By GottaLaff
If you didn't already know that President Obama tends to be more of a centrist than a liberal, or if you didn't expect it, then you most likely haven't been paying attention. I'm surprised at the surprise of so many who believed that President Obama was a die-hard lefty. He never presented himself that way, as I've said in previous posts, and he has always maintained that he'd try to meet the other side halfway. That doesn't sound all that ultra-lib to me.
This article in the
L.A. Times discusses his "flip flops":
Unlike his predecessor, George W. Bush, who styled himself as "the Decider" and took pride in sticking with decisions come what might, Obama is emerging as a leader so committed to pragmatism that he will move to a new position with barely a shrug.
Whether it's a long-standing campaign promise or a recent Oval Office decision, Obama has shown a willingness to reverse himself and even anger his most liberal supporters if he can advance a higher-priority goal or avoid what he sees as a distracting controversy.
William A. Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former advisor to President Clinton:
"If he's basically faithful to the agenda he ran on, the reversals -- such as they are -- are going to be seen as tolerable exceptions rather than as leading indicators," he said. "If you are a single-issue person, what the president says in regard to your issue may be a bitter disappointment."
Now about those 180s:
The recent shifts appear to be part of a pattern of starting in a liberal position and then rerouting toward the center.
Surprise! (Only if you hadn't been paying attention for the past two years)
Though for the most part liberals have held their fire, the last week's events raise the question of how long they will tolerate the pattern. [...]
As the House debated war funding last week, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) compared his position to when, after being elected to the House as an antiwar candidate in 1969, he initially gave President Nixon's war policy the benefit of the doubt.
"I decided to give him a year. I'm pretty much in the same position," Obey said. "We have no choice but to give the president a shot. It's a miserable situation that he's inherited, and he does not have a good hand to play."
For those of us who are disappointed in some of his decisions, keep in mind that the alternative would have been much worse. Obama won the nomination. It was down to him or ::shudder:: McCain/Palin. He is light years better, smarter, wiser, and way leftier than they ever would have been.
When we disagree strongly enough with his positions, then we should make sure we are heard. Call or write your representatives, notify the White House web site, email letters to the editors of your local newspapers. But while whining and stomping our collective feet is a great release, it won't move those proverbial mountains. Only being pro-active will.
And if there is one thing we have learned, it's that President Obama is a very good listener.
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