Legal Commentary

Recognizing The Moment

By Big Tent Democrat

EJ Dionne posits that President Obama is recognizing the moment:

More striking was his sense that fate has handed him opportunities few presidents ever get and that his test will be whether he makes good use of his chance to bend history at one of its "inflection points." "Leadership at those moments can help determine which direction that wave of change goes," he said. "I think it's very hard . . . for any single individual or politician to unleash historical momentum on its own. But I think when that historical wave is there, I think you can help guide it."

Asked if this were one of those moments, he replied, flatly, "yes." That may make the situation "scary sometimes," but it should also "make people determined and excited." Maybe that explains his good mood.

This is good, and if Dionne is right, it gets better:

Yet Obama's purpose on Friday was not to play at being a philosopher of history but to stress his devotion to FDR-style pragmatism. "We will do what works," he said, reprising his administration's theme song. That "will require re-evaluation" and "some experimentation -- if that doesn't work then you do something else."

. . . And where might Republicans fit into all this? Obama still thinks he'll win their support someday on some issues. Because the stimulus envisioned a large government role in rescuing the economy, he said, it may have "exaggerated" the partisan divide because it played on "the core differences between Democrats and Republicans." But he is aware that some Republicans think they can gain "political advantage" if they can "enforce conformity" within their ranks and thus "invigorate" their base.

He declined to judge whether this strategy will work for the Republicans, but President Obama 2.0, the version slightly chastened since Inauguration Day, did not mind explaining how their approach has affected him. "You know, I am an eternal optimist," he said. "That doesn't mean I'm a sap."

If Dionne is right, it seems likely that President Obama will not only be our first African American President, but one of our greatest ones as well. I have stated that the "moment" provides two paths to President Obama - that of FDR or that of Jimmy Carter. It appears he will attempt the path of FDR.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 16, 2009 (boomark / email).