President has to be more assertive against GOP

I believe the president's low poll ratings are the result of his nearly hopeless style of communicating. While he is busy trying to be president of all the people (which, by definition, he is), the Republicans at the national level are kicking his rear end politically and have been since he took office.

They are, for the most part, nasty people who will do anything to see Mr. Obama fail at everything. In response, the president seems to think that if only he "explains" his positions and actions better, then eventually people will understand. That's wrongheaded and fuzzy thinking.

In my opinion, he needs (desperately) a political "attack dog," a la James Carville, who can pursue a very aggressive policy toward the Republican Party and call it what it is: a party of malcontents who will stop at next to nothing to see him fail. The paranoia of the "tea baggers" goes without saying, (This certainly excludes local Republicans in the Watertown area, most of whom are reasonable people.)

Unless and until Mr. Obama understands this, I and several millions of people like me will continue to be frustrated, and our support will be tepid at best. They are in a pretty deep hole. They know the way out. I hope they don't wait any longer to take it.

Rick Dennis

Saranac Lake