If we are to learn a lesson from the FISA struggle, it is that the louder we yell, the less Obama will listen to us. Paradoxically, the calmer we are, the more likely Obama will listen to us. Roger Cohen wonders why Barack Obama left Richard Holbrooke off of his foreign policy team. But he winds up answering his own question in his column. The lessons from that are important to take home.
Holbrooke seemingly has it all and has Cohen's vote to win a Nobel Peace Prize. But the same qualities that made him successful under Bill Clinton would make him a disaster within the Obama administration:
Holbrooke, 67, by contrast, is sprawling, relentless, candid, a man of devouring appetites and extrovert energy, at once ingratiating and loyal, cajoling and ruthless — the doer to Lake’s thinker. If you want somebody to pull the trigger, or close a deal, think Holbrooke. He has compared diplomacy to jazz: improvisation upon a theme.
And that is exactly why Obama does not want him on his team -- Holbrooke is egotistical, bombastic, and loud -- the very qualities that turn Obama off. It doesn't matter how good you are; if you have an ego, then you're not a good fit for Team Obama. By contrast, take Anthony Lake, who did make the foreign policy team:
Lake, 69, is controlled, measured, elusive, a man whose fierce competitiveness is dressed in the elaborate constructs of a probing intelligence. His energy and determination are no less apparent for being introverted.
Lake, on the other hand, is a man after Obama's own heart -- a man who is fiercely competitive and who does not have to throw a McCain-sized temper tantrum to prove it. From day one, the rule in Team Obama has always been clear -- no assholes allowed. It doesn't matter how good you are or what kind of track record you have. That is why Samantha Power did not make the cut -- despite her obvious credentials and talent, she was too much of a loose cannon.
Another thing is clear as well -- Obama realizes the task ahead of him and realizes that the last thing he needs is egos. Everyone hailed the all-star lineup of Rice, Powell, and Rumsfeld, people who had paid their dues and who were supposed to provide a crack foreign policy team that would bring about the Pax Americana. But we all know how that turned out. Gail Collins explains further:
When an extremely intelligent politician tells you over and over and over that he is tired of the take-no-prisoners politics of the last several decades, that he is going to get things done and build a "new consensus," he is trying to explain that he is all about compromise. Even if he says it in that great Baracky way.
A year and a half of campaigning and we still haven’t heard Obama’s penguins, either. It’s not his fault that we missed the message — although to be fair, he did make it sound as if getting rid of the "old politics" involved driving out the oil and pharmaceutical lobbyists rather than splitting the difference on federal wiretapping legislation. But if you look at the political fights he’s picked throughout his political career, the main theme is not any ideology. It’s that he hates stupidity. "I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war," he said in 2002 in his big speech against the invasion of Iraq. He did not, you will notice, say he was against unilateral military action or pre-emptive attacks or nation-building. He was antidumb.
Most of the things Obama’s taken heat for saying this summer fall into these two familiar patterns — attempts to find a rational common ground on controversial issues and dumb-avoidance.
And there is Obama himself politely telling people that if FISA is a dealbreaker, then he's fine with that:
Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That's ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. Whether it is the economy, foreign policy, or the Supreme Court, my opponent has embraced the failed course of the last eight years, while I want to take this country in a new direction. Make no mistake: if John McCain is elected, the fundamental direction of this country that we love will not change. But if we come together, we have an historic opportunity to chart a new course, a better course.
In other words, if we say that it's the end of the world and that the Constitution is gone and that there is nothing left but revolution, Obama is not going to hear you. From his point of view, you are operating under the faulty premise that there is no more hope anymore and that the world is coming to an end; therefore, nothing you say to him matters. But if we write over and over again about why the Inspector General's investigations are not adequate, how the bill does not sufficiently safeguard against Presidential abuse of power, how it does not help us monitor and track terrorists, and how the President can't be trusted to act within the law, then we would be much more persuasive. The reason the opposition to the FISA bill was not persuasive was because there was too much hysteria and not enough substance.
Obama is simply living up to his promises that he has made throughout his campaign -- he is living up to the promise he made in 2004 that he is going to change the tone in Washington. The polling shows that Obama has come out of this with his lead intact, and he has a good chance to win in November. Therefore, we have to play the game by his rules -- less hysteria, more substance, check your egos at the door. Obama can be persuaded, and he will be one of the most accessible Presidents in US history. But the catch is that we have to play by his rules, not ours.
Speaking to Obama is like speaking a language -- it is a myth that Obama is an empty suit who can give pretty speeches but who has no substance. In fact, Obama is one of the most detail-oriented people to run for President, at least as much as John Kerry was. If you come to the table and claim that you have all the answers, that is the quickest way to shut yourself out of the process. But come to the table with substance, and Obama will listen.