'Buck Up'

Warning about the consequences of the midterm elections, President Obama told Rolling Stone magazine: "People need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up." (My italics)

Slate.com's estimable John Dickerson begs to differ:

“The president must already miss his soon-to-depart Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. When people in the White House say, "Buck up," they often receive Emanuel's favorite epithet in return. (Hint: The first word of the phrase rhymes with buck.) Telling people to "buck up" suggests they are ignorant, inattentive, or lazy.

Well-worded, sir. But the problem is that many people ARE ignorant, inattentive, or lazy. Fortunately, regular folk, the ubiquitous Joe and Jane Sixpack, are not as thin-skinned as fuming Washington insiders like the good Mr. Dickerson. Nor are they uninformed without cause. They have real lives. But like 90% of the nation, they are low-information denizens. Indeed, this is probably the first the Sixpacks have heard about the midterm apocalypse waiting the Dems. And Obama is only now breaking through the news cycle clutter. To the Sixpacks, “buck up” will likely translate to: “Hey honey, remind me to vote. Sounds like we better.”

[The buck up plea] doesn't seem a promising approach to bringing Democrats out of their fuming repose.

Again, well-played, sir. But, relax. Joe and Jane Sixpack don’t scare easily. And they don’t whine, even in repose. They just do what they gotta do.

Of course, for those who already share the president's point of view, this call will seem reasonable. ... But the president isn't preaching to the converted. He's talking directly to members of his base, who are disappointed and angry with him.

Excellent return volley, sir. But let’s put our cards on the table. It’s the “professional left” that are disappointed and angry with Obama. (To be fair, so are many independents – at least until they change their minds, again.) It’s time to wake up, my dear Rip Van Winkles. Jed Barlet is not in the White House. Obama is. Remember? No? Okay, how many fingers am I holding up ...?