White House: Brown’s Election Was Expression of Support for Obama

Of all the ridiculous analyses I’ve heard about Scott Brown’s victory last week, none reached the level of the absolutely ridiculous political spin than that of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

WALLACE: Let’s turn to the message from Massachusetts on Tuesday night. Here was the president’s first reaction on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office. People are angry and they’re frustrated, not just because of what’s happened in the last year or two years, but what’s happened in the last eight years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: But, Robert, Scott Brown had a clear platform, and let’s lay it out — stop health care, cut taxes, end backroom deals with special interest, and don’t give terrorists Miranda rights.

It wasn’t the same thing that swept Barack Obama into office. Scott Brown explicitly campaigned against the Obama agenda.

GIBBS: Well, that may be what he campaigned on, but that’s not why the voters of Massachusetts sent him to Washington. If you look at an exit poll that was done by the Washington Post…

WALLACE: Well, it wasn’t an exit poll, but it was a — I mean, they did a poll.

GIBBS: Well, they did a poll of voters that participated…

WALLACE: Right.

GIBBS: … as to why they voted, right. So more people voted to express their support for Barack Obama than to oppose him. His approval rating among that electorate was 61 percent.

Their enthusiasm for Republican policies among that electorate was — for Republicans was 40 percent…

WALLACE: But you’re not suggesting…

GIBBS: No, no.

WALLACE: … this was a…

GIBBS: No, no.

WALLACE: … mandate for Barack Obama?

GIBBS: Of course not. But I’m also not suggesting that what you said a minute ago meets the truth test either, and let’s…

WALLACE: You don’t think that…

GIBBS: No, no. Chris, hold on.

WALLACE: You don’t think that when they voted for…

GIBBS: Hold on, Chris. Chris, hold on.

WALLACE: … Scott Brown they were voting against Obama’s policies?

GIBBS: That’s not what they told pollsters. No. I think people are angry in this country — they were angry in Massachusetts — that we haven’t made more progress on the economy.

Let’s ask the question on health care. They asked specifically — now, again, this is somebody that you’re saying is all about stopping health care reform.

WALLACE: He said he was the 41st vote.

GIBBS: I understand, and I hope he doesn’t misread the electorate. Seventy percent of the voters in Massachusetts want him to work with Democrats on health care reform. Only 28 percent want to stop health care reform from happening.

Chris, if Republicans want to assume that the outcome of what happened in Massachusetts is a big endorsement of their policies, when 40 percent are enthusiastic about them and 58 percent are angry about them, then I hope they misread that election as badly as anybody could.

What people want in this country is they want to us focus on getting this economy moving again. They want us to work together. And the president has tried, and I hope that Republicans will try to work with the president.

But that kind of anger and dissatisfaction at the fact that Washington far too many times puts the special interests ahead of their interests — that anger still persists. That’s what people said in Massachusetts.

So, are you telling me that the White House believes that Scott Brown was elected to the Senate over Democrat Martha Coakley because of support for Barack Obama’s agenda? Really, Mr. Gibbs?

If a vote for Scott Brown was a vote in support of Obama, then what about the votes for Martha Coakley? You know, the candidate that shared a stage with President Obama days before the election…

Aaron Margolis is a life long resident of the Bay State, and works at an architectural firm north of Boston. Aaron has a Master of Architecture Degree from Boston Architectural College and is currently in the process of becoming of a Registered Architect.