Obama supporters voice their fears

Obama supporters voice their fears

At a town hall to promote his economic policies, the president was confronted by the disillusionment of those who voted for him.

Sheryl Stolberg
New York Times
September 20, 2010

WASHINGTON - It was billed as "Investing in America," a live televised conversation on the state of the economy between President Obama and U.S. workers, students, business people and retirees -- a kind of Wall Street to Main Street reality check.

But it sounded like a therapy session for disillusioned Obama supporters.

In question after question during a one-hour session, which took place Monday at the Newseum here and was televised on CNBC, Obama was confronted by people who sounded frustrated and anxious -- even as some said they supported his agenda and proclaimed themselves honored to be in his presence.

People from Main Street wanted to know if the American dream still lived for them. People on Wall Street complained that he was treating them like a piñata, "whacking us with a stick," in the words of Anthony Scaramucci, a former law school classmate of Obama who runs a hedge fund and was one of the president's questioners.

"I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for," said the first questioner, a black woman who identified herself as a chief financial officer, a mother and a military veteran. "I've been told that I voted for a man who was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class and I'm waiting sir, I'm waiting. I still don't feel it yet."

A 30-year-old law school graduate told Obama that he had hoped to pursue a career in public service -- like the president -- but complained that he could barely pay the interest on his student loans, let alone think of getting married or starting a family.

"I was really inspired by you and your campaign and the message you brought, and that inspiration is dying away," he said, adding, "And I really want to know, is the American dream dead for me?"

The extraordinarily personal tone of the session, coupled with more substantive policy questions from the host, John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times, reflects the erosion of support for Obama among the constituencies that sent him to the White House two years ago.

It was all the more compelling coming from such a friendly audience; one questioner, a small-business owner in Pennsylvania, began by praising the president for turning around the auto industry, then lamented: "You're losing the war of sound bites. You're losing the media cycles."

As he leads his party into what many analysts expect to be a devastating midterm election for Democrats, the president faces overwhelming skepticism from Americans on his handling of the economy. A recent New York Times poll found 57 percent of respondents believed the president did not have a clear plan for fixing the nation's broken economy.

Obama sought Monday to address those concerns, telling his business critics that he was not antibusiness and his middle-class questioners that "there are a whole host of things we've put in place to make your life better." He cited his health care bill, a financial regulatory reform measure that imposed tough requirements on credit card companies; an education bill that increased the availability of student loans.

The president also laid down a challenge to the Tea Party movement, whose candidates have swept aside mainstream Republicans in recent primaries in Alaska and Delaware. He said it was not enough for them to campaign on a theme of smaller government; he tried to put them in an uncomfortable box by prodding them to offer specifics about the programs they would cut.

"The challenge for the Tea Party movement is to identify specifically: What would you do?" he said. "It's not enough to say get control of spending. I think it's important for you to say, 'I'm willing to cut veterans benefits, or I'm willing to cut Medicare or Social Security, or I'm willing to see taxes go up.'"

Obama hinted that he was open to considering a payroll tax holiday to spur job growth, saying he would be willing to "look at any idea that's out there," although he went on to say that some ideas that "look good on paper" are more complicated than they appear.

Obama is stepping up his efforts to mobilize Democratic voters and find ways to improve the political climate for his party heading toward Election Day. He will begin trying to build enthusiasm among some of the voters who propelled him to victory in 2008, such as college students, while Democratic strategists are considering ways to turn the increased prominence of the Tea Party movement to their advantage by characterizing positions taken by some Tea Party-backed Republican candidates as extreme.

After his appearance on CNBC, Obama flew to Philadelphia, where he headlined two fundraisers for Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, and raised $1 million for the Democratic National Committee.

If the televised session Monday seemed to put Obama on the spot, he did not seem ruffled. Rather, he seemed resigned to the frustration of his questioners. "My goal here," he said, "is not to convince you that everything is where it needs to be. But what I am saying is that we are moving in the right direction."