Even the term “occupy” connotes disorder — radical rather than mainstream. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake has already found in focus groups that “we are the 99 percent” has broader appeal to voters than the term “Occupy Wall Street.” By comparison, the Tea Party brand evokes the Founding Fathers. The historic Boston Tea Party was radical. But that radicalism is now wrapped in the soft hue of Americana.

Messaging matters. So does image. Tea Party activists wear colonial tri-corner hats. There is a humorous profusion of tea bags. But consider that hyper-patriotic imagery beside drum circles and tent camps that seem like colorized Hoovervilles. Eugene McCarthy astutely asked his young volunteers to get “clean for Gene” before campaigning on his behalf in ’68. By the 1972 Democratic convention, the long hair and beards were back. Cameras captured counterculture delegates. An older Democratic delegate gazed around the convention and quipped that it looked like the “cast of ‘Hair.’”…

For these reasons, it would be awkward, as well as counter-productive, for Obama to embrace the movement. His job approval rating seesaws around 40 percent. Obama cannot afford to isolate himself further from the majority. The president is politically best served by doing what he’s done. Reasonably affirm activists’ populism without aligning himself with the activists. Fox News recently headlined that “Obama Goes All-in With ‘Occupy Wall Street.’ ” He has not done that. Should he do so, consider the rule of any casino: Advantage goes to the house. And in today’s Washington, that means Republicans.