Open Left

Trust and Pressure (4.00 / 1)

 You have given us only two options:  Obama is either  well-intentioned and right or he has ill-intentions and is wrong.  There is, I believe, a third camp.   I think he is well-intentioned and sometimes wrong.  I get the impression that you think people that trust him simply want to play dead when he does something we disagree with.  I trust Obama, but feel it is critical that we continue to pressure him for our progressive priorities.  

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by: chemistk @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 14:07:49 PM CDT

there are degrees (4.00 / 4)

Obviously, there can be degrees of trust or mistrust, and it isn't entirely an either / or. I tried to make that clear in the post on several occasions.

It is not as though I entirely distrust the Obama administration. Obviously, I trust it a lot more than the Bush administration, just as I trust Barack Obama personally more than John McCain, or Democrats more than Republicans.

What I am asking people to do here is try and come up with reasons why someone might trust or distrust him. The point isn't to determine a final, correct answer, but to explore the degrees involved in either direction.

Tomorrow, I will have a "The Case for Trust" article.

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by: Chris Bowers @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 14:20:27 PM CDT

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Comfort level (4.00 / 3)

I think a lot of people aren't comfortable about the idea of "distrusting" Obama.  To really sell your point, I think you need to give people space to think it isn't really about trust; or at least doesn't have to be about trust.

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by: Mark Matson @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 14:41:23 PM CDT

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I came down into the comments to say exactly this (4.00 / 7)

I trust Obama is trying to do the right thing, but believe applying pressure is very important.  After all, others are applying pressure in the other direction.

Also, Obama strongly believes that consensus is the best way to achieve positive results.  (Which, BTW, is a very liberal notion in the abstract.)  It is important for him to see when consensus does not exist on the left.

It gets back to the Overton Window.  We need to create as much space on the left as possible.  That is true regardless of trust.

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by: Mark Matson @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 14:37:20 PM CDT

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Except For When (4.00 / 4)

Also, Obama strongly believes that consensus is the best way to achieve positive results.  

80% or so oppose his bailouts. Then he laughs, and says, of those who are part of his 'consensus,' "It's not a high number."

Oh well. At least he didn't say, "I'm the decider."

"Senate passes expanded GI bill despite Bush, McCain opposition"

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 17:26:42 PM CDT

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Just like a Populist! (4.00 / 1)

You really think high public opinion and consensus are the same thing?  Or even related?  Sheesh.

I'm threading the needle between being completely serious and joking, but consensus means getting all the power players and smart people in the room to agree, at least when it comes to wonky technical stuff.  What's up with this "people" thing?

In all seriousness, if public opinion was highly in favor of something, this would be a pretty good counter point.  But from what I can tell, people are just sick of the whole thing and want the problem to go away.  All the options look bad and no one really understands any of them.

Go sponsor a poll where people are told receivership would cost much more than the bailout currently attempted and ask them if they'd rather try the bailout first or use receivership now.  Sure, I'd go for receivership, but I don't think we'd reach close to the 80%.

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by: Mark Matson @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 18:52:16 PM CDT

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There is one good point peeping out from the bushes (small b) here (4.00 / 1)

Most of the reason that we're having to walk uphill now is that for forty years we've been lazy, and let Republican ideologues have their way with us. If we want the opinions of the left to be taken seriously, we have to make sure that everyone has heard them. More than simply the opinions themselves, we have to make sure that everyone has heard -- in the current political context -- why we hold them, and why they should be seriously considered.

This everyone obviously includes President Obama, who clearly has been listening to the wrong people for a long time. The pressure part, it seems to me, is simply an added benefit of the process of letting him and everyone else know what's been missing in his civic education.

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by: William Timberman @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 19:42:12 PM CDT

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