Seems to be a risk worth taking, though, at least to me. Sometimes if we can't go all the way, we have to take a fallback position that still offers plenty of advantages. The first advantage would be: It Gets This OFF The Ground. This gets STARTED. At least it's a START. You don't build the house fully-formed, in one fell swoop. You build it piece by piece, from digging the foundation onward, and there's a boatload of stuff to do before you even get to the digging part. It becomes increasingly convincing when you look at the benefits. 1) He's fulfilling a campaign promise. You promise something, you really do need to try to live up to it, at least partially. So be mindful of the promises you make, since people come to count on that from you. So the President is keeping a promise. It's a start! Something on which we can build. It's gotta start somewhere. Who else was gonna do it? Some republi-CON? Are you kidding me?
Also - once something starts and proves to be beneficial, where the numbers start racking up and there's tangible and anecdotal evidence to point to, it may become rather difficult to dislodge. Or even to fuck with. If you try to sneak something, it'll either be found out or, as Cha put it, the "Firewall-in-Chief" will stop it with a sustainable veto. They don't have the votes to override, and they know it. That's the biggest fear the CON movement had about the ACA, as many of them have admitted. That it would take hold, and be the success and the help to people in need, and make a positive difference in their lives, and save everybody money. And people would NOT be willing to give it up. Political inertia on display!
"We will always be a nation of immigrants." "We were once strangers too." "You can come out of the shadows." HOLY COW! Sometimes the guy is just eloquent. Period. And, superficially-speaking, he delivered it perfectly. He's actually the very embodiment of that statement (at least the first third). He IS the "American Dream." Don't mean to get sappy-sounding, but in the most towering sense, whatever you may think of him, Barack Obama fits that. Just as - and I grit my teeth as I say this - ronald reagan. He's an historic figure in whatever periodically stunted growth America can claim, as a country and a society and a culture.
And I think we need stirring language like that. Stirs the heart. Something you can wrap your brain and your imagination around. Can help motivate many of us. A real political shot of B12 after how roughed-up we got a couple of weeks ago. It also shows leadership - the word I have seen applied a lot is "bold." Well, haven't we been begging for that? I'm watching Lawrence O'Donnell and noting in one of the video clips of happy crowds outside the White House, the homemade sign being shown off - "No Fear Obama." Isn't that how it's REALLY supposed to be? No fear. Why should we be a fearful people? It may not even be as bold as everyone would like. But dammit, it's something! There he is on TV, sticking his neck out, assertively wading into dangerous waters because he knows there's something worthwhile on the other side. That's to be admired. We've needed that. After all, who, lately, has stood up for him? How many times have you heard the phrase - "he's going it alone." Alone. I swear - I don't know how the man stands up straight all day. Must be one-to-three good women helping to support him, I guess.
These are more intangibles than actual nuts 'n' bolts. Capitol Hill has to do the actual sausage-making here. But sometimes you need the intangibles because of what they can do WITHIN us. From there comes the fire in the belly that we all are gonna need if we're gonna stage a worthy comeback in two years. He hasn't been 100% with me all the time, either. But I am STILL happy he's President (consider the two alternatives, okay?). And I am going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. He's earned it.
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