Two Things Obama Got Wrong - Not cornering the market on populism, & misunderstanding his opposition

[highplainsdem]

From Harry Shearer at HuffPo:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/the-two-things-obama-got-wrong_b_949472.html

The Two Things Obama Got Wrong
Posted: 9/5/11 04:03 PM ET

-snip-

But this August has been bad for the Obama administration primarily because the liberal knives have finally come out for him, with the maraschino cherry on top being the backdown on ozone regulations at month's end. Drew Westen's attack at the beginning of the month, and Jon Chait's rejoinder at the end, seem to have bookended this debate, at least for New York Times readers. But, not to brag, I've been off the Obama bandwagon almost since before it had Michelins. In mid-March 2009, back around the time he gave the big jobs speech (not), I started criticizing him here for (a) doubling down in Afghanistan; and (b) ignoring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' announcement that they were choosing the "technically not superior" solution for a part of the new protection system for New Orleans. Obama fans here pelted me with digital spitballs, on the grounds that "his plate's so full" and "he'll get to it."

And now, here we are. Oddly enough, the president's plate has just gotten fuller. What's with that kitchen staff? And the intervening two years have shown me -- and yes, commenters, I know, I'll get back to doing cartoon voices just as soon as this post is completed -- that this president has committed two profound strategic blunders.

One is based on the circumstances he faced on taking office. The economy was in a shambles. When that happens in this country, history tells us there's a big wave of populism that sweeps through the population most severely affected by economic turmoil. Sometimes it's left-wing populism; sometimes it's right-wing populism. I think the president had the moment, and the option, to select which direction that populist wave would break. Had he gone left-wing populist, directing the anger of Main Street at -- to quote Teddy Roosevelt -- the "malefactors of great wealth," it's quite possible that he could have cornered the market on populism. Leaving that field vacant opened a big market for right-wing populism, which conveniently swooped in, in the form of the Tea Party. Yes, I'm suggesting that Barack Obama, not the Koch Brothers, is primarily responsible for the rise of the Tea Party.

The second strategic blunder has to do with misunderstanding his opposition. What was it about Mitch McConnell saying in 2009 that his primary goal was the defeat of President Obama that President Obama didn't understand? When your adversary is hell-bent on denying you any victories, making conciliatory policy moves towards them is quixotic and self-defeating. Example: adopting Mitt Romney's (and many other conservatives') model for market-based insurance "exchanges" in his health-care plan merely allowed the opposition to demonize a previously conservative policy, thereby moving the argument to the right. It didn't earn him the votes of (almost extinct) moderate Republicans, nor the ardor of centrists. It merely allowed another set of policy options to be labeled "socialist." Drew Westen decries this as the failure to understand bully politics. I'd go simpler, based on my own experience as one of the shortest white guys to play street basketball in NYC: if you get into a game that surprises you with its free use of elbows and other apparent deliberate contact, with the determination of both teams to cheat on the score and argue every foul and out-of-bounds call, you're ill-advised to call "time" and say, "Hey, guys, I do happen to have a copy of the rules here...." You play the game you find yourself in, and you rev up your elbows.

-snip-

[Bluenorthwest]

1. As usual,Harry gets it right.

"When your adversary is hell-bent on denying you any victories, making conciliatory policy moves towards them is quixotic and self-defeating."
And to do that for years on end is just stupid. Harry's too nice to say stupid, but it is quixotic at first, and devolves quickly into mere stupidity.

[mother earth]

2. Without real campaign finance reform, wondering why or

where Obama went wrong is worthless. We know why this country is in chaos and stalemate. Acknowledge the true culprit, and until that is changed, flame away of the whys and wherefores...doesn't matter. Nobody rocks the boat, because the owners don't like that.

[ThomWV]

3. Well, its not an article I'd recommend. I disagree with half the premiss and its poorly written

I disagree that it was Obama who is to blame for the Tea Party, that one lies squarly on the guys who leased the busses. As for the other complaint, the writing (who am I to complain about crappy writing?) its obviously just a personal thing, but I found myself having to re-read several sentences in order to try and figure out what he was trying to say and there are a number of obscure comparisons that just shot way over my head. The "cartoon voices" thing is an example. What was that about? What does it have to do with the argument he is trying to advance?

Other than that its worth reading. Nothing great, but good enough.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. The reference to Harry's day job is him noting that some quarters

will dismiss his opinions because he 'does cartoon voices for a living'. It is a thing said about all artists who are politically vocal. It is 'shut up and sing' basically, 'shut up and play Mr Burns'. It is 'how could an actor have an opinion'. He is telling those who say that to stow it. As he should.
Harry has been one of my favorite comic writers since I was a child.

[Odin2005]

4. IMO, 1. he is too "nice", and 2. he has been in the Establishment Bubble too long.

#1 is fine when you are a community organizer or a law professor, but not when you are a top-level politician.

#2 has his roots in his teaching law at the University of Chicago, IMO, and a bad habit of treating conventional wisdom as fact.

I don't think Obama is bad or stupid, I just think his governing style is not what is needed now.