In Bailout Fight, Team Obama Fears Backlash

Obama will never make a great populist, writes Eugene Robinson

(NEWSER) - President Obama is going to have to recapture the political initiative with substance instead of style, writes Eugene Robinson. Obama—despite his modest upbringing—is never going to have the guy-next-door touch George W. Bush had, so he should focus on making his actions match his words instead of trying to turn populist, Robinson writes in the Washington Post . More»

Massachusetts disaster means the president must go populist

(NEWSER) - It's still not clear exactly how President Obama will adjust to the Massachusetts defeat, but one camp has clear advice: No more Mr. Nice Guy, please. A sampling:

• Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation: "Going populist is now smart politics and good policy. The Obama White House needs to show, quickly and forcefully, with concrete, bold and visible action, that it stands with the working people of America." Obama can start by firing economic advisers responsible for the "timid" blueprint on Wall Street and unemployment.

The real, centuries-old conflict is between urban elites and small towners

(NEWSER) - It's a mistake to see the growing backlash against President Obama through the prism of race, David Brooks writes in the New York Times. The anti-Obama movement springs not from racism, but from the long American tradition of popular distrust of the urban elite, argues Brooks. He notes mostly white anti-government protesters happily mingled with people from an African-American event in the capital last weekend. More»

(NEWSER) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says the US should extend its zeal for bailouts south of the border, the Miami Herald reports. Ortega says Central America is reeling from the downturn as US manufacturing and textile plants shut down or downsize. It’s only fair, then, that the US offer a bailout to the region, similar to the ones for the American banking industry. More»

Anger over AIG creates more obstacles for president's agenda

(NEWSER) - Mounting outrage over the bonuses paid to AIG execs is threatening to bring Barack Obama's presidential honeymoon to a bitter end, the Washington Post reports. Lawmakers from both parties are demanding answers the administration is struggling to provide, and the uproar is threatening to sap both public and congressional support for the president's ambitious agenda. More»