Questions For Liberals
by digby
Jonathan Bernstein has a question for liberals:
Think back to what you were thinking in November 2008, and in January 2009. As the 111th Congress winds down, what's your biggest disappointment of the things you expected to happen? Not your wish list, but the things you really expected to happen. What's your biggest happy surprise?
It's an interesting question. I suppose you need to start with what you expected to happen, which was obviously different for everyone. I knew he was going to govern more center than left and that the hippies would be required to be shrill and unpleasant to try to keep the conservatives from moving the goalposts even further, as usual. I expected him to escalate Afghanistan and I had a clue that he wasn't going to be as good on civil liberties as many others assumed he would be because of the way he voted on FISA during the campaign.
But there are a couple of things I did expect that have disappointed me. The first is that I thought he would be a competent technocrat and seek to find the best solutions to complex problems. Instead, particularly on the economy, he seems to be floundering on policy. There were some good economic decisions early on (along with many bad ones), and there are obvious political constraints, but from what you can see from the outside, he seems to have decided that Republican economic policy is good enough --- and that is not a competent, technocratic decision. Nor is it a good political decision since it simply won't work and he will be the one to pay the political price.
The other thing that surprises me is that I thought he would understand that the Republicans mean him harm, regardless of whether he governs in a bipartisan manner.(Sadly, that means that I will not be surprised if he actually follows through on his Grand Bargain even after two years of obstructionism and the slash and burn politics of this last election.)
The good surprise? Well, I'm thrilled about the repeal of DADT and didn't think it would happen. It was skillfully done. And on a grander scale, I'm surprised at how well he's managed the press, which I didn't believe was possible. For the most part I think he's really figured out how to keep them happy and that's no mean feat. Remember, Clinton offended them even when he was passing GOP policies, so it's as much a matter of style as substance. I think they've skillfully managed to keep them where they want them and that's very helpful in navigating public opinion in hard times.
Obama was dealt a rough hand, no doubt about it. But it's the job and it's important to remember that it's not as rough a hand as those who are suffering in this economy or from the excesses of American foreign policy have been dealt. I think austerity is a political and policy train wreck that may very well usher in a Tea Party majority. I'm hoping against hope that they surprise me and reject it out of hand.
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