Like so many political fights, the one between President Obama and Republicans over income inequality has become a battle over language. Is it about inequality of incomes or of opportunity? On this question, the president and his party have moved in Republicans’ — and voters’ — direction. …
Democrats have the political advantage on policy prescriptions. Polls show strong support for some of Mr. Obama’s ideas, such as investing more in education from preschool through college, increasing the minimum wage and raising taxes on the highest earners.
Still, the influence of national polls on the debate is limited when Democrats are thinking in regional terms, given the trouble spots they face for the 2014 midterm elections. They are defending Senate seats in places such as Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina with strong conservative leanings. CONT.
Jackie Calmes, New York Times