Some Republicans Compliment Obama’s Speech for Stealing a G.O.P. Message

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/us/politics/obama-speech-gop-reaction.html

Version 0 of 1.

PHILADELPHIA — For years President Obama has been a boogeyman to Republicans, uniting them in opposition to a Democrat they feel has taken the country in the wrong direction and failed to lead.

But after a stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, many conservatives who cannot bring themselves to support their party’s nominee, Donald J. Trump, credited the president’s speech for being a strong one and expressed regret that Democrats appeared to be appropriating themes that were once the bedrock of their party.

Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review magazine, called the speech “very effective” and noted that the Democrats were using classic Republicanisms.

Mr. Obama invoked former President Ronald Reagan directly during the speech and said that the principles espoused at the Republican convention in Cleveland did not sound conservative at all.

As Mr. Obama spoke, Erick Erickson, the conservative blogger who opposes Mr. Trump, said that his phone was lighting up with messages from disappointed Republicans. This was the kind of hopeful message Republicans should have been offering, they said, rather than obsessing over tearing down Hillary Clinton.

Some Republican strategists found themselves angered at Mr. Obama’s speech, but for reasons that could spell trouble for Mr. Trump.

“Used to being quite irate as the Dems lie about our nominee at their convention,” Mike Murphy, a former adviser to Senator John McCain and Mitt Romney, wrote in despair on Twitter. “This time it’s all true!”

Mr. Trump’s flattery of foreign dictators, his mixed business record and his provocative proposals to build a wall and ban Muslim migration have given Democrats lot of fodder for attack ads and convention speeches this year.

For those who competed against Mr. Trump during the Republican nominating contest, and warned of his vulnerabilities, the skewering from Mr. Obama brought a sense of wistfulness. Tim Miller, a former spokesman for Jeb Bush, who is a fierce critic of Mr. Trump, said Mr. Obama showed why the Republican nominee has been such a gift to Democrats.

Of course, many Republicans panned the speech as more divisiveness from a president who they think accomplished little during his nearly eight years in office. Mr. Trump said on Thursday morning that “President Obama spoke last night about a world that doesn’t exist.”

Others, such as a former spokesman for Senator Marco Rubio, could not help but express admiration for the smart stagecraft employed by the Democrats. The outreach to disaffected Republicans was both overt and subtle.