Recently I posted a diary, written in the white heat of frustration over President Obama's recent decision to dispatch 30,000 more troops to the war in Afghanistan, in which I opined that our new President was following the policies of his predecessor to a dispiriting degree.
I was hyperbolic. I was immoderate. And a predictable sh*tstorm broke in the comments.
The curious may view that exchange here. For your comfort and safety, I suggest changing your browser settings to "Flame Retardant" before clicking on the link.
So, having participated in this controversy at a rather lower level of discourse, I would like to share, in a more measured way, the further evolution of my own views over the past week or so, in the hope that it might be useful to others struggling with the same issues.
Welcome to everybody who followed me below the fold. (Hi, Sis!)
In the ensuing days after my post, the issue of Obama's record to date and its implications for the future have been chewed over, repeatedly and at length. Diaries and comments have been divided into several identifiable camps, including: 1) Obama is a fake/liar/weakling, and I'm outta here; 2) Obama is holy/playing 11-dimensional chess/doing the best that can be expected with the dysfunctional Democratic Congress, and we must have faith and be patient; 3) Tut-tut, the children are fighting and must be instructed by my superior wisdom about the real world, lest they break the family china and lose our Democratic majority. Then they'll REALLY be sorry.
My own views fall into none of these camps.
Let's get one thing straight right away - although I opined that Obama was all too often following Bush's policies, I never said or meant that Obama = Bush.
To quote one of my replies in that recent post:
I believe that Obama is a good man, trying the best he knows how to serve his country in a time of multiple, massive problems. Even now, I much prefer him to any of the offered alternatives in the past election.
I also believe that he has done some good things. See here, and here, for lists compiled by his defenders. I accept those lists. And these lists will no doubt grow, with events such as the recent passasge of the financial reform package.
Even so, Obama's record is open to criticism. See here for Matt Taibbi's famous article in Rolling Stone,and here for his follow-ups in his blog. See here, and here for other critiques. For my part, I am particularly concerned about Obama's rather dispiriting record on civil liberties - continuation of warrantless wiretaps, rendition, black prisons, and a host of similar policies. Most of these policies could be changed with a stroke of Obama's pen, yet he maintains them, and defends them in court.
I am aware that change is hard. Please do not lecture me about ponies. I am a grandfather who remembers every presidential campaign and every administration since Kennedy. I am not wet behind the ears, unschooled in the ways of the world, or a stranger to politics.
I also suggest that you be sparing in your labeling of diarists with views uncongenial to your own as "trolls" or "sockpuppets". Trolls and sockpuppets exist, unlike elves and leprechauns, but reflexive labeling is a barrier to actual thought. Each diarist here will have a profile of past contributions to the site. My own spans several years. I suggest you take a minute to look up a diarist's profile before dismissing the diary as ill-intended.
And with all of the above in mind, I say that, in my considered opinion, more could and should have been accomplished in Obama's first year.
Obama won a convincing electoral victory in his own right, and was accompanied by substantial Democratic majorities in both houses. He succceeded a discredited and widely-loathed predecessor, and walked into a genuine financial crisis, where it was clear that strong and immediate action was needed. He enjoyed sky-high approval ratings, and had a rare gift for inspirational rhetoric. It was the best opportunity to unite the country around a common mission since 9/11. Bush, to his everlasting discredit, used his opportunity to divide the nation for (temporary) partisan gain. Obama appears to be using his opportunity for small, incremental progress.
I am further aware that Obama does not pass the laws, and that our Democratic Congress appears to have become the wholly-owned subsidiary of large corporate interests. Fine, they share the blame, and deserve all of the ignominy, for I do not believe that Obama is corrupt and self-serving in the same way.
And still I say, in my considered opinion, that more could and should have been accomplished, and that Obama should answer for it.
Every chief executive - whether governor of a state, mayor of a city, or president of the nation - faces this same problem. The legislative branch makes the laws and allocates the money. This is an integral feature of our system of government. It is not a surprise, and so it is not an excuse. Effective chief executives find ways to work productively with legislators to accomplish the people's business. Ineffective chief executives blame the legislature.
Obama had both the gifts and the opportunity, in my opinion, to earn an "A" as President. So far, I would give him a C+. Sure, you can argue that it's still a passing grade, and better by far than his predecessor. But when I was a teacher, an "A" student getting a C+ merited not a pat on the back, but a (metaphorical) kick in the pants.
The comedienne Wanda Sykes has notably compared Obama to a fancy gift-wrapped package containing a three-pack of underwear. It's not that the contents are bad, it's that so much more was promised and expected. As President, Obama has proven....servicable. That this comes as such a disappointment to so many speaks to the fact that so much more was promised, and so much more was needed.
So, disappointed many of us may be, but, in my opinion, disappointment is no excuse for self-defeating behavior. We, like Obama, bear the responsibility for our actions, and inaction.
Our nation, and our fellow citizens, remain in great need - divided and indebted, with no clear path to a better future.
So, in my opinion, despair is not an option. Self-defeating self-righteous withdrawal from the arena is not an option. Sitting on our hands is not an option. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, all that is required for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. In my lifetime we have had 2 evil presidents (Nixon, Bush/Cheney), and one beloved but catastrophically wrong-headed one (Reagan, who in my opinion is the true author of many of our current ills, but that's a post for another day.) The stakes are too high to cede the field to the party that has repeatedly proven itself incapable of governing competently and in the public interest.
One of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals holds that, no matter how unappealing the choices, you always have a moral responsibility to vote for the least bad candidate - because that's how democracy works. Democracy is a blunt instrument: you only get to choose among the offered choices. If you don't like the choices you're offered, expand them through the hard work of organizing, recruiting, and/or running.
Daily Kos has seen the fulfillment of one of its stated goals - the election of more Democrats. It appears that we now need to turn our attention to the second goal, of electing better Democrats.
I think we need to develop and refine as many good ideas as possible for making sure that we elect as many better Democrats as possible, all the while putting effective pressure on the Democrats we have to vote for better policies, regardless of their natural inclinations.
To this end, I can only say that in my experience, the only sure-fire way to get a politician's attention is to be a force that helps their re-election, or threatens it.
I therefore suggest that the Democratic left needs to develop its own institutions, separate from the Democratic party apparatus, with their own funding, volunteers, and communication channels, so that we can credibly promise to reward our friends and discomfit our foes.
Anyone with good ideas about how to do that, please share them in the comments. I have my own, which I will also share there.
As Obama himself has said, we are the people we have been waiting for - to which I would add, like it or not. Waiting for a savior, or trusting in one, is not likely to produce the results we hope for - we have to try to do that ourselves.
Democracy is messy. Free speech is priceless, but too often our use of it makes it seem worthless and trivial. I am a big believer in democracy, free speech, and evolution, because all three serve as mechanisms for moving from imperfect forms to better ones.
Finally, in the spirit of the season, let me close by wishing peace to all those of good will, no matter their opinions.