David Plouffe, President Obama’s brilliant campaign manager, is famous for inveighing against Democratic “bed-wetting”, the party’s unseemly predilection for showing weakness in the face of rightwing attacks. Plouffe, who took time off for a book tour and to be with his new daughter (born two days after Obama’s victory), is now back at the White House helping to strategize for the 2010 Congressional races.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Obama has adopted a more confrontational and assertive tone in the weeks since Plouffe’s return, and that’s a good thing. It was clear months ago that bipartisanship was a fool’s errand, no matter how gifted a communicator Obama is. Plouffe is tough and doesn’t mince words; he’s not afraid to champion liberal principles, and to call out ignorant and disingenuous Republicans. (If the Democratic establishment was really smart, they’d put him in charge of everything.)
The President will need a stiff spine in the months ahead. The upcoming legislative battles could well define his presidency, and determine whether he holds office for another seven years. Plouffe is not only the man to help Obama get his mojo back, but to help limit Democratic losses and maintain their majorities in November.
Plouffe’s return comes not a moment too soon for Obama’s domestic agenda; at the same time, I’ve been pleasantly surprised for months with how well the Administration has responded to incidences of terrorism on U.S. soil.
There have been four all told. Two were the work of apparent jihadists—the Colorado episode in which a U.S. army officer killed 12 people, and the attempted Christmas-day bombing over Detroit. Two were perpetrated by lone madmen with grudges against the government—the airplane crashed into an IRS building in Austin, and last week’s shooting of two Pentagon police officers.
At no time did the Administration use rhetoric to inspire public fear, or go on the airwaves to issue new terror warnings or raise “threat levels”. Obama and his people did not act as if they were under siege, or engage in chest-thumping bravado. They simply went about their business and responded in measured and reasonable fashion.
By so doing, the Administration has made clear that they will not play into the terrorists’ hands by acting terrorized every time an incident occurs. This, more than anything, differentiates the current administration from the last.
And while the Obama Administration remains calm and collected, almost weekly they are killing or capturing major al Qaeda and Taliban leaders—accomplishing more in a year than Bush did in eight.
One major reason I voted for Obama was because I wanted the adults back in charge. On terrorism, he has not disappointed. With Plouffe back in the White House, there’s hope for similar progress domestically. We know what his motto is: No Bed Wetting Allowed.
Jason Scorse