I smell triangulation politics

[PhilosopherKing]

Gibbs opening his mouth complaining about the "left" seems to me an attempt to appeal to the "middle". Am I looking too much into this?

[zipplewrath]

1. Absolutely not

That's EXACTLY what's going on. Gibbs is sucking up to the moderate independents by getting "street cred" by beating upon on the left. They've only been doing it since the inauguration (Rick Warren), and Obama did it on Fox when he talked about rejecting ideas from the left. The left is their favorite punching bag when they need to impress the moderate independents.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

2. What I love is how certain posters talked shit endlessly about Clinton triangulation (w/good reason)

but now all of a sudden it's brilliant.

[YOY]

3. He's doing a better job of appealing to the "right" than the "middle".

n/t

[leveymg]

4. It's an appeal for money.

I'm not sure Gibbs knows who he's talking about when he refers to the "professional left." How many get paid for being leftists, after all?

It's also hard to understand why the Press Secretary lashed out at the Kucinich Left, when that's a small minority of even the self-proclaimed liberal side of the Party.

Normally, they get ignored. But, not now. Why?

Something's got Obama's policy advisors scared, and they're taking it out by broad-brushing a wider group of critics within the Party as a sort of Leftist straw man. Who does the White House now feel they need to run away from, and what are they actually scared of?

I think they saw some scary numbers about how little enthusiasm there really is among Progressives for this Administration and Congress, and are beginning to realize that a lot of us aren't going to be knocking as many doors as their models had projected. So, now, they need to make up the deficit by hitting up the big money guys to buy media time. The corporate suits instinctively don't like us. This rhetoric is designed to placate someone - but, it's a sign of desperation, and that REALLY worries me.

No, you're not reading too much into this.

[izquierdista]

13. Not "away from", run to

Immediate fallout from Citizens United.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Nope, you are not looking too far.

[BootinUp]

6. Call it what you will

I think the WH does not want to appear too comfy with the "progressives" yes.

[Individualist]

7. It absolutely reeks of DLC.

:puke:

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. i believe you are correct, sir. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

9. Gibbs, like his buddy Rahm Emanuel HATES all actual Democrats

He proved that with his slanderous hit piece against Howard Dean in December 2003.

[Warren Stupidity]

10. I smell bus exhaust

[joeybee12]

11. Not at all...your sense of smell is very keen.

[JoseGaspar]

12. It is unusually inept triangulation but that is what it is.

Gibbs says it. They walk it back yesterday. They walk it forward again today. Etc...

More to the point, Clinton was proving that he was not "Left/Liberal" and appealing to the middle, both through words and policy ("welfare reform", etc.). This administration is trying to claim that they are the "real" Liberals, as is easy to see just through the reflected talking points on this site.

It is cynical, but lame...