Is Barack A Typical Pol?
July 2nd, 2008But the challenge is no longer to become the Democrats’ preferred change candidate; Obama is now the change candidate by virtue of being the Democrat.
It seems to me that Barack Obama was never the idealist that some of the left made him out to be. His position on the death penalty, while it came as a surprise to some, was laid out in his 2006 book.
While some may be disappointed at what are perceived to be “shifts” in positions, it strikes me as odd that Barack Obama is at turns lauded for being a “uniter” while at the same time decried for staking claim to positions that are necessary for consensus building. One cannot be a “uniter” by being a typical party ideologue.
The current president claimed to be a “uniter not a divider” but always governed as though he were elected with an overwhelming conservative mandate. That only increased the partisan bitterness in Washington. If “unity” and a return to a modicum of civility in government are really what people in this country want, that will require compromise and consensus building efforts, which is what it seems Obama is doing.
