Working the Refs
Some normally astute liberals keep saying they just can’t figure out what Barack Obama has gotten from all of his bi-partisan outreach. In fact, I haven’t heard anyone from the left claim to understand what he’s doing because they keep looking at what he’s getting from Republicans, which is, predictably, a punch in the face.
I sure hope that all this “what did he get out of it” rhetoric is about keeping the leftward pressure on Obama and not because they really don’t understand why he’s done what he’s done or what he’s gotten from it. It is simply implausible to me that anyone as smart and politically savvy as Obama, ever thought that Republicans would partner with a Democrat to improve government. Obviously, Obama made a big point of reaching out to Republicans and “centrists” (and avoided overtly liberal policies) to write a non-partisan, non-liberal narrative inside the beltway, where the “centrist” epithets partisan and liberal will kill a politician and his agenda faster than getting caught tapping your foot in a men’s room stall.
Now he has free reign from Villagers like Joe Klein to tell the Republicans to go Cheney themselves. You can ask yourself whether he had to go so far (see: FISA, Gregg, state secrets) but, considering he’s still being called a partisan liberal by the right who are still getting some traction in the press and public with the charge, it’s hard to second-guess him. In the end, this has forced “conservatives” to admit that they want Obama (and the economic policies of the United States) to fail, rail against the corporatist press and generally go to crazy town to explain their opposition to Obama, further marginalizing them on the fringe of the political process.
Obama has given himself room in the arena of public opinion to enact a progressive agenda. Now let’s see if he’ll fight for it.
