John: The President’s record is not the issue. The issue is: Can he win
the coming general election against a smooth-talking, well-prepared
candidate backed by the full weight of the broadsheet press, network TV,
Hollywood, the universities, etc., etc?
Watching the Democratic candidates this past few weeks, I’ve been
complacently assuming that he can, quite easily. I feel less sure about
that after the Russert interview, and a lot of people are of the same mind.
THAT is the issue.
The President really needs to work on presentation. If he doesn’t, he
could lose in November. Look at the polls — it’s a close race. Everything
counts, everything matters. The record? Certainly. But also
presentation.