Shrum continues:
He wants a victory that crosses party lines, not a reprise of Bill Clinton’s 1993 economic plan, which passed the Congress without a single Republican vote. Obama views his recovery plan as the start of his legislative success, not the end. Krugman and others have a fair point about the greater efficiency of spending versus tax cuts; but it’s a classic case of the perfect as enemy of the good. Obama wants the best stimulus he can muster. But he won’t put it through the eye of an ideological needle.
(Emphasis supplied.) That does not even make sense. Shrum is telling us that instead of getting "the best stimulus he can muster," he will allow political considerations give us a lesser stimulus in order to get more than 59 votes in the Senate. Obama, Shrum tells us, will give us a lesser stimulus by putting the stimulus plan through the eye of a political needle. I happen to think it is stupid politics myself, but my beef here is with that lack of baci logic from Shrum.
Shrum continues:
That same pragmatism will guide each successive stage of what will prove to be a bold agenda. Obama will not duplicate Clinton’s mistake of delaying health care. He will move to enact it before the summer is out. He will listen to business as well as progressives, Republicans as well as Democrats; his transition team and Ted Kennedy’s staff have been doing so for months now.
(Emphasis supplied.) Shrum tells us Obama will sacrifice boldness and efficacy for Republican votes and then promises this "pragmatism" will leads us to the promised land of health care reform. Um, ok. You go with that one Shrum. Sheesh. I mean, does this make any sense?
The final product may not be everybody’s ideal; but this President is less interested in making a point than in taking the historic step of establishing health care as a right rather than a privilege.
What the hell does that even mean? Shrum continues:
Of course, not every Republican—or Democrat—will vote for the legislation; but it will pass precisely because Obama is casting beyond his own party for support.
Last I Looked, Dems were going to have 59 Senatorsand 260 House members. Legislation on healrh care or any other issue will pass because - let me state the obvious - Democrats control both houses of Congress. My gawd Shrum writes some stupid stuff here. And after all that, Shrum ends the column completely contradicting himself and ignoring that Obama draws his mandate from his and Democrats having won the election:
Listening has its limits. When it comes to energy and global warming, for example, there’s not much to be learned from climate change deniers like Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe. So Obama will advance legislation without the faintest Inhofe imprint.
. . . . [M]aybe there is a chance we’ll see change here, too—that the political clashes of the future will be more respectful, less angry, more open to finding common ground. For the moment, the incoming president has marginalized fevered agitators like Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity. Today, Obama speaks for America in part because he respects and responds to voices across the American spectrum. At times, this may discomfort progressives. The end result, however, may be a cure for Battered Liberal Syndrome. It may also usher in a new, if imperfect, progressive era.
Sheesh. It seems to me that the only person suffering from Battered Liberal Syndrome here is Shrum. And let's face it, he took more than his share of political beatings. He does not even seem to know that Democrats have swept the Republicans out of office. And the one sure way to get the Democrats swept out of office is by not solving the problems the country faces. Keep him away from the political wheel please.
Speaking for me only
