NBC’s John Harwood has quoted an anonymous White House adviser dismissing criticism of the president from progressives, particularly on the issue of gay rights, as coming from the “internet fringe left” and saying “those bloggers need to take off their pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult.”
I’m with the anonymous adviser on this. Progressives are demanding way too much from Obama, and I have no idea where these high expectations possibly could have come from. I mean, if you think back to speeches Obama made during the campaign, they were all about the complexity and difficulty of governing a closely divided country. It’s not like he ever promised us a new type of politics or that under his leadership things might, you know, change. Or did I miss something?
For a more powerful (and less sarcastic) statement of disappointment in Obama, see Andrew Sullivan’s reaction to Obama’s speech to Human Rights Campaign. But, hey, at least the Norwegians are happy.
-AR
Your posting sends an unintended message to liberals, progressives, and lgbt people. The upshot of it is that the Democratic Party is never going to be less horrible than it is now, and that we should give up on it for good.
I hope you are wrong.
That certainly wasn’t the message I was intending to send, though it was a pretty cynical post. The point I was trying to make is that, even though the political obstacles facing the president are real, progressives of all backgrounds should continue to hold Obama to the very high standard that he himself has set. And they should be lauded, not condescended to, for doing so.
-AR
“The change we seek has always required great struggle and great sacrifice. And so this is a battle in our own hearts and minds about what kind of country we want and how hard we’re willing to work for it.
So let me remind you tonight that change will not be easy. Change will take time. There will be setbacks and false starts and sometimes we’ll make mistakes.
But as hard as it may seem, we cannot lose hope, because there are people all across this great nation who are counting on us, who can’t afford another four years without health care, that can’t afford another four years without good schools, that can’t afford another four years without decent wages because our leaders couldn’t come together and get it done.”
Obama frequently pointed out that it would be a difficult to bring about the change he was talking about. He didn’t say it would happen overnight just that he thought it could happen.
-js