Legal Commentary

A Need For Resolve

By Big Tent Democrat

The problem is that bankers and CEOs and media executives and congresspeople are not going to change unless they are forced to change. And that is where the people can try to help Obama, or where they can blame him for the situation being ungovernable. That's not to take Obama completely off the hook. He needs to bust some heads. He needs to take on his enemies rather than pleading with them to be reasonable. They're not going to be reasonable. But, the truth remains, to get something done in Congress when the Republicans are pursuing a strategy of obstruction, you need a miracle.

This is a strange argument to me. "Forcing change from the ground up" is a difficult endeavor in any circumstance. It is truly impossible when leaders are, at best, bystanders, at worst, impediments. I would say most people Booman aims his criticism at are more than willing to help Obama fight for change, if Obama is willing to actually, you know, fight for change. The problem has always been the Post Partisan Unity Schtick. As Kevin Drum writes:

I'm a fan of Obama's, but this has always been his big blind spot. He came to office convinced — sincerely, it seems — that he could change the tone of Washington DC. That was always a fantasy. The way to get things done is to make a case for them, build public support for them, blast your enemies for opposing them, and just generally fight like hell for them. It can be done with a smile, but it has to be done. Obama seems to have a hard time getting that.

I stupidly thought Obama would drop the Schtick, given the opportunity and challenges faced in his first year in office. He didn't. It is not clear he will.

Unless he does, change will not happen. Miracles or not.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 29, 2010 (boomark / email).