Amid White House concerns that it’s losing the message war on both its left and right fronts, President Obama on Thursday will try to rally his grassroots army to regain momentum and redefine the battle for health care reform. In a conference call with Organizing For America activists, the 13-million-strong grassroots wing of his machine, Obama is expected to provide an update on the health bill effort and “our strategy for the future and message going forward,” said Caroline Ciccone, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee.
For many Democratic activists, it raises the question: What took the White House so long?
“I have no explanation for this,” said Joe Trippi, a supporter of the Obama plan and grassroots activism expert. “I cannot figure out why they didn’t start the mobilization effort earlier and why it does appear that the right got the jump on it.”
Conservative attacks about rationing and “death panels," however, are only half of the White House’s problems. In recent days, Obama’s own liberal base — and their powerful talk-show host allies — have opened a new front by attempting to define health care reform as the creation of a government-run insurance program. Without a so-called "public option," it’s not real reform, they argue — even as White House officials have said that while a public plan is "the preferred option," its not "the essential element" of a successful plan.
The dual fronts have left the normally silver-tongued Obama Administration nearly stuttering with frustration. Asked about if the White House had failed to effectively galvanize its base, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Wednesday opened his answer with:
“Well, again, I'd — I think I would dispute the beginning characterization. I think, again, particularly at the events that you saw the president do, I don't — I don't think you noticed a lack of support for providing health care reform among those that were outside of the president's events,” he said.
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