Elect Obama

This letter is for Bill and offers a strategy to re-elect President Obama. Contrary to popular belief the secret is to focus on the economy and not on the debt. When he speaks about the economy he is on the offence but when the conversation turns to the debt he is on the defense. He should make use of his considerable oratorical skills and talk about jobs. He can use the bully pulpit and keep his message alive by giving the press something to report every week. He can extend unemployment benefits and he can get the Fed to print more money. The money will be directed to the states to minimize layoffs with state, county and municipal employees. He will not be able to make a significant reduction in the unemployment rate but he can keep it from rising. He must utilize the Clinton principal of I feel your pain. Through his words alone he can show that he is serious about attacking the jobs problem and with the proper reporting this can carry him through to the late winter of next year. At that point the next step in the re-election strategy begins with the campaign against those who voted for the Ryan plan. He starts the drum beat and he will be joined by liberals in congress to demagogue those who want to change Medicare. By doing this, the seniors will join the Democratic base of unions, blacks and Hispanics and this will put him over the top. In addition it will allow the Democrats to maintain the senate and to recapture the house. It will be a triumph of politics over statesmanship and party over country but it will win the election. It will play into the hands of all those who want benefits at the expense of the debt but the debt will be a dead issue, having disappeared into the mysterious kick the can down the road metaphor.
One of the events that can disrupt this plan is the situation in Europe. If they keep experiencing serious problems with their debt, it may not be possible to keep that issue on the back burner. Many European countries must deal with the same problems that face states like California and Illinois. If the experts are correct, at some point in the future the debt will overrun the economy and it will be impossible to ignore but that time may still be a long way off for the United States. My entire adult life, I have heard people say that you can’t keep spending more than you take in, but that hasn’t stopped us. We can probably milk a few more election cycles out of this. Who knows by the time the day of reckoning comes, if it comes, we may be dead.
I realize I have interjected a bit of sarcasm but I am serious about the general strategy. If the name of the game is to win, and it is, then this has a very good chance of succeeding. Remember all’s fair in love, war and politics.