Flip Flop
Posted on July 1, 2010 by Lou
I’m about to flip-flop.
I’m ending my Obama-bashing.
At least until after the mid-term election in November.
I’m not telling anyone else what to do.
There’s plenty to criticize: Afghanistan, tepid reform, oil spill handling.
But I’m done.
It’s easier for me than for some of my friends and colleagues. Compared to them, I’m an ideological lightweight.
When we won in ’08, for example, I wasn’t particularly concerned that Obama and the democrats reach specific policy benchmarks. I wanted to see a new template for governance and, in particular, a shift in public acceptance of socialized solutions. What was so galling about health reform was not that we didn’t get the “pubic option” but that we gave up so much ground in the national debate (yes, I know, there’s a connection between the two).
The republicans, we soon discovered, had a better understanding of how to use all the moving parts in the battle of ideas and were able to “one-up” the timid, indecisive and overly-compromised president.
Then there’s the fallout from the oil spill which is especially painful (how could a pro-environment administration be so clumsy?).
So I joined the chorus. But to be honest, I always felt angst-ridden and guilty dumping on Obama. Once you start, however, it’s hard to stop.
Particularly with all the smart and persuasive people on our side pointing out what’s wrong.
There’s another way, though, to approach Obama-style politics . Watch the town hall event in Racine, Wisconsin and you’ll see an exuberant, likable and skillful politician and leader who is working hard and doing his best.
Maybe it’s a good time to think “big-picture” as we approach the two-year mark and recognize – despite the disappointments – how fortunate we are.
Today, at least, I want to quiet that “critical voice” inside my head and appreciate that America has a president whose decency, humility, liberal values and authenticity may be just what we need to get us through tough times.
Comments (5)
Amen. Progressives need to start treating Obama like a member of the family which is what he is. While we may disagree vehemently with some of his actions, or inactions, privately, we have to be conscious of the omnipresence of a so-called “populist movement” which is really the same old fascism behind a new-fangled mask. Welcome aboard.
Double Amen. President Obama has finally and accurately started laying the blame on Republicans for refusing to help solve national problems. “Partisan gridlock” is a miisnomer for “Republican obstructionism.”
Let’s make that a triple AMEN.
A remarkable number of us progressives are so totally focused on what we think “ought” to be happening, that we’re incapable of seeing the complete and disturbing reality that Obama, and more importantly, the whole damn country is facing. Since 9/11, so-called “popular thinking”, including most of the news media, has been stretched, tattered, warped and frozen by a steady drumbeat of fear, stereotype and misdirection. Creating the perfect environment for demagoguery and outright lies. Which the Republican leadership and a number of voracious corporate cancers have been delighted to exploit.
One of the most remarkable effects of the constant, frequently absurd sniping by conservatives about Obama’s every word and decision, is the creation of a context where, to many citizens, inaction and intransigence seem wiser and more realistic than thoughtful action.
Obama, being human like the rest of us, will never be absolutely perfect. But there is no one on the American political landscape right now who could even come close to him in calmly, intelligently, constructively dealing with the monumental challenges on the country’s plate.
We progressives need to expand our vision of what IS in order to help our country get where it needs to go.
Good for you Lou. We can be critical and still understand the huge challenges facing any kind of progressive politics in this country.
Well Lou, congratulations. He has made so much more progress in the last year and a half, with his efforts to solve the problems of the country than Bush did in 8 years. In fact we all know that the problems we are suffering from began with Reagan but they truly went into the toilet under Junior.
We all have heard the REpubicans complain about how government isn’t the solution, government is the problem. Yet they are all running to be a part of the government to prove the point. So why do we constantly allow them the space to get in. Obama did run on the platform of a new paradigm and I do believe that it was indeed his intention to do that. But we all have to understand that he can do nothing by himself. There has to be buy in from the legislative side. And in the real world, the good government model individuals, including Republicans, would vote their consciences and the business of the country would get done. But the Republicans in an effort to show that the Black man wasn’t to be trusted to get the job done, they decided to not support him at all. That’s the real sadness of where we are now. We have never had an authentic discussion about race in this country. Consequently it’s like shooting fish in a barrel for the race baiters like Rush and Beck. For the sake of our country we need to minimize THOSE voices.