The San Francisco firm David Binder Research has conducted focus groups for the Democratic National Committee, which has shared the findings with White House officials such as senior advisor David Axelrod and Dan Pfeiffer, a deputy communications director. The Democratic committee's expense records show it has paid the firm $87,500 so far this year.
"The problem in the past for Democrats has been once they get elected they revel in talking to each other in policy-ese," said Geoff Garin, a Democratic strategist. "But in doing so, they talk in a language that is incomprehensible to people who live and work outside the bubble."
Results of a recent poll by the Mellman Group were also shared with the White House. The Washington consulting firm undertook a survey for environmentalists that polled 800 likely voters in late March. Its 45-page report recommended playing up the idea that curbing global warming would create jobs.
The survey tested 19 phrases and found "clean energy jobs" had the widest appeal, with 42% of the respondents "very enthusiastic" about it.
"Cap and trade," by contrast, ranked next to last, with only 7% registering enthusiasm.
Few people know that the "cap" in the proposed cap-and-trade system refers to the limit that the government would impose on industrial emissions of heat-trapping gases. In order to exceed the caps, polluters would have to buy emission permits from the government and from other companies -- thus, the "trade."
"Cap and trade is a term used by policymakers and insiders, and it's not understood by average Americans," one Democratic strategist said.
Another strategist said the term "trade" reminded people of the volatile stock market, which made them uneasy about the underlying policy.
It seems clear that the White House is absorbing some of these messages. During Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, his website included a section devoted to energy and environmental protection. The phrase "cap and trade" popped up at several points.
In contrast, Obama's White House website carries an energy section that makes no mention of "cap and trade."
A list of energy policy talking points compiled by Obama's Council on Environmental Quality is filled with poll-tested messages, such as variations on the phrase "clean energy jobs."
