Will the real Barack Obama please stand up?
Last week’s budget melodrama that nearly led to a government shut down ended with this truth about Obama: neither his liberal base nor Republicans fear him. Both sides feel he is someone who eventually “caves.”
The word “caves” is now as tiresome as the phrases “false equivalency,” “just don’t get it,” or “defining moment.” In the 20th century “caving” was called “compromising” or consensus-building. But our politics today is an ongoing partisan grudge match and many partisans consider compromise and consensus wimping out.
Is this Barack Obama out of tune with the new reality? And who is Barack Obama? There are many perceptions out there:
1. Obama the Political Pushover: He talks a great game about finding middle ground, gives great prepared speeches, but doesn’t have the stomach to risk all in to-the-mat battles. He’ll steadily give up ground to foes and end up touting a compromise where he and the Democrats win up falling far short of their original goal. During the primaries Hillary Clinton warned us against him.
2. Obama the Compromiser: He is the calm adult who will help resolve an issue amid hyperactive partisans and left-right ideological screamers.
3. Obama the Machiavellian: He lets others take the lead (and heat) on key issues and comes in at the last minute to minimize political risk and maximize gain. In this view, he’s plotting with Donald Trump to run Trump as an independent candidate for President to siphon GOP votes.
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.