Base Politics

Lloyd Green writes at The Daily Beast:

Obama is most comfortable when he tells the Democratic faithful what they want to hear, as opposed to letting the country know what it needs to know, namely how to get out of the grasp of a sclerotic economy. Instinctively, Obama talks about rising inequality, global warming, and attacks on college campuses. These issues, however, are not paramount to most. These days a majority of Americans are worrying first and foremost about growth and jobs. 

Just recently, a study released by the Global Strategies Group, a Democratic consulting firm, reported that growth is the pressing issue of our times. Fully 78 percent of respondents called it extremely or very important to “promote an agenda of economic growth that will benefit all Americans.” To put things into perspective, growth handily beat out income inequality (50 percent) and redistribution (43 percent) as national priorities.

Yet, by harping on issues that excite Hollywood and the Democratic elites, Obama subjects himself and the Democrats to the loss of the Senate. Although Frenchman Thomas Piketty is all the rage among the chattering class, he doesn’t get to vote in U.S. elections, and France’s growth is even more tepid than ours. For the record, French unemployment under its Socialist-led government is north of 10 percent, but it does have higher taxes to the delight of the true-believing left.