Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
With President Obama’s approval at a low point and as the personal horror stories of ObamaCare continue to blanket the news, the president desperately needs to change the momentum.
As Fox News’ Howard Kurtz warned, the latest Washington Post/ABC poll shows Obama is stuck in a negative media cycle.
What’s most striking about the Washington Post/ABC survey is how far the president has fallen in the past year, by all sorts of measures. His 43 percent approval rating isn’t as low as in some recent polls, but some other questions are more telling.
There is a vicious cycle here, from the White House point of view: Obama gets ripped in media coverage, then his decline is certified in media polls, which in turn brings him more negative coverage. In this stock-taking holiday season, we have the constant recap of how little the president has accomplished this year. And the bipartisan budget deal that passed the Senate yesterday with a surprising 67 votes doesn’t count as much of a victory, since its scope is so modest that neither side is terribly excited about it.
Facing this uphill battle, the president decided to use his wife Michelle to save his presidency by having her take the lead in a series of softball interviews with black radio personalities including Al Sharpton.
Politico reported:
MSNBC host and National Action Network president Al Sharpton will air an interview with first lady Michelle Obama on his radio program Thursday.
The interview is one of three the first lady will give to African-American radio hosts this week in which she will tout the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and encourage African-Americans to get coverage. She will also give interviews to radio hosts Yolanda Adams and Joe Madison.
This strategy makes sense from two perspectives.
First, Michelle’s approval ratings are far higher than her husband’s.
Second, going to the black media will generate positive news in Obama’s core support group. Remember, the black vote was a major factor in his election and reelection and blacks will play a big role in the 2014 mid-term elections.
In addition to helping her husband, Michelle will also be coming to Sharpton’s rescue.
Bill O’Reilly recently exposed the way Sharpton uses his MSNBC post to manipulate news through selective video tape editing (see earlier post).
While Michelle Obama remains popular, she can’t save her husband from the damage caused by the ObamaCare train wreck.
By repeatedly lying about an issue that is directly affecting millions of Americans, Obama has lost his credibility and he is never going to get it back.
