Political Capital

Posted on 11/20/2008 at 10:09 am by Bob Cesca

Nate:

If you believe [Howard] Dean’s implication that Obama is going to use that political capital to pass both significant climate change reform and significant health care reform within the first two years of his presidency, you probably ought to give him the benefit of the doubt. If, on the other hand, you see Obama as someone more concerned with the accumulation of power toward ambiguous, uncertain, or incorrect ends, this is liable to be the first of a long line of displeasing decisions, and you had better get used to pushing back against the White House.

Clicking around, the netroots are clearly 75 percent with the latter and 25 percent (including me, for what it’s worth) with the former. Unfortunately. But my hunch is that once the Obama narrative reveals more of itself, the 75 percent will rapidly diminish.

Here’s an analogy. You’re driving to the hospital with a severely injured friend in the back seat. The friend, it turns out, was beaten up by a group of drunken rednecks at a bar. Do you drive around looking for the rednecks to run them over? Or do you use your gasoline and energy to get your friend to a hospital?

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  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    In fact, the signs point to the former. I find it odd that people are excited about Daschle for HHS because of his profound experience in working the Hill, recognize Rahm Emmanuel’s bully skills on the Hill, and still think that Obama’s manueverings are about anything less that pushing through a big agenda.Indeed – didn’t Rahm Emmanuel JUST say that’s the goal – like… yesterday?QT

  • cminri

    Bob..about your above analogy….I would get my friend to the hospital and then go back and find those thugs and sick Elvis D. on them.

  • http://www.broadwaycarl.blogspot.com Broadway Carl

    I agree with you, Bob, and said so in a post two days ago:

    “Where do you suppose Obama would pick his cabinet from? Preferably whoever he chose would need the requisite experience for the job they would be asked to do, and when was the last successful Democratic administration again? Oh, yeah, the Clinton Administration. Not to say that he’s solely going to pick from old Clintonites. You don’t see James Carville and George Stephanopolous running around with the Obama entourage, do you?

    Think of it this way: Obama asks Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State and the “more of the same” crowd goes ballistic. These same people are saying that Bill Richardson should’ve been asked. Uh, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Bill Richardson work for the Clinton Administration? Is that “more of the same”? Don’t fall for the media dictating the narrative, their perception of what is change and what is more of the same. The media is looking for ratings and what better way than to create controversy?

    A very intelligent friend of mine and I were having a debate on Obama and the choices he’s made so far, between the FISA compromise vote, some of his possible staff choices, etcetera, but on this particular day he was angry about the extensive application form that you’d have to fill out in order to be considered for an interview for a place on the Obama staff. After a spirited talk, he said, “I guess I’ve been against something for so long, I’m having a hard time and forgotten what it’s like to be for something.”

    It’s taken eight years (some would say 28 years) to get into the mess we’re in. Let’s have a little patience and not cast judgment based on a couple of cabinet appointments two weeks after the election and 8½ weeks before Obama takes office.

  • Sharktattoo

    Yes! Thank you Bob and Lee and this blog – I’ve actually stopped reading certain other blogs, because I’ve gotten absolutely fed up with the endless calls for payback and the bloggers so full of their inflated sense of self-importance, acting as if Obama has personally bitch-slapped them by daring to not follow their sterling advice.I want a President who will do what is best for this country, not follow some ‘cowboy’ agenda of revenge. Didn’t we just go through 8 frickin’ years of this nonsense? Our new President is smart and calm and a careful thinker – and I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe, just maybe, he knows what he’s doing.

  • http://hedonistperspective.typepad.com/ Alexander Rose

    Yeah, we did just get through eight years of cowboy politics…And that to me is the irony of the crowing going on within our side.They want to do to Republicans exactly what they did to us…Because that really helped this country out a whole lot.

  • http://www.sixtyftsixin.com fightoffyourdemons

    “I’ve actually stopped reading certain other blogs, because I’ve gotten absolutely fed up with the endless calls for payback and the bloggers so full of their inflated sense of self-importance, acting as if Obama has personally bitch-slapped them by daring to not follow their sterling advice.”Daily Kos? I feel the same way.

  • avkodoll

    So true about some of those other blogs. It’s sad and depressing to go to some of them any more. But this one always lifts me up. Both the blogging and the comments seem to be well thought through, rather than a rush to judgement.I love your analogy in this particular writing. Says it perfectly!

  • jasperjava

    I don’t know about 75-25, but there are a lot of whiners and kvetchers and bean counters out there.The country’s problems are serious. Borderline catastrophic. We’re going to need a mighty effort by everyone to pull back from the brink. Payback comes in the form of repairing the damage, and setting the ship on the right course. Some of the crew may be a tad unsavory, but they know their way around the rigging.