I suppose it's possible the President will offer a full-throated defense of progressive activist government tonight, but at this stage of the game, what does it really matter? Sure, raising the minimum wage---among other proposals we will likely hear---is politically popular and could help some members of Team Democrat in the fall midterms, but policy proposals without votes are just words on paper. Just think of what might have been achieved with a rousing speech on social justice when he had the political wind in his sails and big majorities in Congress! Because let's face it: the same problems that bedevil the country now---high unemployment, increasing poverty, a parasitic financial system, decaying infrastructure, and a money-sucking security-surveillance state---are pretty much the same ones that bedeviled us five years ago.
No matter what's outlined tonight, I think the salient takeaway from the Obama administration is likely to be this: strike while the iron is hot because, in reality, you only have a very short time to implement your core policy agenda. The Bush people understood this, and that's why they pushed hard for votes on tax cuts and education reform almost immediately after being declared the winners; and after 9/11, it's why they strong-armed the Congress into passing the Patriot Act with minimal debate. Of course, they grabbed for the brass ring once too often by pushing for Social Security "reform" immediately after Bush was re-elected, but the general principle applies: Hit the ground running in the first hundred days, when the popular will is still very much on your side and before the opposition has had a chance to re-frame the policy debate. And don't default to practicing the politics of the possible before you've explored all the alternatives. Negotiating with the opposition is difficult enough without having to negotiate with yourself.
---Baron V
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