Although his plans had very little substance behind them on the campaign trail, they did correctly identify the important aspects of all the major issues. As his critics often pointed out, supporters could project their own plans onto Obama's hopes. This could never last once he started governing.
Alas, now that he's running the country, the reality of how things get done is starting to scare off conservatives and independents, while the left thinks he's being too pragmatic.
As one of those independents, I am somewhat disappointed that he's generally taken a monolithic (big government) approach to solving issues. I think that he's done this because it's pragmatic - with a Democratic majority in Congress it would seem the easiest way to get things done is to do them in a way that the majority will vote for.
But most Obama supporters I know didn't vote for him to do things the way Congress wants to. We want him to be pragmatic in his solutions, not in the path he takes to get them passed. For that, we want the reformer in him; the side of him that leverages his charisma and mastery of nuance to go over Congress and not through it; to offer solutions that no one else ever has; to bridge the gap between Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, to rally the people to develop and deliver American solutions to American problems. In a word, we want change.
What we like about Obama is that he hints at a third way; not a Democratic way, not a Republican way, but a better way. He starts with the assumption that there exists a better solution to the problems at hand than either party pushes on their own. A way that leverages the ingenuity of the American people, that solves the problems at hand, and does so efficiently, fairly, and in a way that makes sense to a majority of the American people.
So what is this third way? It is a way that combines the power of the government with the ingenuity of free markets.
Government is a tool; I strongly believe that the government is the only player that can set and enfore appropriate regulations. But it is a tool that must be used appropriately. My general philosophy, and frankly one I think that the vast majority of Americans support, is that Government should be as small as possible, but no smaller. Government should create policy to acheive its goals with as little direct intervention as possible.
Free markets are a tool as well, if not the quintessential American tool. While they are extremely effective at getting individual players to compete to deliver the best solution, the best solution to the market is sometimes not the best solution for everyone. When such negative side-effects form, they need to be countered. Markets must be both fair and free of externalities that cause societical harm in any form. This is the American way. It must be the role of government to regulate markets so that the actions of the free market are based on fairness, and don't have negative side effects for market participants or society at large.
Unfortunately, on the domestic front President Obama has not pursued this third way as he has on foreign policy. I can see why; the President effectively runs foreign policy from behind his desk. For domestic policy, he must go through Congress.
My hope is that President Obama can find the courage to plot a new course as he works on Health Care and other domestic priorities that will result in the change we voted for.
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