Just a call to chill for a second and look at the big picture.
There is a lot of talk currently, doomsday-scenario talk, accusing Obama of being too sheltered by his staff, that he's not willing to lead, that he is too bipartisan, and that he's not fighting. Stop. Just Stop.
Look, we did not elect a liberal ideologue. When the republicans accused Obama of being a hard line liberal, they were incorrect, and we were right to call them out on it. We elected a man who believes that good governance isn't about right and left or blue versus red. We elected a man that wanted to actually get something done.
There is no doubt that Obama is a pragmatist. When he says that he wants to look at all ideas, he means it. However, he is clearly willing to reject bad or impractical ideas. He knows, I believe, that the Republicans are not going to submit anything truly innovative. He knows they are too trapped by their own marriage to the Tea Party movement and extreme conservatism now to try and offer something more reasonable.
This allows him to make a sincere effort to include people of all political walks of life, and when they bring nothing useful to the table, he can honestly reject those ideas and avoid being accused of ideological purity.
And, at risk of being burned at the stake, someone on the right just might come up with a good idea.
This man is not stupid, he isn't trapped by Washington, he's not stuck in the bubble, but he is also not going to walk any kind of ideological hard line. And if you voted for him thinking he was that sort of guy, you made a mistake. Yes, he is generally liberal, and yes, he is generally progressive. He is also generally interested in better overall government. And that's a good thing.
Without a doubt, the President needs to fight, but he also has to get stuff done. He has to pick his battles. If he wants health care to win and then have it sustained, he has to stay in office, and so do the Democrats.
The more the Republican Party runs to the right, the easier it will be to pick up the center. That's part of how he won in 2008, and that's how he will keep his seat in 2012. Don't be afraid of a Republican Party in bed with the Tea Party. Be afraid if the Republican party actually comes to the table in good faith with the President and gets something accomplished.