I know you'd prefer to believe, as you said in your '04 convention speech, that America is not fundamentally divided between red- and blue-state mentalities. But your experience in office has surely taught you that it is. There are people who want to destroy you politically. Your only choice is to use them as a foil - just as give-'em-hell Harry stumped in 1948 against "the do-nothing Republican Congress." The sole viable strategy is to confront them and win.
Nobody thought Truman would win, in part because he was deemed a national joke. Americans quipped, "To err is Truman." They would ask, in moments of crisis, "What would Truman do if he were alive?" And he was beset by many crises - inflation, strikes, housing shortages. The Republicans had captured Congress in 1946 with the slogan "Had enough?" and believed they had a mandate to slash government. They routinely blocked Truman's proposals, including equal rights for black citizens. In response, Truman campaigned against their obstructionism. He converted it into an asset and reframed the terms of debate.
You need to do the same. Americans don't want to hear you whine anymore about how frustrated you are. They respect a president who fights - even a president with whom they may disagree. And this Congress could be the perfect foil. Truman's Congress at least managed a few signature achievements, such as passing the Marshall Plan. The current Republican House is best known for going on record with a plan to eradicate Medicare, and driving us to the precipice of default.
