Jonathan Capehart today makes a succinct and rational case for why Obama's approach to Don't Ask Don't Tell is correct.
But we Americans are an emotional bunch.
The online comments following Capehart's Post column totally ignore his logic (some concentrate on spinning a disgusting conspiracy theory that Black progressives are all too eager to thwart gay rights).
Because we Americans prefer emotionalism to logic.
Capehart calmly, systematically, makes the same case that's been around all along -- that today's DADT law is completely different from Truman's integration situation, etc, etc (you can read it yourself). But it's a case no one seems to want to hear.
Because we Americans would rather be angry than listen to reason.
Capehart praises Obama for his reluctance "to please a base constituency in the short term" recognizing that doing so could "endanger the careers of gay troops in the long term."
Sometimes it feels like Obama is the only grown-up in this country. But thank goodness; the presidency is a pretty good location for a nation's only grown-up. Sooner or later the rest of us will catch on. His extraordinarily profound commitment to reason will eventually help him go down in history as one of our truly great presidents.
Obama is often described as a "moderate" -- a derisive term to progressive critics. But these critics often conflate political moderation with strategic moderation. Obama's moderation is strategic. Meaning: he is an actual believer in our institutions and in democracy. This means he feels beholden to the rule of law AND he is extremely reluctant to single-handedly force institutions to bend to his will for short-term gain.
What's astounding to me is how deep and patient Obama's commitment to reshaping the culture of politics has been -- especially since this down-economy has flushed so many angry loons out of the bushes. The easiest thing Obama could have done would have been to throw all that hopey-changey stuff out the window and just start making declarations the way every other politician does. But, clearly, he is much more interested in long-term, long-lasting, systematic change than short-term, rah-rah politics.
Obama may be just about the only person in the country who still believes in the importance of this -- but that's the reason he was elected. Because he may be the only person in the country with the vision, the intelligence, and the emotional maturity to lead us through this house-of-mirrors we're currently living in.
Yes, perhaps he could sometimes be less "professorial." Yes, perhaps he could sometimes rally us more urgently. But one of these days -- probably after the jobless rate goes down -- most of us here are going to realize that he's actually demanding quite a bit from all of us. He means it when he says he "can't do it alone."
Do we really want a better country? Or are we too attached to our righteous anger and irrational blaming? Will we continue to hand the media storylines which erode progressive capital? Will we continue to prefer our identity as angry members of the "professional left" to actually getting things done? If we stop to think about it, all our wallowing in disillusionment (which we justify by saying we're "holding his feet to the fire") serves mainly to slow progress, not quicken it. Think what a different political climate we'd now be living in had all of us who worked to elect Obama been capable of appreciating what he's trying to do (imperfectly, of course). What if we had loudly continued to support him instead of trashing him day after day after day?
Obama shows infinite wisdom by insisting that all of us, and our institutions -- the courts, the Congress, the media, the bloggers, the voters -- need to step up to the plate and be a part of the solution. By refusing to force his will at every step he is not only ensuring that bad laws like DADT are reversed with authority and permanence, he is, at the same time, abiding by the proper limits of his presidential power.
But, at the same time, he knows he is NOT powerless. He recognizes and appreciates his greatest potential: returning integrity, reason, trust, and the rule of law to our institutions, starting with the executive branch.
How long will it take us to stop fighting him every step of the way?