Hopey Changey Oopsy Desperatey

So. It's getting time for those all-important midterm elections, and the Democratic Party wants to make sure it retains its majority, so it's sending out the Big Guns.


[Transcript below.]
Yup, that's the President himself, speaking directly to voters White Men, encouraging them to get back in action brow-beating "African-Americans, Latinos, and women" into voting Democratic by reminding them "the stakes are higher than ever."

Mm-hmm. I'm pretty sure most of us know that.

The question is: Does the President? Because I can find no official comment on the heinous anti-choice bills passed by the Oklahoma senate, and in response to the equally heinous immigration law signed into law in Arizona, President Obama mustered the passion to call it "misguided." Whoa—settle down there, President Angrypants!

And, you know, some of those federal successes he's touting in that video haven't exactly been unqualified wins for the demographics he now wants to make sure show up at the polls to reelect Democrats who haven't represented our interests.

Which is to say nothing of his unmentioned foot-dragging on LGBTQI rights. And I would say, "At least he has the decency not to urge people to get out the gay vote when he hasn't made a move on DADT or DOMA," except I suspect that his radio silence on gay rights is less about decency and more about not even wanting to affiliate himself with Teh Gay so close to midterm elections.

It's hard to believe there are still Democratic strategists in D.C. getting paid top dollar to advise "promise/betray/pander at midterms," and even harder to believe there are still highly-ranked Democrats who think that shit's a winning strategy.

You want my vote? EARN IT.

Hello, everybody. Today, I'd like to talk with you about the important role each of us will play in 2010, a role that began more than three years ago, when we set out on an incredible journey to change this country for the better.

Despite the challenges we inherited, we have made great progress. When I took office, our economy was in crisis; our standing in the world was diminished; our healthcare system wasn't working for far too many American families; many people wondered why it seemed like bad behavior on Wall Street was being rewarded, while hard work on Main Street wasn't.

Because of you, we are making the change that our nation so desperately needs. We've passed historic health reform legislation. We've put our nation back on the path to prosperity with the Recovery Act. And we are moving America forward one step at a time.

But despite everything we've done, our work isn't finished. Today, the health insurance companies, the Wall Street banks, and the special interests who have ruled Washington for too long are already focused on November's congressional elections. They see these elections as a chance to put their allies back in power and to undo all that we have accomplished. So, this year, I need your help once more.

A few months ago, we asked you to help us set our priorities for 2010 and tell us how you thought we could win elections at all levels of government. You told us your first priority was to make sure the same people who were inspired to vote for the first time in 2008 go back to the polls in 2010.

So that's what we're gonna do. This year, we're gonna reconnect with voters like Claudia Schulz. At 29 years old, Claudia had never been involved in the political process because she didn't think one person could make a difference. But in 2008, Claudia joined millions of other supporters like you and made her first-ever trip to the polls.

In 2010, it will be up to each of you to ask folks like Claudia to stay involved and to explain why, this year, the stakes are higher than ever. It will be up to each of you to make sure that the young people, African-Americans, Latinos, and women, who powered our victory in 2008, stand together once again.

It will be up to each of you to keep our nation moving forward, to keep working to fix Washington, to keep growing our economy, and to keep building a fairer, stronger, and more just America. If you help us do that, if you help us make sure that first-time voters in 2008 make their voices heard again in November, then together we will deliver on the promise of change, and hope, and prosperity for generations to come. Thanks.