Powell's criticism is a bit unclear, in my view. He seems to be saying Obama bit off too much, or at least so much that the American public is uneasy with him now. That's true and untrue. First, Powell:
“The president also has to ... shift the way in which he has been doing things,” Powell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The American people feel that too many programs have come down. There are so many rocks in our knapsack now that we’re having trouble carrying it.”Obama didn't bit off too much - we wish he bit off too much. But the GOP did an expert job at selling the American people on the notion that Obama was insane, out of control, and quickly turning the country into the next incarnation of the Soviet Union.
Powell, a retired Army general, who was national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and who ran the State Department for President George W. Bush, said Obama must focus “like a razor blade” on employment, giving the same level of attention to creating jobs — and bringing down the 9.6 percent unemployment rate — as he did to passing bills overhauling health care and reforming education.
“I understand the importance of all of that,” Powell said, referring to Obama’s signature legislative accomplishments. “But as far as the American people are concerned, the main attack is employment.”
Second, they sold the nation on the notion that the stimulus package was all pork and didn't accomplish a thing. That's utter bs. CBO already proved that the stimulus worked. It just didn't work enough - it was far too small, by about half. But the GOP lied, the Dems didn't find back nearly hard enough, and the public bought the lie.
Obama can focus "more" on employment if he wants, but good luck. First, he already lost the chance at passing a bigger stimulus. The GOP and the public won't accept it now, nor will Dems worried about re-election, and Obama himself started touting the importance of reducing the deficit, so it's pretty much toast. Second, what's to stop the GOP from painting Obama's next jobs program as being just as porky and just as useless? We're not losing a substance war with the GOP, we're losing a message war. And have been from day one. Until we turn that around, until we figure out why our guys suck so badly at messaging, no good program is going to win folks over - at least not until the economy turns around.
