The unitary executive ignored one party and pushed all his wishes through congress. That's what Bush did.
A strong leader, what we don't have, at least makes his point and defends it well enough that every time it comes up his firm stand for something means that the republicans are stuck making their stand against it. They can't weasel a position claiming that they're for job, because they're fully exposed fighting against jobs. They can't pretend they're protecting medicaid when clear, public debates keep putting them on the spot where they're trying to undermine medicaid. Etc.
And Republicans couldn't fool people into thinking they support the people because the strong leader keeps getting the people involved in the battles, openly, talking to the public, getting them involved in the issues, getting the public to actively pressure people and take sides. A strong leader with charisma that can mobilize people has a huge advantage, because people will get involved. They just need to be told how.
But Obama hasn't been willing to let people get involved. He doesn't tell people what he is doing, or how people can help. When he talks to the public he basically only tells the public what he wants the public to accept, because his advisers say it's a good idea. But those are the same corporate advisers that the republicans listen to. That's not going to motivate many people, and it doesn't give people any way to get involved. It makes people passive followers. They're not part of the organizational activities in any way.
A strong organizer with the army of adoring fans he had at the start of his administration might have found ways to address them often, keep them motivated, keep them involved, and sic them on opponents. Turn them into volunteers. Turn them into administration campaign workers for strategic campaigns. Did we see any of that? I sure didn't.
Unfortunately, with a weak President who's progressive image was just a Public Relations construction for getting elected, it got put away as soon as he got elected. The liberal advisers were fired, and corporate advisers were put into all the important roles.
With a weak president who only relies on those insider corporate consultants and lobbyists (who are the same consultants and lobbyists that the republicans listening to) where are people going to rally? What are we going to rally for?
Health care "reform" was a great example of all the ways he failed to take advantage of people as a resource.
The whole nation was poised to support Single Payer and Universal Health Care. The President could have had the entire medical profession of Nurses unions, Medical Associations, Charitable Organizations, Health Care Advocacy Groups, and Millions of Patients and our families from all over the country marching with him to implement solutions
- IF he included health care professionals in PUBLIC talks and in the campaign to sway congress. But he excluded them and only allowed the insurance industry and the for-profit healthcare delivery corporations to have a say in private talks behind closed doors.
- IF he included patients and supporters in the in public talks and in the campaign to sway congress. He kept the entire public locked out, as if we were just there to be told what was happening, but not part of the discussion.
- IF he got in front of the media and spoke directly to the public, using the same language and tone we kept hearing during his campaign to rally people, and told people to get involved in pressuring politicians, writing letters, marching on Washington if necessary, he had so many people in love with him at the time he could have had half of this nation in the streets, on the phones and writing demands with him. But he didn't. Suddenly, instead of insurance companies being the biggest problem in American Health Care, he decided that they were the only vital and unchangeable element of American Health Care.
- IF he had used his populist charisma and charm that we all saw him put to such good use during his campaign and he had called upon those armies of supporters that came to all his campaign events wanting to hear about universal health care and single payer, he could have asked them to do ANYTHING for him. He could have had a huge army of supporters working as volunteers on a public campaign to help him get a program passed. But he never created a public program. He kept it a closed-door political negotiation. His first decision, without public input or support, was to promise the insurance industry that there would be no universal health care or single payer. He caved in from the very beginning without any negotiations at all, claiming it was necessary in order to "bring them to the table." As if they would have needed any bribery to bring them there when he was already giving them the exclusive invitation.
That was the perfect example of how he falls apart in negotiations and leaves people with nothing worth supporting, and nothing worth backing, and he only steps forward with any demands when they are for a corporation. Never for actual people.
Even the stuff that was supposed to benefit people, like expanding who can buy insurance, turned out to be just a benefit for insurance companies, not people.
i.e. We can get the privilege of buying insurance policies, but with such high costs and such poor coverage that we're paying a fortune to get an annual checkup, and then we'd go bankrupt if we ever use it for anything else. But the company is guaranteed lots of revenue every month! Yeah! We get to pay a fortune to own an insurance card! It's a great Public Relations Victory for Obama. But fewer people than ever have real access to affordable health care.
That's the problem with a weak leader. Those negotiations where you "get what's possible" mostly just result in the illusion of getting some kind of victory for us. Aren't you sick of of cheering for the fake victories yet? I'd rather work, step by step, towards real ones.
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