December 16, 2010
"Republicans may have made major gains in the November elections, but they have yet to win the hearts and minds of the American people." So begins a Washington Post story about a new Post-ABC news poll.
The poll, it says, suggests the election was not a broad mandate for Republicans and their plans, but more a vote against the status quo. In other words, the Republicans must prove themselves.
That will be a difficult but not impossible task as the unions and other liberal groups, in conjunction with the big media, can be counted on to portray any cuts in spending as a threat to children and the elderly. You know that's coming. The class warfare generals are ready to pounce and they will.
What amazes me in this poll is that nearly half of those surveyed still believe President Obama is taking a stronger leadership role than Republicans. How can this be? This is possibly the weakest president we have had in modern times.
I have said the Republicans need to begin by focusing on two things: what works and that we can't continue to spend ourselves into further debt. If they do that, the hearts and minds should follow.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
