President Obama has committed hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to the bailout of Wall Street and the banks. He has added thousands of additional troops to the war in Afghanistan while postponing witdrawal from Iraq. He has rejected any investigation of the constitutional crimes of the Bush Administation. Are progressives and liberals justified in wondering whether President Obama can really be trusted? Is he the change we have been waiting for, or has Obama simply changed his views and policies?
Is the Obama Administration just a redux of Bill Clinton? Bill Clinton was also charming and likeable and projected a somewhat liberal image. Yet on everything from NAFTA to welfare reform to the economic policies of his Goldman Sachs Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin, Bill Clinton was an establishment politician in progressive's clothing. The fact that he wasn't a conservative wing nut and was able to inspire so much hatred on the right just made Clinton seem progressive.
But what about our new president? Barely three months into the Obama Presidency the question is being asked: is Obama really "change we can believe in?"
Chris Bowers of the blog, Open Left, provides the best analysis in his recent post of April 10, 2009. He summarizes the argument for trusting President Obama as follows:
To my surprise, I think the trust and support argument is actually very strong. It focuses on five main reasons:
- President Obama's progressive background
- President Obama's voting record in the Senate
- Democratic trifectas are rare
- A major shift toward the public sector has occurred in just the first few weeks of President Obama's administration.
- The Senate is the real problem anyway.
The entire post is worth reading and can be found at: Open Left: The Case for Trust and Support
The pundits and political analysts have devoted much coverage to the unique background of Barack Obama. There have been many news stories about Barack Obama being the "first black president," or that he has a Muslim middle name, "Hussein", and a last name that to the talk radio crowd sounds suspiciously similar to Osama Bin Laden. We have also read about his prior experiences as a community organizer, his relationship with controversial liberation preacher Jeremiah Wright, and his upbringing in Islamic Indonesia and Polynesian Hawaii.
Nevertheless, the thought process of our new president, albeit a more boring topic for reporters, provides a deeper understanding of the man. A good starting point would be reading Barack Obama's autobiographical Dreams From My Father.
Essentially, Barack Obama juxtaposes liberal and progressive ideals with a conservative demeanor and pragmatic approach to achieving those ideals. Having seen how his father's idealistic dreams were thwarted by political realities in Kenya, he concluded that unbridled idealism and ideology are in fact vices that actually undermine achieving their goals. Paradoxically, it was tight personal discipline and non-ideological pragamtism best helped Barack Obama attain such an idealistic goal as becoming President of the United States of America.
REFORM BEFORE REVOLUTION
How can Barck Obama, as an agent of change, rely on advisors who epitomize the established order? Regarding foreign policy and military matters, President Obama often turns to Bush Administration Defense Department Secetary, Robert Gates, and senior Bush military advisor, James Jones. Conversely, on economic matters Obama seeks counsel from Bush's New York Fed Chairman, Timothy Geitner, and Clinton's Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers. Both Geitner and Summers are partly culpable for our current economic mess by relaxing financial regulations and blindly relying on the magic of an unregulated free market.
The answer is that President Obama will always try to repair and reform existing institutions before performing radical surgery. The aforementioned individuals possess considerable expertise and knowledge in their respective fields that can better inform and aid the president in these regards.
For example, this means first trying to keep the banks afloat by performing stress tests and removing toxic assets before considering nationalizing the banks. Many of us disapprove of this approach, especially when it looks like our tax dollars are rewarding those white collar criminals who caused the derivative and credit default swap mess that brought the entire global economy to its knees. Yet an emotional and punitive approach may feel good, but in reality will likely only create more financial chaos and accelerate our current economic crash.
Similarly, pulling out of Iraq immediately or ignoring Afghanistan and Pakistan may create an even bigger danger to America and the world in the long run. Another example of this approach can be found in the Obama Administration's decision to formally end Bush's unconstituitonal abuses of executive power. Yet Obama has refrained from investigating and prosecuting the offending federal officals to avoid contributing to the dysfuncitonal and divisive partisan environment in Washington. Better to let the other side appear partisan and negative. Again, as emotionally unsatisfying as this approach can be at times, there is an undeniably pragmatic logic to it.
We first saw evidence of this duirng the primary campaign with respect to health care. Hillary Clinton appeared to favor creating a new health care system altogether, whereas Barack Obama beleived in reforming the current health care system so as to reduce premiums and extend coverage to the uninsured. Rather than tearing out the current health care system root and branch, Obama saw to accomplish the same goals as Cinton by reforming the existing system. Clearly, for those of us paying careful attention, Obama has been and continues to be intellectually honest and consistent. He has always sought a broad consensus for meaningful reform as a first option before deploying more drastic measures.
RESPECTING OTHERS' PERSPECTIVES TO BUILD CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Why did President Obama expend so much effort to reach out to the Republicans in his first days in office? It was obvious that the GOP was intent on seeing him fail and not participating constructively in the legislative process even though nearly 40% of the stimulus bill was for tax cuts favored by conservatives.
In retrospect, we see the win-win nature of this gambit. If the Republicans decided to reach out to President Obama's extended hand of bipartisan partnership instead of responding by unfurling their collective middle finger, then an end to dysfunctional partisanship would be possible. Instead, when not a single Republican voted with the President and GOP party leaders strong-armed every House member to vote against the stimulus and budget bills, the Republican Party became somewhat irrelevant to the process. Now the GOP has gone from being the "Party of No" to the "Party of Crazy." The best example of this unhinged ideological idiocy can be found in a recent must-see LMAO Daily Show clip. The message to Obama's political opponents is that they can either work with the president or look like insane jerks to two-thirds of the electorate.
Barack Obama's respect for others' opinions was on full display during his recent trip to Europe and Turkey, as well as his television interview with the Arab satellite television station, Al-Arabiya. Incredibly, President Obama has already done much to reverse the damage done by George W. Bush's antagonistic foreign policy and has created an opportunity to build a new constructive relationship between the U.S. and the rest of the world. This key to this approach is to treat others' with respect and to listen and try to understand their persective and find common ground. We can then truly build global "coalitions of the willing" that will include our allies in Europe and elsewhere, while building new partnerships with Russia and China, and changing the game in the Middle East.
This approach was apparent during the primary campaign. Instead of responding in kind to the scathing attacks coming from the Hillary Clinton campaign, Obama showed restraint and respect. Now someone who was once a fierce adversary has become not only a trusted ally but his Secretary of State. While few believe the Republicans will see the light in these regards, the opportunities to find common ground internationally, combined with President Obama's unbelievably high approval ratings overseas, give us reason for cautious optimism. Clearly, magnanimity and respect lay the foundation for builiding new constructive working relationships.
TAKING THE LONG VIEW OF THINGS
Perhaps more than anything else, it is Barack Obama's ability to take the long view of things that best characterizes his political style. For instance, during the campaign Barack Obama was fond of pointing out that whether he was trailing or leading by double digits in the polls his message remained consistent. After taking office President Obama laid out his long term goals that will define his Administrtion. Obviously, fixing the economy is job one, but reforming health care, education and developing renewable energy will remain his top priorities throughout his presidency.
So too with his relationship with Congress and the Republicans. Obama will keep on trying to find a constructive bipartisan working relationship in pursuing his policy goals, but with a calm, low-key and single-minded persistence. Barack Obma was electred to bring transformative change to America and the world. But again it will take time, patience, and persistence. Rest assured that no matter what set backs and compromises he encounters along the way, he will never keep his eye off the ball.
CONCLUSION: BE PATIENT
Much like other Americans, progressives and liberals seek fast-action and immediate gratification. After eight years in the political desert who can blame us? As we have witnessed during this most improbable of election campaigns, Barack Obama takes a very strategic and long view of things that can be frustrating for many supporters. The opting for less radical reforms and bending over backwards to work with his opponents can be maddening. Nevertheless, it is all part of a winning strategy that ultimately landed him in the White House. Taking this long view towards governing is something very new and different for us. Yet this strategic pragmatism is the key to transforming our ideals into policy successes. We too can absorb the lessons our president has learned from his father's failed dreams. It will require our patience, participation and persistence. Much like Barack Obama, Markos Moulitsas has also taught us that persistence and patience pays off. All we need to do is to remain organized and stay energized and engaged. By working with President Obama together we can be the change we have been waiting for.