It was clear who James Carville supported during the 2008 Democratic primary, squarely for Sen. Hillary Clinton over Sen. Barack Obama. So how much has changed? After telling an old campaign joke, [‘If Hillary gave him one of her balls, they’d both have two’], Carville went on CNN to reiterate “I’m not sorry and I don’t apologize.”
Last night he called in to CNN, where the host said some were outraged. Carville told everyone to just chill: “Outraged? It’s a joke. In fact, it was an old joke.
“Of all the things that people say about the President, and I actually support most things the president does, I think this is fairly mild…If I offended anyone I’m not sorry and I don’t apologize.”
Focus groups showed that voters recoiled over claims that the White House‘s economic policies were helping matters, Carville said.
“People would get mad!” Carville said. “Most of the time you have a message that’s not very good; it goes in one ear and out the other. This one went in one ear and went right to the brain.”
If Obama’s resolve to rescue the banks and auto industry was part of a coherent strategy, voters never absorbed that message, Carville said. Instead, voters came away thinking that Washington was merely “throwing money at everything, as opposed to having a strategy to deal with it. Don’t tell them it’s working!” Carville added.
Full Story: James Carville – Obama – Clinton | Missing Balls | Not Sorry | Mediaite
Full Story: Obama strategy: Democratic strategists criticize Obama’s midterm message – latimes.com
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