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Obama's fundamental problem--the midterm elections

barack obama

President Barack Obama giving a speechPhoto by Joseph Earnest

 

by Joseph Earnest  October 21, 2014   

 

Newscast Media WASHINGTONThe US economy is failing to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, says political scientist William Galston in an interview with Deutsche Welle. What are the implications for the midterm elections and beyond - and does anyone have the solution?

 

Galston believes that even though figures show a strengthening of the US economy, a large group does not feel it. It includes not only low-wage workers who might be affected by an increase in the minimum wage, but also by substantial portions of the middle class, who have seen no wage increases for a very long time.

 

"It certainly affects the mood of the country and of the electorate. In recent surveys, 70 percent of Americans think that the recession is still continuing, despite the fact that economists technically declared an end to the great recession in 2009. So it's a key part of the political backdrop," Galston said.

The failure of the economy to improve the lives of ordinary Americans has turned out to be a fundamental problem for the Obama administration, Galston believes. It has made it very difficult for them (Dems) to trumpet their successes, which they would like to do. Because if they talk about growth and job creation without talking about incomes and living standards, they just sound as though they're out of touch.

When asked whether he feels a lack of leadership being displayed by Obama, the political scientist answered, "I think that President Obama, from time to time, has tried to reach an accommodation with the Republican opposition. But the question isn't failures in the past. The question is whether the next two years will be squandered in political posturing until the 2016 presidential election - or whether people on both sides in Washington will say, "Enough is enough, we have to get to work on the people's agenda.""

Galston stressed that the economy and discontent about the economy are going to work to the disadvantage of the president's party. That is the way he believes it works in midterm elections in the United Statesparticularly midterm elections in the sixth year of a president's administration. Those historically have been very bad for the president's party...and it does not look as though 2014 will be an exception to that. Add Comments>>

William A. Galston holds the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in the Brookings Institution's Governance Studies Program. A former policy advisor to President Clinton, his current research focuses on designing a new social contract and the implications of political polarization.

 

Source: Deutsche Welle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

  

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