Obama struggles as communicator

(JIM VANDEHEI & MIKE ALLEN-POLITICO).Of all the pitfalls Barack Obama might face in the presidency, here is one not many people predicted: He is struggling as a public communicator.

The sluggish and unsteady response to the uproar over AIG bonuses highlights a larger problem of his White House: Obama’s surprisingly uneven campaign to educate the public about the economic crisis and convince the public that he is in command of circumstances.

It was brilliant communications skills that carried Obama to the presidency, with a national campaign built on the strength of his personal story and the clarity of his promise to transform politics. On the rare occasions when he was thrown on the defensive, he quickly turned problems into opportunities and regained control of his public image.

What’s different now? The polished phrases and unflappable delivery haven’t gone away. His prime-time news conference and speech to Congress drew the usual praise.

But the discipline and strategic focus of the campaign have yet to move into the White House. The story of the day often catches the president flat-footed or on the defensive — and regularly undercut by fellow Democrats.

Here’s why Obama is struggling as president on the same subject on which he used to excel as candidate:

Obama’s message on the economy has been as volatile as the stock market itself. When he needed public support for his stimulus plan, he spoke in stark and gloomy terms.

“The picture is likely to get worse before it gets better,” he said in his weekly address on Jan. 31. “Americans know that our economic recovery will take years — not months.” ,That was too dark, in the eyes of many Democrats and the markets.

So once the stimulus passed — and criticism of his bummer message mounted — he shifted to a more optimistic take on the economy, at one point encouraging people to consider hopping back into the market. That was seen as too bright.

This week has seen a mix of both sunshine and clouds, including Vice President Joe Biden’s warning that Obama inherited a worse economy than Franklin D. Roosevelt did, when the country was facing 25 percent employment and the economy stayed weak for a dozen years.

Is it a good time to invest, as Obama opined last month, or a good time to run for the hills? Billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC the government needs to be clearer about whether people should be confident or fearful: “It’s the nature of the political process, somewhat, but we’ve had muddled messages.”

Before he took office, White House aides told us Obama would spend his first months telling hard truths about the complexity of the economic problems and the complexity of the solutions. There’s been very little of that. No high-profile speeches to explain in detail the banking crisis, AIG or the reasoning for every other bailout.

One reason is that White House officials aren’t anxious to explain the depths of the problems. They tell us they anticipate unemployment to exceed 10 percent next year — and the solution to AIG and the banking crisis to require many more infusions of taxpayer money, perhaps another $750 billion. That’s not a popular message these days.

Obama won’t — and perhaps shouldn’t — speak that frankly. But his silence makes it easier for people to whip up public anger over complex issues such as the AIG bailout and saving the banking system