Plouffe: Obama Campaign Energy Not ‘Transferable’
EmailABC News' Aaron Katersky reports:
It was a rough night for Democrats who, one year ago, were triumphant in their quest for the White House. The political operative largely responsible for President Obama’s historic victory in 2008, told ABC News the energy of that campaign does not necessarily transfer to other democrats.
“It was hard to build the coalition we built,” said David Plouffe, Mr. Obama’s campaign manager and author of the new book The Audacity to Win. “It cost a lot of money, it cost a lot of time. I think there’s some notion out there among some that we can press a button on a computer and turn people out. It doesn’t work that way. None of this is transferrable.”
Like 2008 many voters in New Jersey and Virginia said they favored the candidate who “can bring needed change.” This time, though, that candidate turned out to be the Republican.
“Every candidate has to be responsible for creating their own atmospherics and their own strategy in their campaign to get these people out and it’s hard to do,” Plouffe said. “If you don’t have a compelling message to them it’s not going to work.”
Exit polls showed voters who turned out for Mr. Obama a year ago – young people and African-Americans – largely stayed home this time. Plouffe said it’s a warning for democrats running in the 2010 midterm elections.
“My argument to democratic incumbents would be you better have a case to make about what you’ve done to try and improve things short and long term.”
The one bright spot for the Democratic Party came in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. The seat has been reliably republican for generations but democrat Bill Owens prevailed after GOP infighting. National party leaders forced the republican out in favor of a third party conservative candidate that voters rejected. Plouffe said it may be an opening for his party.
“The Palin-Limbaugh-Beck wing of the party they’ve sent signals that they want to go around the country and purge more moderates,” he said.
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dump pelosi as your leader and you have a chance.
Posted by: catman | November 4, 2009, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm
Really it was a rough night for the people of VA and New Jersey. It is the people of those states who have lost.
Democrats must lead by leading and accomplishing reform — like health care which is tied to the deficit and the bankrupting of businesses. Those timid Dems who refuse to take issue with the insurance companies will lose their seats in the coming elections. Those who stand firm for the people will be re-elected to fight on!
The wins of GOP governors will be unfortunate for the people of Virginia and New Jersey. If the people of these states thought they had it bad under Democratic governors, they have seen nothing yet. How long will some people continue to be Fooled by these Wizards of Oz? How long will they continue to circle the Yellow Brick Road? Republican politicians will not deliver the change these people seek but instead will impede it delivering more good and services to big corporations and insurance companies which will only continue the decay of these states. This is very unfortunate indeed because the GOP primary objective is to say no the people and to spead fear — The Party of No and Fear — deceptive Wizards of Oz!
Posted by: Angellight | November 4, 2009, 1:06 pm 1:06 pm
Angel the only thing “light” about you is your confused thinking. Obama has been in office 10 months and the economy has not improved substantially. The only real improvement was the freeing up of the credit markets that resulted from the actions of the Busch administration. As for Obama, he promised that by spending close to 800 billion on a stimulus package the unemployment rate would not reach 10%. The Republicans and over 250 well known economists argued that the stimulus would not work and in fact would cause further troubles downstream resulting from the runaway deficit. You may have read that the unemployment is at roughly 10% and that is with Obama’s stimulus. Do you count this as confirmation of the wisdom of this administration? The rest of the country sees Obama’s policies as a failure and the Democrats will now pay the price.
Posted by: JJB | November 4, 2009, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm
Angellight —- Nice partisan rant. Your attitude is exactly what is wrong with your party. Please tell me why, with the majority they enjoy, they have not passed ANY legislation through? It’s obvious you don’t need the GOP. Why are they so scared to push health care through? Nobody to blame when they start losing seats? Yesterday was a minor win, but 2010 is going to see many @$$e$ changing seats. Dems haven’t done anything significant in 10 months.
Posted by: lfrichar | November 4, 2009, 2:15 pm 2:15 pm
Plouffe it has nothing to do about Obama’s energy it is all about bad policies, debt, economy , jobs and most important the corruption and lies he represents!
Posted by: jasmin | November 4, 2009, 4:15 pm 4:15 pm
Mr. Obama is a goofball socialist/appeaser and his acolytes will have a rude awakening.
It has already begun.
Posted by: Sam H | November 5, 2009, 12:20 am 12:20 am
Here is your answer. Close your eyes. You are a Democrat in Western PA or N. Dakota, or Virginia, you get the idea, a Blue Dog. Do you want Obama or Biden campaigning for you? The inner city is a different story, but, an argument can be made that the major urban centers have declined greatly under generations of Democratic rule. If I was a Republican, and I’m not, I would pound school choice and enslaved dependency on liberal social programs as key issues in urban America. Obama’s gift to the teachers union threw D.C.minority kids under the bus by withdrawing the tuition-voucher program while his two daughters attend private school. Jews, a longtime constituency of the Dems are rightly questioning their 2008 support while Israel’s enemy’s feel empowered by this administrations equivocations. The Dollar declines and rushed through stimulus has proven to be nothing more than a gift to liberal constituencies. Un-employment will easily reach 10% and there is no trust or stomach for additional stimulus by this administration.The Obama-Biden coattails have turned out to be a giant “wedgey”!.
Posted by: pauldia | November 5, 2009, 7:33 am 7:33 am
So many people are whining and doing nothing to help a positive cause. It is all to easy for people to complain about what’s not right. So many hidden agendas from the opposition. Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives need to focus on the Wildly Import Goals of the nation. Health Care & Economy are a priority and they all know this, but they are all too busy fighting with each other like children instead of focusing on whats important. Pointing fingers is so embarrasing for our country. Get over it people and do what is right for the American People. WORK TOGETHER! Anything else is precious time wasted!
Posted by: Deval769 | November 7, 2009, 6:33 pm 6:33 pm