time to get an economic message

My mentor and former boss Bill Galston has a sharply worded message for Barack Obama: “You are in danger of squandering an election most of us thought was unlosable. The reason is simple: on the electorate’s most important concern – the economy — you have no clear message, and John McCain has filled the void with his own.” Bill adds that Obama needs a tight diagnosis of the current fiasco plus a “focused, parsimonious list of remedies.”

I think voters have plenty of reasons to oppose the Republican ticket in 2008. Therefore, it doesn’t matter much whether Americans know about McCain’s changes of position or Palin’s tanning bed (or McCain’s lobbyist advisers and Palin’s ethics investigation). Nor will the election be affected much by my favorite issues–service, civic engagement, and political reform. It all boils down to what people think Obama would do about the economy.