President Obama has a personal story that is uniquely American and an approach to his office that is well suited to the times in which he governs. He took office at a time when the country was in crisis and Washington was to become more dysfunctional. Circumstances have put an even greater necessity on getting things done but in response the Republicans have taken these last three years to adopt a total stonewall in the way of governance.
While announcing his recess appointments the president repeated a new catchphrase and it actually tells you what you need to know. He uses the line, "this is a make or break moment for the middle class." These are in fact make or break times for the middle class and this will be the practical answer to whatever we decide about the role of government or the vision thing. This president gets it. Our politics is often a loud, confusing gaggle of noise so it is important to know that within that mess, the guy with the biggest megaphone understands what is being "discussed."
I can say that the president gets it while recognizing that the results thus far are less than we want. We are talking about President Obama, not King Obama. President Obama has been quoted as wanting a breakup of Citi and a Tobin tax or a financial transaction fee. This shows correct thinking on his part specifically, but if and when these things don't happen it hardly makes him a sellout or failure. He has no choice but to deliver change in the real world. Meanwhile, part of President Obama's practical answer is to make the needed recess appointments to keep the NLRB functioning and to recently expand the Fair Labor Standards to over a million more workers.
I'll conclude by mentioning one more way I don't understand Republicans. No matter who is the GOP nominee the choice in the fall will be to vote for the guy who killed bin Laden or the guy who wants to kill Medicare.