Have to disagree a bit with brother Benen here:
Obama believes he can't change Washington, or major national policy, or the nation's direction by himself, and he's right. It's a cooperative process, dependent on engaged citizens and more than one branch of government.
True, yes, but it can also be perceived as a passive approach to governance that projects an image of weakness, and it needlessly provides the Teabillies with more fodder that they can channel through the swirling media chum of Politico and The Hill. Given the forum he was presented today, he'd have been much better off hammering the throttle, blaming Republicans for everything, and imploring Hispanic voters to turn out at the polls and give him a Democratic Congress next year. Yes, it would have been shrill and not too terribly "presidential", and I know that's not how this President rolls, but Jesus, people, we're only six weeks out from the election, and the other side don't play by Queensbury rules. Enough with the "I can't do it alone" bullshit. We know that already, so try lighting a fire under the electorate instead, channeling your inner Harry Truman if necessary. Put it another way: Even-handedness and $1.50 gets you a cup of coffee, and not much more, in Washington as elsewhere.
---Vitelius
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