Obama is getting praised by extreme right wing Republicans and extreme left wing Democrats, falcons and doves. Some cynics would say: “It’s so good to NOT be the president”.
But the thing is, according to Gallup, the vast majority of Americans approve Mr. Obama’s decisions so far – including 40% of Republicans.
And let’s be fair, he deserves it. Obama’s Transition Team has been very smart since day one, (at least for now) fulfilling the promises of a bi-partisan government, selecting from the best in terms of academic knowledge and unquestionable experience.
Nothing speaks better about this than the way he’s been dealing with the Clintons and the courage to maintain Bush’s secretary of state.
6 comments:
So far so good. If he continues down this path, forgets everything he promised to the left, and ends up governing like a moderate Republican then I'll vote for him in 2012.
What alot of fellow democrats don't understand is that Obama is building a consensus government to unite the country so he will have the people's support for his agenda of health care, reforming education, rebuilding infrastructure, ect. They only see the surface and don't look any deeper then that to what Obama is doing and why. Not only did he promise to unite the country alot more then it's been in the past 25 years but, he needs the country more united to succeed.
As a McCain voter, I've been pleasantly surprised by Obama's choices, and applaud them. His picks have done much to take the sting out of losing. However, the solid pros he's picked don't necessarily mean he's not a socialist or "weak-kneed appeaser". That remains to be seen.
I also wouldn't say Republicans are "flummoxed" or "defanged". They're simply watching carefully, and appraising honestly. (How about some brownie points for loyal opposition.) Obama's in a pickle. He has to pick up the baton but not look too presumptuous, which we all recognize is a tough road. So far so good, and I think he'll continue to do well.
But I wouldn't take these well-received cabinet picks as evidence that there's no longer a need to be concerned about the rest of his policy agenda. The people will still be on guard against a slow creep toward the left during the next four years.
Under normal circumstances a leftist politician would stay left during the primary, try to move as far to the center as possible and then back left when governing.
What you're suggesting in Obama's case is staying left in the primary, less left in the General Eelections, and then move to the center when governing. Interesting, Vince but I doubt it.
The Far Left still doen't get it.
Most of America thinks they are out on the fringe both culturally and generally.
Obama may be smarter than they hoped.
He knows this is no time for class warfare.
Having said that, the wealthy folks better pull their load and share some of the pain or the conservatives will be after them too.
As for Iraq, Obama doesn't want to be the guy who let the region collapse in anarchy, so basically he feels like most Americans--let's get out of there as fast as we can without leaving a worse mess.
Its common knowledge for either party that when you campaign for president you move closer to the fringes, either left or right and when it's time for you to govern you move towards the middle. If you ask me do I think Obama will govern from the middle, I'd say yes, why? Because that is where the country is. Let's take Iraq for example, do Americans want to get out of Iraq, hell yea, even republicans who agreed with the war now see it as a given that we have to leave.
On the economy most americans disagree with bailouts for anyone but they know something has to be done to stop the job losses and foreclosures and are expecting results. So when it comes to governing, there is no liberal or conservative approach, there is WHAT WORKS and makes us all better of, Obama is a pragmatist and to many people this is a surprise, not to me, pragmatism is a very rare trait in a politician, they usually go with whats popular, President Elect Obama will always go for what makes us all in this country better, as he has said mistakes will be made, but he will make sure all voices are represented at the table and will always assume responsability, unlike Bush who governed under the banner of the Neocon ideology and then blamed his underlings, the buck will stop with him.
Now thats CHANGE I can believe in.
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