Quote:
Originally Posted by Sidd Finch
But he's the President. If the President wants to rise above partisanship and promote a compromise to the middle, he has to state a vision of that compromise to the public and get public acceptance for it. In other words, use the bully pulpit. This is especially true in the current climate, where one party refuses to discuss any compromise (even the ones that they proposed a week ago), and where people are listening to dumb ideas (like, we don't need any increased revenue, or default isn't a problem).
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A really significant part of the conservative base is more invested in opposing Obama than it is in any particularly policy outcome. If Obama moves to the center (i.e., right) to meet them, they will move away from him because that's what matters more to them. You see this again and again. An example is healthcare, where Obama eschewed long-standing Democratic priorities like single-payer and the public option in favor of a moderate Republican proposal, private payer with mandates, only to see Republicans discover that what they had previously supported is unconstitutional and socialistic. You see it with the stimulus, where Obama eschewed more effective vehicles in favor of tax cuts, but did not pick up a single GOP vote in doing so. You cannot lead the country if a single part of it is psychologically dedicated to picking a fight with you.
