Pirate's Cove

Unable to do anything meaningful to get the US economy moving, Mr. Obama has resorted to playing small ball in many states with issues that should simply be normal government business

(Politico) President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are jousting over the big national themes of 2012: the economy, the deficit, the crisis in Europe.

But voters in swing states also are hearing a lot about decidedly smaller topics: Burmese pythons, Asian carp, a local port and the like.

It’s the micro-issue side of the macro-issue campaign. In an election where every vote matters, Team Obama is also trying to go big by going small.

Take the publicity surrounding the Burmese python.

Democrats count eradication of the invasive species that preys on herons and egrets in the Everglades as a winning issue in the Sunshine State. So when the Interior Department banned the import of the scary snakes in January, the administration and the campaign made sure Floridians knew about it.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe announced the ban while visiting the Everglades. They also met with the Orlando Sentinel editorial board to explain how the snakes are threatening the Everglades habitat.

Soon after, the Obama campaign’s top regional press secretary, Tom Reynolds, weighed in via Twitter: “Big snakes a big problem in FL. Thats why Obama Admin banned 4 types of pythons 2 wks ago. DOI said the snakes threaten native U.S. species.”

We also see something similar when discussing the Asian carp invasion and how the “carp czar” has been working to stop the species from making it into the Great Lakes. Obviously, it’s only through Obama’s super duper leadership that these historic measures are taking place, because no one else could possibly accomplish this….excepting, this is simply normal business of the government, and these measures simply highlight that Obama cannot stand on his overall record. The economy and jobs are the top issues for the vast majority of Americans, and Obama’s policies have failed.

The Obama campaign has been sending out press releases, tweets, and campaign staff to make sure the locals know that Obama is super awesome. But, again, what else does he have but to discuss pythons and carp?