Obama still working on the whole “messaging” thing

But a White House that once envisioned a fall campaign proudly proclaiming the benefits of health care and financial reform is now using the presidential megaphone mostly as a warning device, offering a full-throated critique of a Republican return to power.

“It’s a complicated task in a sense; they have been trying to refine their message,” said Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, who is in a close race for a second term. “What they are trying to do is get the voters to ask, ‘What’s the choice?’ They created this mess, we’re cleaning it up. You have got to stay with us. I think that’s the bottom-line message.”…

James Carville, the former adviser to President Bill Clinton who is known for his stick-to-one-message advice about “the economy, stupid,” said in an interview that Mr. Obama still seemed to be searching for the right way to make the argument. Mr. Carville said he needed to find a way to connect the issue of jobs to the conservative groups raising money from undisclosed sources.

“My sense is they are flirting with the right girl here. They are just a little clumsy,” Mr. Carville said. “Why would the organizations whose agenda is outsourcing put in $75 million into the campaign? Ask yourself that.”