Public Sentiment
There is a well-known saying attributed to President Abraham Lincoln—“Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.”
I was reminded of that in the aftermath of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the U.S. and Iran. It seems everyone has an opinion on it, and it seems the loudest opposition comes from the political far left, and from the political far right.
It is impossible to know if this is a good deal or a bad deal, because we won’t know until some time passes whether Iran will live up to the promises made in agreement. I am enough of a jingoist to presume the United States will live up to its promises.
I concede that on paper, based on the information released to this point, it leaves even the most ardent Trump supporters scratching their heads. This may be a time when the President himself has to speak directly to the American people—especially his base—and lay out the case for the deal. Not in a rally setting with boisterous supporters, but from behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, or from behind a podium.
Either that, or he has to designate someone to be “the voice” behind the deal, to avoid fragmentation of message.
But it has to be done quickly, before broad public sentiment turns against the deal. Never mind that some of the loudest critics of American involvement to begin with are now some of the loudest critics of the deal; that’s political hypocrisy, and it’s never in short supply in D.C. these days.
As Lincoln knew, the only way forward is with the public behind you. At this point, this one could go either way.
