Obama’s bipartisan pipe dream
First, I’ll admit a bias: I’m not a big fan of bipartisanship.
We have two parties for the very reason that democracies need spirited, competitive debate.
That debate should be civil, intelligent and rational; all sides should listen and learn from opposing interests.
(This kind of ideological competition is even more important when times are tough. Many of our fiercest debates have come during the Civil War, the Depression, and the two World Wars.)
But in the end, the party or candidate who wins the most votes is obligated to lead the country, vigorously and boldly.
And if their leadership doesn’t produce results? We vote them out of office.
But in these first weeks of his presidency, Barack Obama has made the mistake of chasing the chimera of bipartisanship.
Rather than arguing vigorously and clearly for the virtues of his epic stimulus package, he tried to build credibility by attracting Republican votes.
He traded the bully pulpit for the buddy system.
It was a flop, of course, and not just because the GOP was stubborn or obstructionist.
The real problem was that President Obama lacked the gumption to lead decisively.
Chalk it up to beginning jitters.
In future, Mr. Obama should listen respectfully to the opposition, adopt any good ideas that come his way, and then let the votes fall where they may.
Because the simple truth is that Republicans have a fundamentally different philosophy of government; which is as it should be.
If Mr. Obama really feels that his New Deal-style stimulus will create 3-4 million jobs, then his duty isn’t to “compromise” until he wins a few Republicans to his side.
His job is to act swiftly and confidently.
At present, it appears that the President feels the need for Republican “cover.” Or perhaps he’s not really confident about his own philosophy?
Hopefully that’s not the case. During the campaign, Mr. Obama seemed to offer a clear and decisive vision. And that’s exactly what we need.
What if his vision turns out to be wrong? We’ll sort it out in 2012.
