Obama Created The "Enthusaism Gap"

Photo: Masada, Israel

How did Obama get elected? An enthusiastic base including many young first time voters provided the core support for Obama's election, combined with the "middle" (moderates.) However, if you look at the polling now, Obama has lost the moderates, and alienated much of his base, thus the so called "enthusiasm gap." One thing Bush Jr did right from the standpoint of politics is that he always played to his base. Obama has abandoned his base. The so called "professional liberals" that the White House so often criticizes represent the very people that provided the enthusiasm that got him elected. Obama's strategy now seems to be trying not to lose the middle...we used to call it "triangulation" when Clinton was in office. But it is not going to work for Obama. It's a losing strategy now because things are different, e.g. recession and high unempolyment vs. prosperity. His and the Democrats only hope lies with a solid and enthusiastic base, but he doesn't have that anymore.