Fish Wrap: Debate Shows Obama’s Pretty Much Politics As Usual
The NY Times attempts to pretty much tell us, oh so gently, that Hope-n-change was pretty much all mule fritters, and Obama is nothing more than a typical inside the beltway politician. Were Obama a Republican, the Times would excoriate him for having run as a transformational figure who would do away with all the partisanship rancor in Washington, as a guy who do things different from the past way it was done in Washington. But, since he has a D next to his name, the Fish Wrap gently chides him in what I assume a manner to make him change his ways: Debate Shows Obama Plays by Washington’s Rules
It is not just that the left wing of the party thinks that its centrists hold too much sway and are too quick to cave when faced with pressure from the right. It is also that this White House, stocked as it is with insiders, people whose view of politics is shaped by the compromises inherent in legislating, is confronting a liberal base made up largely of outsiders to the lawmaking process who are asking why they should accept politics as usual.
Hmm, stocked with insiders. Washington as usual.
As much as Mr. Obama presented himself as an outsider during his campaign, a lesson of this battle is that this is a president who would rather work within the system than seek to upend it. He is not the ideologue ready to stage a symbolic fight that could end in defeat; he is a former senator comfortable in dealing with the arcane rules of the Senate and prepared to accept compromise in search of a larger goal. For the most part, Democrats on Capitol Hill have stuck with him.
I do have to take exception with “not an ideologue” notion the Fish Wrap pushes. He is very much an ideologue. It is just that he is too incompetent a leader, having never had a real job leading people and learning how to do it, to get his partisan agenda passed. Hence, his outsourcing of virtually everything to the Dem leaders in Congress.
The Fish Wrap tries to highlight the differences between Howard Dean and Barry in the story, and goes to
Of course, it is easier to be an outsider when you are on the outside, which is where Mr. Dean is these days, after making an unsuccessful effort to win a post in the Obama White House.
It’s also easier to give a speech from a teleprompter about post-partisanship, changing the way Washington acts, etc and so on, you know the deal, than actually perform. Personally, I’m still waiting for the seas to recede. Though, to be honest, I wouldn’t mind if the ocean was a hundred miles or so closer to Raleigh, though, it could be difficult surfing through all those buildings and trees.
Still, Mr. Obama’s approach to this battle should not be a surprise to anyone who has followed his career or his campaign for the White House. He served in the United States Senate and in the Illinois Senate. His choice for chief of staff — Mr. Emanuel — was the No. 3 person in the House Democratic leadership, and many of his top West Wing aides came out of staff jobs in the Senate.
They couldn’t have told people that Obama was basically a standard old inside the beltway politician two years ago?
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Posted by William Teach on December 26, 2009 10:30 am
» Filed Under Barack Obama, Liberal Media/Bias, News, Politics As Usual
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One Response to “Fish Wrap: Debate Shows Obama’s Pretty Much Politics As Usual”
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Well said. Unless BO starts wearing a red arm band and demanding salutes from the populace, we’ll get very little more from the NYT or any other liberal paper. I often wonder how “in bed” with this whole agenda most of the lefties are.
Are they committed allies or useful idiots? Either way, Obama’s people will use them for their own agenda and discard them along with anyone else they no longer need to get to where they want. Like I say in my blog, read Mao. He held the belief that revolution and chaos were necessary tools and often the goal in of themselves. He believed only fire could forge a true revolution. The chaos that comes with pushing through so many changes driven by so many ideologues gave cover for those who really knew the plan and ultimate goal. One day you could be his ally, the next his enemy. It kept you guessing and people off balance are no threat to those who are not. Any criticism of Mao could land you on the wrong side in a heartbeat. I think the NYT and the rest of the useful idiots are beginning to get it, but don’t know what to do.
Like I said before- “The biggest problem with being on the inside of a revolution is one of perspective. You can’t get far enough away from it to see the whole picture. That alone will defeat you.”