As you think about how to regain public support for your administration, Mr. President, one political imperative looms above all others: winning back the independents who voted for you in 2008 but abandoned the Democratic Party in 2010.
Independents are a motley political crew. Most habitually vote for one party or the other. But as many as a third of those who self-identify as independent really are nonaligned. How you can reach these true swing voters is a subject of endless debate in progressive circles. Centrists argue that you should move to the center. Liberals insist that by standing firm for progressive principles, the center will move to you. Persuading independents, however, is less a matter of political positioning than effective governing.
What these voters are looking for can be summed up succinctly: a more prosperous economy, a more disciplined government, and a more responsive political system that yields results, not partisan deadlock. These voters are upset not because they think you’ve gone socialist, but because they feel you haven’t delivered on these three fronts.
