...once Obama is sworn in and then over the next four years, policy discussions will almost always dominate. There will be rare exceptions when major staff or cabinet changes need to be made, but almost all the time the focus will be on policy. When it comes to policy, I anticipate a fairly high level of agreement with the direction that Obama pursues.Eschaton, on the same subject:
The Obama campaign didn't exist to make me feel good, and the Obama presidency won't either. I don't especially like his people punching the dirty fucking hippies under the bed, but on the other hand if they manage to convince people that Obama is a sensible centrist who wants to do sensible centrist things like build SUPERTRAINS, get out of Iraq, not torture people or invade random countries, strengthen labor protections, reduce income inequality, improve education, provide health care for people, and reduce poverty, while those DAMNED DIRTY HIPPIES just won't shut up about their magic ponies, it's fine by me.There are other progressive bloggers out there, as well as a liberal TV host or two (ahem...Rachel Maddow...cough!) who seem to think that President-elect Obama should be lurching far left with his cabinet picks. Apparently they saw a different candidate that I did during the campaign. The Obama I saw was indeed a liberal, but he campaigned on the promises of restoring competence to government and repairing our battered reputation abroad, and that meant placing people in key posts who know what they're doing. Hillary Clinton at State and James Jones as National Security Adviser, among other appointments, give the new administration a solidly centrist feel. But more than that, they exude competence. Right now, at least for me, that's all that matters.
For years we've had Democrats railing against those crazy hippies as an excuse to not do all of those things. If Obama's people are going to rail against the hippies and use it as an excuse to do them, fine with me. If.
Something else Obama promised all along: Placing people in White House posts who will add to a vigorous debate over issues and policy. For the last eight years we've had the "Group of Yes" running the country - men and women who wouldn't dare give the President an opinion different from his own. They'd be fired if they did. The result is the worst presidency in 150 years, an economy in ruin, and a global reputation in tatters.
I never expected to be 100% happy with Obama's presidency. No American is ever 100% happy with any president. And I don't expect him to be right on every single issue every single time. No president ever is. But I trust Mr. Obama implicitly to listen to all sides of an argument and then make a decision based on his evaluation of the pros and cons. After eight years of "shoot from the hip" governing, won't that be breath of fresh air!
