obama with a real program, ready to roll, to deflect the charge that they're the party of "no." 

The Democratic plan for the year is clear:  Run against Republicans, blame everything on Bush, play the victim, send Obama into campaign mode. 

Don't sell these guys short.  The one thing they do well is the very thing that brings bodies to the polls.

February 2, 2010