My latest column in my university’s newspaper is up today, here at The Eagle. However, I’d recommend reading it here, and avoid the nonsense juvenility that seem to be the trend among other columnists and commenters there nowadays. This week I urge Democrats to continue working on their reforms. They can get a lot more accomplished this year–and win in November–if they time their messages right and play of the context based on the time of year. Sometimes it’s the simple things. Check it out below.

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My latest column in my university’s newspaper is up today, here at The Eagle. This week, I’m focusing on the performance of Democrats in the media and how to handle (or not handle) their messaging alongside that coming from Republicans. With the way Republicans have handled their message–Tea Party and all–my advice is pretty simple. Let ‘em keep on talking, the only people they’re going to hurt is themselves.

The full column is below the cut. Check it out and let me know what you think.

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Obama is on a roll. In fact, I’d argue that he’s on such a roll, few people quite realize it. And even more importantly, I don’t think Republicans see it coming.

Could he save 2010 for the Democrats? Two things that have happened in the past 24 hours suggest, to me, that he may be figuring out the strategies it takes to salvage these midterms. Simply put, he’s figuring out the winning issues (hint: health care is not one of them).

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” has been a divisive issue for a long time. For years, it was accepted by the majority, while it infuriated gays and allies behind the scenes. Upon Obama’s election, he pledged to repeal the policy, but last year saw little action on that front. This week we’ve seen the action liberals have been waiting for and it’s making the GOP look petty, homophobic and, especially in the case of Senator John McCain, lacking convictions on the issue. Three things that make this one a winner for Obama and the democrats:

1. Public opinion has shifted and a majority now favor repealing the policy
2. Top defense officials support an end to the policy
3. Republicans can’t make up their mind–John McCain, in particular, flip-flopping on the issue since October 2006

Keep pushing this until it happens, Obama. This shifts focus away from the economy a bit, gives you a lot of support from your liberal base (which you desperately need if you want to mobilize voters come November), and will make for plenty of heart-warming stories about gays being able to be “themselves” when the policy is finally ended.

AIG Bonuses

Now this could really go either way, but with Obama holding the momentum and public approval on the rise since the State of the Union, I’m feeling confident this will, ultimately, work in democrats favor.

As most of us know, AIG is readying another $100 million round of bonuses for its executives. Naturally, this infuriates about 99% of all Americans. Here’s the deal, three things to remember for this one:

1. Obama didn’t start the bank bailouts, Bush did, way back in 2008
2. Everyone hates AIG, and democrats have been doing a better job showing outrage over this issue than Republicans have–Republicans have to worry about losing wealthy, corporate donors and voters for November
3. This adds support for Obama’s proposed financial regulations–regulations Republicans have been pretty adamantly opposed to thus far

Keep up Obama. If you can show that this is your issue and that you’re willing to tackle it head on–as opposed to the Republican skirting around the issue–you can make this a real winner and start pulling around your approval rating on economic issues.

Behind the Scenes: Demonizing Las Vegas

Now this is pure conjecture on my part, but I’ve got a feeling Obama’s recent flap on Las Vegas, and subsequent apology in response to Senator Harry Reid’s outrage, are very planned events

First of all, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Now I’m not about to suggest Obama is above making the same mistake twice, but this is a tense political climate and he knows his good friend Harry Reid is up for re-election. Now what could possibly help Senator Reid at this juncture in the race…?

How about a show of strength? A little bravado from our fearless Senate Majority Leader? Well that’s what he got. Obama’s comment on Las Vegas gave Senator Reid an excellent opportunity to complain–loudly–and Obama immediately issued a formal apology for the comment.

Not only does this help Senator Reid immensely–now he can say he fights hard for his state’s largest city, and he’s willing to stand up to President Obama, and he understands the pain Nevadans are feeling and wants to help fix it–but it’s an event that, outside of Nevada, will only last in this news cycle for about two hours. The majority of Americans will ignore the story altogether, and even less will care. Nevadans are the only ones who will hear it, the only ones who will care, and Reid’s approval rating will go up. This might not help Obama’s approval in the state, but really, who cares? Politics is a short-term game, and Obama’s got almost three years before Nevada voters go back to the polls for him. There’s time.

My latest column is out in the AU Eagle, and boy is it timely. My column is basically an extension of this post, which I had written back on January 20th. They focus on Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and how, honestly, I think he’s doing a pretty miserable job with the press right now. Today only exacerbates this, as esteemed ABC journalist Jake Tapper basically got into it in the pressroom. It’s kind of embarrassing, and it’s not serving the President well. Anyway, check out my column via the link above, or just click the “read more” to read it right here on my blog.

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Could we be seeing a new Obama this week? There’s no question the American public has seen a complete about-face in strategy for our young President, in only a matter of days. There’s no question that last week–filled with “Republican outrage”, a “disastrous” election in Massachusetts for the Democrats, and the “final demise” of health care reform–was a miserable week to be a Democrat. And there’s no question the Obama administration figured this out, and with the hiring of David Plouffe at the end of the week as a formal adviser, they’ve also acted on it.

This week is proof. Wednesday night’s State of the Union speech was not a complete revolution in the rhetoric, but it was far more detailed, passionate, and blunt than I think anyone really expected. And the American public seem to have received it well, with 83% of speech watchers approving of his proposals.

Thursday we saw the bold announcement of a new high-speed rail proposal, utilizing $8 billion of stimulus funds. This announcement is a huge deal for each state involved, and is a pretty well-supported investment. God knows I can’t wait for a high-speed trip to NYC from DC.

Finally, in one of the most glorious demonstrations of American democracy I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, we had a direct question and answer session with President Obama and House Republicans Friday afternoon. Not only was it pleasantly surprising to see the GOP actually invite our Democratic President to come speak with them but, to put it bluntly, he absolutely schooled them.

He shot down their accusations. He legitimized and substantiated his proposals. He took them to task for their ridiculous politicizing and demonization of his policies. He did everything right. Have you seen it? You need to. Especially if you’re a Republican. I’ll join with journalists all over the Internet calling for this to be a regular occurrence. Let’s make “question time” happen all the time. Hell, let’s put it in the Constitution. Anything to make this kind of reasoned, even, logical debate happen more often and in public.

Have you seen the video? Watch it below. Miss the State of the Union? Check out the video embedded above.

In the end, it’s been a good week for Democrats. And it’s been a great week for Obama. I don’t know if I’d call this Obama v2.0 as much as a return to Obama v1.0, after a regression to Obama v0.5.

Consider this a rebound. Obama is back in the game. Maybe it was a wake-up call from Massachusetts, maybe it was advice from David Plouffe, or maybe it was simply Obama deciding it was time to change the way he’s been doing things. Regardless, I like it. I think this is a good thing for Democrats, a good thing for Obama, and a good thing for America. And look at how quickly the past week has changed things–if nothing else, this week should teach us all that things in politics can change incredibly quickly. We’ve got about ten months between now and November, I have no doubt Republicans will have good weeks and Democrats will have good weeks. Here’s hoping we can see more “question time”-style debate, more civil debate and more productivity on Capitol Hill between now and then, too.

Edit: Thanks so much to Andi Narvaez (@andinarvaez) for the tip on “Rebound” instead of “Reboot”. Flows much better, and certainly more contextually appropriate given his appearance at today’s Georgetown v. Duke game.