GSPM Blog

I was talking to a prospective student today, and she made a great point -- after a month of debate back and forth about health care, she has no idea what is really on the table.... How can that be?

I told her I think she is right to be confused; there certainly was a lot of discussion in August on health care, but I am not sure we made much progress.  In fact, Daily Kos noted that even with all of the contentious town halls and tons of money advertising, there nearly no movement in polling for or against health care reform as a result.

So how can that be? I think the White House made a smart inside play early in the  process, but they dropped the ball on the equally-important outside play:

 Inside Play: Team Obama wanted to avoid any suggestions of acting like the preceding president, so Obama openly and deliberately deferred to Congress on the structure and content of the bills they would produce on health care. Being a big fan of separation of powers, I liked this idea -- it is Congress' responsibility to craft legislation, and it is their thing to work through the complicated politics of getting a big package done. Smart of the White House to remind Congress of that, and to get out of the way so they could work their process.

Outside Play: Team Obama also seems to have left the public messaging to Congress. The White House did not maintain control of the message about health care, and that is a big mistake if you want to get something done. Why?

There is no such thing as 'Congress' in the sense of a coordinated entity that makes clear decisions and such. It is a complicated nest of 535 independent contractors trying to manage a chaotic set of processes through a network of committees in both chambers. Each committee and subcommittee -- and each party team on every one of them -- has its own agenda, as well. SO you don't get a message -- you get a cacaphony.

 What works better? Defer to Congress to craft a bill -- but shape their work through careful and sustained media. Give the necessary speeches, outline the boundaries of acceptable compromise, mobilize your supporters to pressure Congress for your desired ends, and drive Congressional efforts in the direction you want them to go.

 After a long hot August, it appears that the White House has realized that they played the inside game well in handing the bill-drafting to Congress, but they lost control of the outside game by handing off the message to Congress too.   Maybe they got back into the game in time to force the outcome they desire.

 We will know pretty soon!