Life in Obamaland these days must be strange indeed.
How does the President-elect go from picking the homophobic preacher Rick Warren to deliver his inaugural invocation one day to choosing champion of the working class Hilda Solis to lead the DOL the next? Or pick someone with bona fide progressive credentials like Bill Richardson to head up the Commerce Department and then turn around and appoint Rubin disciples Larry Summers to direct his National Economic Council and Gary Gensler to regulate derivatives?
Candidate Obama is living up to his promise of “change” just not in the way many people who voted for him might have hoped.
Since winning the election, Obama has pissed off a lot of supporters in the “democratic wing of the democratic party.” He has, however, also simultaneously surprised – dare say even pleased – a number of groups situated on the right of the political spectrum. It appears the Obama campaign (which, as a side note, apparently will take the rather unorthodox step of continuing to operate as an independent group outside the DNC for the next four years) isn’t going to stop at its recent conquest of the electoral map.
Obama’s long-term political strategy is much more than just playing to the center like Bill Clinton did during the 1990′s. Team Obama is gunning for a long-term change in the two-party dynamics and frames of debate now dominating the American political system. This is making establishment Republicans very worried, and rightfully so, for it will dilute the effectiveness of the Rovian “divide-and-conquer” pathology which had been so successful the previous two election cycles. But should Obama’s patchwork approach to leadership and seemingly strong tendency towards appeasement also worry those on the left as well? The answer to this question largely depends on how far on the left one is situated but my sense is that most liberals (including gay rights and pro-choice activists) do not have cause for concern. At least not yet.
Before throwing Obama under the bus for a few disappointing picks, for the moment let’s hold onto the belief – albeit fleeting – that there is reason to his madness. Progressive voters should hold off their judgment until he actually takes office and has a chance to execute the duties our nation’s highest office. Disgruntled liberals can take some solace in the fact that Obama’s willingness to fill the room with diverse viewpoints is a breath of fresh air compared to Bush’s intellectually vacant and ideologically censored presidency. Under Obama’s leadership, policy making grounded in facts and pragmatism is poised return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. There are worse consolation prizes for hard core liberals.
At the moment, Obama appears hell-bent on proving to everyone that he is comfortable in his own skin by surrounding himself with a host of differing views and contrasting perspectives (the heavy dose of Clintonian leftovers notwithstanding). This is a fresh change from the dreadfully low standards that has been created after eight years of Bush. Yet, in doing this the president-to-be is playing a tremendously shrewd and dangerous game of political tightrope. It will be interesting to see if he makes it to the other side without falling. If he can succeed in navigating the choppy waters of internal descent which surely lie ahead in the coming months, then Obama may be on course for a tremendously successful two-term presidency.
Who knows, Obama may even succeed in doing something that Clinton tried but was ultimately unable to do and that is permanently redefine the center of American politics.
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