Robert Kuttner, as I have said several times before, is a journalist for whom I have great respect. He speaks clearly and without apparent concern for negative criticism. I take this last characteristic to mean that he knows who he is, is comfortable with that, and has self-confidence enough to risk openly. In addition to that, he is bright and…from my perspective…usually on the button when it comes to political analysis. He calls himself a progressive, a term with which I can identify. The status quo is in trouble when he sits at his laptop.
His most recent posting on the Huffington Post he calls My Personal Obama. It is a direct, forceful and important piece of commentary, in which he expresses his hope for an Obama presidency which has been diluted with a good dosage of reality assessment. The progressive hoped for in President Obama has (so far) presented himself as a centrist and a somewhat timid President. That’s not what the American public anticipated when it overwhelmingly elected Obama, he says, and I suspect he is right.
Neither he nor I is giving up on President Obama. To the contrary, we both seem to hold onto our hopes that this man has the intestinal fortitude to make great strides in bringing this country back to its progressive and brave senses. Faced with unbelievably overwhelming crises, President Obama has sought consensus in the programs he has supported, having some success in making a dent in the economic and health areas, but falling short of that which is required to move us forward from the depressing place where we find ourselves as a nation. In spite of being a Washington political neophyte, he seems to act with his eye on the 2010 and 2012 elections, always tempering what could have been a bold and decisive move. Kuttner describes him as appearing to be aloof and unresponsive to his base.
My take on it is that we, the progressive voters, have been remarkably patient with President Obama, giving him a chance to establish himself in what has to be the toughest job in America. But that patience is beginning to ebb as the most difficult issues on his plate call for a response. Employment and immigration reform cry out for action, not just analysis. The difficult discussions surrounding “Don’t ask…don’t tell” will go on for years unless stopped in their place by a bold act to correct this moral ill. Tough words for BP on the oil spill have been welcome, but they need to marry tough action.
President Obama cast himself as, and was cheered for being a progressive. It’s time for him to silence the criticisms from his supporters and return to that stance. Not just because it will make Robert Kuttner or me feel better. But because it is what is needed to make this nation move toward being the better place we all seek.
Photo Credit: chelsea green
Dictionary Credit: Dictionary.com
