What Obama has decided to trade

[zipplewrath]

Obama is practicing a brand of pragmatism that is very familiar to some. The GOP has certainly figured it out. Think of it. How many "signature" issues does the democratic party, progressives, liberals, leftisist, "the base" have? Anyone could probably sit down and list 10, 20 maybe even the better part of 30 specific issues, actions, or pieces of legislation that they want to see accomplished. In some cases, they would be directly connected to some signature issue of Bush or the GOP. They will be related to the "battle cries" of the previous 8 years, not to mention the unmet expectations from the last 30, 40, or 50 years.

The GOP has signature issues too. And they are no different. Again, you could pick someone and probably generate a list of 30 or so issues that the GOP will campaign upon, and use to raise money.

What Obama has apparently chosen to do is to "sell" or trade or otherwise compromise on any signature issue, in order to gain motion on the literally thousands of issues and opportunities that cross through government on a daily basis. He'd rather win a thousand battles around the edges, than drive straight through the middle of the oppositions lines. He apparently believes that signature issues aren't worth the battle.

I don't agree obviously. Signature issues become that way for reasons. They become important not just because they are important in and of themselves, but because they go to larger structural realities of our society. Civil rights are important and there's no real justification for trading them for other accomplishments, just ask LBJ. Wars kill people and waste incredible amounts of money, and there is nothing for which that should be a barganing chip.

And in the end, I suspect it will be the undoing of this presidency. If you won't stand up for yourself, ultimately they take it all away. Any employee has had that awful experience of having to decide if the job was worth what they were being asked to do. Not alot of folks are interested in seeing just how much they can put up with. American's like winners, not folks who constantly "survive to fight another day". Sooner or later you have to fight and win, or fighting at all seems pointless.