Andrew Malcolm
Posted 07:54 AM ET
12/01/2011
Suddenly, President Obama is inserting a stark new tone of drama and urgency into his campaign speeches to loyalists at political fundraisers.
After talking up his payroll tax cut in Pennsylvania Wednesday afternoon, Obama flew Air Force One to New York City for not one, not two, but three money gatherings from Gotham liberals.
As he does on regular collection runs to Los Angeles, Obama and his motorcade paralyzed Manhattan's pre-holiday traffic, already struggling with the evening's scheduled lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
The cheapest fee charged by Democrats for the privilege of seeing the president of the United States was $1,000 and it went up to $35,800.
But at all three stops Obama, who has sunk in job approval polls from 69% to the low 40s, injected a far stronger note of urgency about next year's reelection bid than he has since announcing last spring.
"Every single thing that we care about is at stake in the next election," he told one donor group. "The very core of what this country stands for is on the line."
So, the future of the entire country is now inextricably tied to Obama's own reelection?
Such hyperbolic, hubristic claims are usually reserved for a campaign's closing hours to prompt a last-minute spurt of political adrenalin among supporters. Not 341 days out. Not 10 months before even early voting opens. This couldn't possibly be desperation! Already?
Here are several other points made by Obama to a possibly puzzled crowd assembled at the Gotham Bar and Grille:
"I've got to win in 2012."
"In order to finish the job, I'm going to have to have a second term."
"I need a couple more years to finish the job."
"I'm going to need another term to finish the job."
And in case anyone had missed the point, the ex-partial-term senator said, "I'm going to need a few more years to finish the job."
This was in one speech.
He gave three of them.
As usual, Obama makes sure to describe the nation's problems as inherited, longstanding, very deep, too deep obviously to solve in a single presidential term. Four million jobs lost before he even took the oath.
He proclaims some successes -- saving one million auto jobs, equal pay for equal work, end of don't ask-don't tell, Obamacare, financial reforms, winding down wars. Also, he prevented a financial meltdown. And the Second Great Depression.
No talk about victory, but he's ending two wars. Then, Obama claims modestly: "We’ve also been able to mobilize world opinion around U.S. leadership in a way that many people had thought had been lost when I came into office."
If it wasn't for the Republicans protecting the rich and out to screw the middle class, he could have done more. You want to be frightened about the country's future, have you watched these Republican debates? See what they want to do to the nation? Every American for himself.
Gone now in Obama's fundraiser rhetoric are the ritualistic praise tsunamis for legislative teammates Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. No collegial mention of the loyal Democrats drowned in 2010's historic House rout by a GOP running against their healthcare votes. Biden gets no mention.
Solyndra? No time for that. Unemployment, national debt, deficits, they're wrapped together into 'we haven't made all the progress we want.'
It's all about one guy now.
Remember, he never said it would be easy. Strong forces arrayed against him.
"I know that the cynicism has risen again since the last election. And I know that folks are frustrated with Washington.
"But the only way to end the game-playing and the point-scoring that passes for politics this day is to send a message in this election that we are not backing down, we are not giving up; that we are going to keep pushing, and we continue to fight, and we still hope, and we are still going after change that we believe in. And I’m going to need you to do it."
Oh, and about Israel:
"This administration -- I try not to pat myself too much on the back -- but this administration has done more in terms of the security of the state of Israel than any previous administration."
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