'The French Obama'! Does this pro-Macron politician's spin on public backlash to progressive policies sound familiar?

The protest in France continues, and politicians in that country are faced with a lot of questions, but sometimes the answers seem to be taken from the same templates. Case in point:

Is there a spin doctor in the house? One of Macron's MPs suggests the problem is they just haven't explained themselves well enough. They've been "too intelligent" and "too subtle" https://t.co/zNo0tcWJQU

— Michel Rose (@MichelReuters) December 17, 2018

For those keeping track at home, Macron’s majority leader in the House today was asked why the government is unpopular, and he responded "we were probably too intelligent, too subtle".

So that’s how good Macron’s people are at politics.

— PEG (@pegobry) December 17, 2018

Well, there it is!

The eyebrow-flash response here to Macron’s man identifying the main fault/defect of the French government as being that they are “too intelligent, too subtle” (for the public, one assumes) is eloquent. https://t.co/0kStWWvPq4

— Alan Hynes (@hynesalan) December 17, 2018

Recruteur : quel est votre principal défaut ?
Moi : pic.twitter.com/tlGSHPIQ5m

— Paul Aveline (@PaulAveline) December 17, 2018

Wow!

Beyond parody. https://t.co/zvbbLoutLq

— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) December 17, 2018

Did that answer ring any bells?

Reminds me of a recent interview with Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono, who said Democrats have a hard time "connecting" with voters because of how "smart" they are and because they "know so much." https://t.co/W6ZIV604Qr

— John Daniel Davidson (@johnddavidson) December 17, 2018

So it's the @maziehirono defense I see

— Tricky Dick in TX (@tricky_dick_tx) December 17, 2018

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#Obamaesque

— Chris DeRosa (@manservantchris) December 17, 2018

In the States this is known as "pulling a Hirono". https://t.co/tS0oCc7scK

— ᵀᴴᴱ ᴾᴿᴬᴳᴹᴬᵀᴼᴹᴱᵀᴱᴿ #RIP41 (@pragmatometer) December 17, 2018

Similar response offered by Miss Mazie referring to Republicans. Ironic ain't it…

— webrown (@wbrown9444) December 17, 2018

And it didn’t only remind people of Hirono:

It's reminiscent of when Obama claimed his problem was that he just hadn't explained his policies well enough for the American people to underhand how amazing they were for us.

— John Thorsson (@thorsson_john) December 17, 2018

I’ve heard @BarackObama and @MichelleObama say the exact same thing. That attitude stifles real debate. When one’s response to an argument is that the other side is not smart enough, there is no productive way forward. We need open-minded debate on the issues, not arrogance. https://t.co/sWsrMEyo63

— Douglas Braswell (@douglasbraswell) December 17, 2018

He really is the French Obama. https://t.co/HJFDaWDs00

— Avi Woolf, WTF Conservative? (@AviWoolf) December 17, 2018

Yep, that sounds familiar too.