The Hill News

The Obama administration thinks it can convince voters that Republicans would revive Bush-era policies between now and the election, press secretary Robert Gibbs suggested Friday.

Despite polling this week showing that voters are not convinced that electing GOP candidates would mean a return of policies sought by President George W. Bush, the crux of Democrats' election year messaging, Gibbs hinted that the White House was not about to shift course.

"Give us about 50 days," he said during an appearance on MSNBC when asked about the efficacy of the Democratic message.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this week suggested that the message hasn't worked, at least so far.
Fifty-eight percent of registered voters said the GOP would bring different ideas to the table next year if they win back control of Congress, while 35 percent said Republicans would return to Bush's policies.

Gibbs asserted that the message would be driven home more throughout the fall election season, and that it hadn't struck home yet because voters hadn't fully tuned in yet to the political debates.

"I'm not sure everybody's been entirely focused on an election," he said.

President Obama will no doubt repeat that refrain, though, during an 11 a.m. press conference today to cap off a week of political barnstorming the president has done in key battleground states.