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So the news is now playing up this diner visit in North Carolina where some lunatic woman started shouting "Socialist! Socialist! Socialist!" at Obama (everybody knows what she really means, needless to say). It's likely the next "Joe the Plumber" episode that will fascinate the media like a shiny object. That's all well and good, but it's worthwhile thinking about what Obama is actually doing on all these trips. He is walking directly among people and speaking with them. He's out there taking the risk of the "narrative" going one way or another based on his desire to meet with and talk to ordinary voters. Not only do you see nothing of this kind coming from the republicans, you have seen nothing of the kind coming from them in years. They are so obsessed with "controlling the narrative" that they dare not risk any uncontrollable situation.
Obama is devastatingly honest. He goes out among people and puts the narrative at risk in order to encounter them where they are. This is a really remarkable thing he's doing. Let's also notice that he's done these things in states that went for Bush last time. It's not like he's walking around Chicago here: he's out there in the neighborhoods of Ohio and North Carolina where the chance for opposition - even vociferous opposition - is the strongest.
This is not a coward. This is not a cynic. This is a man who truly believes that democracy is the voice of the people, good, bad, or indifferent. This is the man we want. This is the man we need. He's out there putting his "political" narrative at risk for the sake of democracy. I'm proud of him.
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