So much gets presented as a challenge to President Obama, but his leadership style really asks more of his base and the American people: patience, a sense of history, an understanding of the modest limits of politics and our governing institutions. Obama seems to have these—do we? – Lawrence Spaulding
Now, doesn’t that feel better?
When I last wrote I was hoping for the best in the grumpy progressives. They are not, I thought, mirror images of their conservative counterparts, are they? They are smarter about politics, more steeped in legislative and presidential history, more thoughtful about constraints and realities of politics, right? Less peevish, more optimistic, as is the progressive way, yes? Alas, the early returns seemed not so good. Judgment about President Obama’s tax cut deal the early on (and reaction to Lawrence Spaulding) seemed to range from the grimly disappointed (“This is not the change I can believe in!”) to the churlish (“he’s no different than Bush!”). Actually, let me agree with that last in some respects. In an interesting way, Obama is a bit like Bush, not W, but pere G.H. W. Bush. A question facing progressives now is whether they will treat Obama as like Republicans did GHWB?
In late summer 1988 then Vice-President Bush, in his speech accepting the Republican nomination made the famous declaration: “And the Congress will push me to raise taxes and I’ll say no. And they’ll push, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push again, and I’ll say, to them, ‘Read my lips: no new taxes.’” Hurray, secure the conservative base, cue the balloon drop and victory over Mike Dukakis is in the offing. But of course, two years later Bush signed a compromise budget and tax bill that uh…raised taxes. This went on the spell disaster for Bush who lost his conservative base. Even though he waged the wildly successful Gulf War after this, Bush faced a significant primary challenger in Patrick Buchannan (really, look it up, he defeated Bush in New Hampshire!) and then he went on to lose in a tightly contested race in 1992 to Bill Clinton as many conservatives stayed home or even voted for Ross Perot.
Now, where did Bush make his mistake? For conservatives it was in breaking his pledge and signing that budget bill. But let me suggest there were other more significant mistakes. Bush’s real mistake was in making that pledge. He could not have known then what the future would hold and it was reckless to make a pledge that he was surely smart enough to know he at least possibly could not keep. And at least he showed enough leadership to sign the bill. But the next mistake was the made by the Republican base, because as the tale of the tape shows, it was a very good bill that he signed. For relatively minor tax increases and significant budget cuts, the Federal government was put on a glide path for a good decade of budget restraint (even budget surpluses—imagine that!) and economic growth. But for the base, this didn’t matter, somebody’s taxes somewhere went up, it must be a bad deal, and therefore the president is a turncoat not to be trusted. And the result for Republicans? Eight years of President Bill Clinton.
President Obama of course did not make a pledge anything like GHW Bush’s. Did he sign a recently deal that lowered taxes on the wealthiest for a bit longer? Yes. Will it have the effect of the 1990 budget bill that GHW Bush signed? Too early to tell. But the challenge to the progressive left is whether they will abandon a president who is most likely to serve their interests, as well as the country’s, because he doesn’t do it exactly as they would in exactly the time frame they would. Or grumble about him not because they did not get what they wanted, but because someone they disagree with got what they wanted. President Obama seems to have tried to re-established a distinction between governing and campaigning that has significantly deteriorated in the last few decades. The world of campaigning is of course a zero sum game, my opponent’s win is my loss and vice versa. But this is not necessarily or even primarily the case with governing and legislating.
Consider one more example. After the 2008 election, progressives were ready to ride Sen. Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic caucus and astounded that President Obama took no action to punish Lieberman for endorsing Sen McCain in the election. A little revenge would have tasted good, no doubt, but Obama passed on the dish. Similarly, supporters in the gay community have been clamoring about how little action Obama had taken on DADT and DOMA; and again, a walkout is threatened. Now, DADT gets passed in a comprehensive fashion, with the support of the military brass and the rank and file; and it happens in large part because of the important leadership offered by Lieberman in the Senate. Any chance that happened if he gets “punished” in early 2009?
So much gets presented as a challenge to President Obama, but his leadership style really asks more of his base and the American people: patience, a sense of history, an understanding of the modest limits of politics and our governing institutions. Obama seems to have these—do we?
– Lawrence Spaulding
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More from Lawrence Spaulding:
On Wisconsin: Mr. Goose, Meet Ms. Gander by Lawrence Spaulding
Thoughts on Clearly Nebulous’ Query by Lawrence Spaulding
More (or Less, Really) on Words and Violence, by Lawrence Spaulding
Words and Actions, Words as Actions, by Lawrence Spaulding
On Political Writing and Reading… and Kinda Obama… by Lawrence Spaulding
Lame Ducks and Legitimacy, by Lawrence Spaulding
Will Progressives Treat BHO Better than Conservatives Treated GHWB?, by Lawrence Spaulding
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