Break's Over

New York Magazine has an in-depth look at the White House's course correction which began last September. I'm particularly happy to see this critique from former interim Chief of Staff Pete Rouse:

In the third of Rouse’s baskets was the failure to use Obama’s gifts as a communicator to full effect. He was overexposed. He was in the weeds. The thread got lost. “With these big legislative fights, he was almost like a prime minister or negotiator-in-chief,” says the same official. “The price for that was, we lost the vision, the inspiration.”

This is a theme that the commentariat of the left has been treading on recently, including theSillySeason. It feels nice to share the same perceptual world as some very smart people.

That said, the West Wing reference titling this post is not just targeted towards Democratic strategists at the highest levels. Now is an ideal time to get off the sidelines for 2012 and policy struggles that will lead up to it (implementing the Affordable Care Act, preserving Social Security, and preventing the Republicans from punishing the poor to balance out their $700 billion in welfare for the wealthy). Attend an Organizing for America State of the Union Address watch party tomorrow, and you can lead your community to a brighter future.