GOP Strategist: If Obama "Dog," Republicans "Fire Hydrants"
Marking Labor Day at an event in Milwaukee on Monday, President Obama went slightly off prepared remarks on the economy, and Republicans have been quick to counter.
At the Milwaukee Laborfest, Obama commented on special interest groups, saying, "They're not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog. That's not in my prepared remarks, it's just - but it's true."
Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus responded Tuesday on CBSNews.com's "Washington Unplugged," calling Mr. Obama's dramatic language "ineffective" as a campaign tool.
"The president thinks he's been treated like a dog by Republicans and Congress. He should probably stop treating them like a fire hydrant," Jacobus told CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford.
"Democrats can't turnout new voters," she said. "That's why you hear this red meat from the president because they have to get their left wing very, very angry and the only way to do that is to say they're kicking me around in Washington."
Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons joined Jacobs and Crawford for the webcast's political roundtable. "The president's talking to surge voters who Democrats need to turnout who were Obama voters two years ago," he said.
Responding to a series of polls released early Tuesday indicating that the GOP will win big in midterms this fall, Simmons remained confident.
"It is going to be a tough year for Democrats but it's not going to be one that we lose the House and the Senate."
"The polls are reality," Jacobus countered.
CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes and Politico's Kiki Ryan also appeared on Tuesday's "Washington Unplugged," which you can watch in full above.
"Washington Unplugged," CBSNews.com's exclusive daily politics Webshow, appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
