Obama Is A Progessive In A Political Environment That's Hostile To Progressive Policies

[Yavin4]

In his heart, Obama is a real progressive politician. His entire past tells us that. However, he is operating with a congress, corporate lobbyists, and a media that are all arrayed against any progressive policies from being enacted into law. He cannot use the Bush strategy of brow beating his party to pass any legislation that he wants.

Let me give you an example, compare the media coverage for Bush's first tax cuts for wealthy people to Obama's stimulus package. In 2001, the economy began drifting into a recession, and the media warmly welcomed Bush's tax cuts. There was little or no mention of what it would to the budget or the deficits that would follow. It was all about how great it would be for the economy when people got their refund checks in the mail.

In 2009, when the economy was teetering on the brink of complete disaster and 750K jobs were being lost per month, the media heaped scorned on Obama's stimulus package and decried the effect on the deficits, even though without it, the entire economy would have imploded.

The other problem that Obama has is that a majority of the elected officials in his own party are not progressives. Sure, there are a lot of them, but most of the Dems are shameless opportunists who just label themselves as Dems just because it helps their own political careers. Most of them vote based on which way the campaign money from corporate lobbyists are flowing.

In this environment, Obama has two choices. He could draw lines in the sand and take hard positions on the major issues, but this tatic would isolate him and render him completely ineffective. Or, he can choose his battles wisely, create incremental changes, and be open to compromises. This tact allows him to be politically relevant and a strong champion for change.