Political consultant: Obama needs to make up ground with Wednesday’s address

Wednesday night will be a big one for Barack Obama.

The president will make a broadcast address to tell the nation what he plans to do about the Islamic State terrorist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

“I think it’s one of the more important speeches that President Obama will give in his presidency,” said Valley political consultant Stan Barnes.

Barnes added that Obama is “starting from a bad place with the American people on the subject of what to do about ISIS,” referring to the the president’s “we don’t have a strategy” comment of a couple weeks ago.

“When he said that his administration did not have a strategy for dealing with these terrorists, you could hear the collective gasp from people all over the country wondering, ‘What in the world is going on with this presidency?,'” Barnes said.

He said that Obama hasn’t given the country much reason to be confident about his ability to deal with the problem.

“The president is trying his best,” Barnes said, “but it feels like he is flying by the seat of his pants and that there’s no substance.”

Barnes said he thinks the president will push for a coalition of nations to join with the United States to fight ISIS.

With the Washington Post putting Obama’s approval rating at 42 percent, Barnes said the president must say something Wednesday night that will boost the public’s confidence in him.

“The president of the United States is in a hole with credibility on this issue and the American people,” said Barnes. “He’s got to dig out of that hole if the country is going to move forward on this incredibly difficult and important topic.”

The president’s address will be broadcast live Wednesday at 6 p.m. Arizona time on KTAR News 92.3 FM.