Obama seeks the right tone on U.S. economy

By Steve Holland - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama tidied up his economic message on Tuesday, reviving the hopeful "Yes We Can" spirit of his campaign and abandoning the "Maybe We Can't" impression he took to the White House.

Since he took power on January 20, Obama's optimistic rhetoric had taken a turn into grim territory, with bleak warnings that the damage to the U.S. economy may be irreversible and that a catastrophe lay just around the corner.

This is not the way other newly minted presidents have addressed the economic challenges they inherited. Depression-era Franklin Roosevelt told Americans they had "nothing to fear but fear itself." Ronald Reagan exhorted people to "believe in ourselves."

By contrast Jimmy Carter, in the midst of an energy crisis, pounded a downbeat theme that Americans were suffering from a "crisis of confidence" and the "loss of a unity of purpose for our nation."

No less an expert than former President Bill Clinton, a master at public persuasion, called Obama out on his language last week.

"I like (him) trying to educate the American people about the dimensions and scope of this economic crisis," Clinton told ABC News. "I just would like him to end by saying that he is hopeful and completely convinced we're gonna come through this."

Obama and his aides appear to have taken notice. There was more upbeat language in his address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

"We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," he said. "The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation."

UPBEAT OR HONEST?

Presidents often try to straddle a line between being overly optimistic and painfully honest.

Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, drew sharp fire from critics for overly upbeat assessments of the Iraq war when it was clear that U.S. troops were in the fight of their lives.

Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who lost to Obama in the November 4 presidential election, called Obama's speech "excellent" and said he struck the right balance.

"Whatever he said in the past, I think what he said tonight should give Americans some strength and reassurance," McCain told Reuters.

Obama's recent pessimism, however, has been noteworthy for a man who built his presidential campaign on hope and is praised for his communication skills.

"He trusts the American people with the truth," David Axelrod, senior adviser to the president, told NBC News in defending Obama's approach.