Cass Sunstein finds a way to make pragmatism sound visionary.
I don't trust process revolutionaries. Sorry.
Does Obama really think he can govern from the middle alone? Who knows? He seems to talk less about his policies, that AS swears he has, than about other stuff.
MLK's "vision" was deeply rooted in purpose, not process. Ronald Reagan, with his one-note philosophy, governed by singing songs from the Right and "sirened" the Blue Doggies (he certainly didn't pray for them - he just made jokes about them).
In a letter to Daily Kos, discussing the appropriate tone to be taken by public officials, Obama wrote, "Americans are suspicious of labels and suspicious of jargon. ... They don't think that corporations are inherently evil."
That bit on corporations, is that a transformative vision or just reading the American mind? I don't think corporations are "evil", but neither do I think they always have the public interest at heart, do you? What's more, does that kind of comment suggest ethos-accepting "vision" or ethos-changing "vision"? Does Obama have trouble moving from descriptive to prescriptive, except through some mediation with GOPers?
VOTING UNDER UNCERTAINTY - MINIMIZE REGRET STRATEGY
So, for the Obama enthusiasts willing to make the case, what does the record show that Obama does when he is attacked from the left? Does he end up endorsing John McCain, so to speak? Or, does he just get wiley, like Bill did, from time-to-time?
Above all, how could it turn out that Cass is wrong? [Following the minimize regret strategy for voting in quasi democracies, like America ...]What if we wake up three years from now to find that we've given the keys to the Democratic party to a "minimalist" Joe Lieberman? Perhaps that is unfair, but I really don't know Obama's voting record, do you? Some who have scored it suggest that his "minimalism", with notable exceptions, has generated a patchwork that is only mildly progressive.
So, for the Obama enthusiasts willing to make the case, what does the record show that Obama does when he is attacked from the left? Does he end up endorsing John McCain, so to speak? Or, does he just get wiley, like Bill?
