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jducoeurI feel like I should say this, since it seems an unusual viewpoint. (At least, here in the MA Reality Warp.)
Obama's been getting a lot of flack for his modest but non-trivial tack towards the center since winning the nomination. There have been great cries of flip-flopping, betrayal, and stuff like that, mainly from the left (although a lot from the opportunistic right). It's somewhat overstated -- some of his "changes" have been from what people wanted to hear than what he actually said -- but there's no question that he's tweaking his message.
Let's be clear: he's done *exactly* what I expected him to. More specifically, with the notable exception of the FISA vote (where I disagree with him, but he's far from the only Senator who made that particular mistake), he's done more or less exactly what I *wanted* him to do. His tactics are pretty much exactly why I voted for him.
While I may despise the Republicans, I am *not* by the usual American definitions a Liberal. I'm basically a soft libertarian. "Centrist" isn't an insult in my vocabulary -- insofar as it means "really not aligned with an ideological movement", it's a compliment.
Obama is proving himself to be exactly what I thought of him: a ruthless pragmatist. So far, I still suspect he has some principles, but he is neither a saint nor an ideologue. Since many people *want* a saint and an ideologue, they're feeling betrayed.
What *I* want is a repairman. So far, he still looks like the best candidate for that. Tacking to the center is entirely necessary to do that job -- a major part of repairing the system is getting the communication lines working again -- so I'm more than happy to see him doing it. In my book, non-ideological, practical government is the change I most want to see...
Obama's been getting a lot of flack for his modest but non-trivial tack towards the center since winning the nomination. There have been great cries of flip-flopping, betrayal, and stuff like that, mainly from the left (although a lot from the opportunistic right). It's somewhat overstated -- some of his "changes" have been from what people wanted to hear than what he actually said -- but there's no question that he's tweaking his message.
Let's be clear: he's done *exactly* what I expected him to. More specifically, with the notable exception of the FISA vote (where I disagree with him, but he's far from the only Senator who made that particular mistake), he's done more or less exactly what I *wanted* him to do. His tactics are pretty much exactly why I voted for him.
While I may despise the Republicans, I am *not* by the usual American definitions a Liberal. I'm basically a soft libertarian. "Centrist" isn't an insult in my vocabulary -- insofar as it means "really not aligned with an ideological movement", it's a compliment.
Obama is proving himself to be exactly what I thought of him: a ruthless pragmatist. So far, I still suspect he has some principles, but he is neither a saint nor an ideologue. Since many people *want* a saint and an ideologue, they're feeling betrayed.
What *I* want is a repairman. So far, he still looks like the best candidate for that. Tacking to the center is entirely necessary to do that job -- a major part of repairing the system is getting the communication lines working again -- so I'm more than happy to see him doing it. In my book, non-ideological, practical government is the change I most want to see...