(quoing myself)

When I listen to the Obamas, I feel like I’ve gone to a doctor who’s diagnosed my symptoms accurately, but doesn’t even have a concept of disease, and ends up "deigning" to prescribe little colored magic pills that don’t have any real medicine in them. There’s no why. And if there’s no why, there’s really no how.

The disease in the body politic is not "partisanship," any more than the fever in the body is the virus—the why—that causes the fever. The fever is a symptom, and so is "partisanship."

The disease—the why—in the body politic is 30 years of dominance by the the Conservative Movement, which runs the country for the economic benefit of the very, very rich. Programs like universal health care aren’t happening, not because people of good will aren’t sitting together round a table, but because they are actively being prevented by the Conservative Movement because it’s not in their interest. You can’t take this on with a message of "unity," because you can’t beat something with nothing.

The cure for the body politic—the how—is not little colored magic awesome "unity" pills or a feel good message. The cure is stronger progressive institutions — an immune system, if you will — that can take on, fight back against, and beat the institutions that prevent progressive change. But there’s nothing in the Obama message about that.

Obama has to make the ask.

If Obama wants progressive mandate, he’s got to to ask for a progressive mandate.