E. J. Dionne: It’s Not Over Till It’s Over

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/its_not_over_till_its_over_20100908/

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
By E.J. Dionne, Jr.


President Obama decided this week to raise the stakes in this fall’s election by making the choice about something instead of nothing but anger.

In the process, he will confront a deeply embedded media narrative that sees a Republican triumph as all but inevitable. Paradoxically, such extravagant expectations may be the GOP’s biggest problem—by raising the bar for what will constitute success, and by discouraging necessary strategic adjustments should our newly combative president begin to alter the political battlefield.

Until Obama’s Labor Day speech in Milwaukee and his Cleveland-area statement of principles on Wednesday, it was not clear how much heart he had in the fight, or whether he’d ever offer a comprehensive argument for the advantage of his party’s approach over the other’s.

snip//

The news headline was Obama’s decision to draw the line on George W. Bush’s tax cuts. He would continue the most economically stimulative cuts for families earning under $250,000 a year but say no to extending the rest of the tax cuts which, as Obama noted, “would have us borrow $700 billion over the next 10 years to give a tax cut of about $100,000 to folks who are already millionaires.” What do Democrats stand for if they are not willing to take on this cause?

But even more, Wednesday’s speech in Parma, Ohio, saw Obama speaking openly about the philosophical underpinnings of his presidency by way of explaining where he would lead the country.

snip//

And the economic debate Obama tried to reframe this week, Winston said, “is going to have an impact. It’s not enough for Obama to be wrong. If Republicans want to get to a majority, they have to lay out where they want to go.”

Yes, Republicans had better start defining themselves. If they don’t, Obama, who labeled them the party of “stagnant growth, eroding competitiveness and a shrinking middle class,” is now happy to do it for them. And that’s what changed in Milwaukee and Cleveland.

[impik]

1. Yep. It's far from over