Vox's Impeccable Insight, My Lovely Pessimism

Sad, but true.

Seeing the way in which Obama is confounding the Tea Party movement tends to remind me of the classic alternative history short story in which the Germans conquer British India and instead of facing imperial British troops, Gandhi finds himself confronting soldiers of the Wehrmacht. Needless to say, satyagraha is rather less effective in the face of a ruthless enemy that is indifferent to bloodshed.

Obama is entirely focused on his goals, not the polls. He is as indifferent to the political pressure from his left as he is to the Tea Party-led pressure from his right, in part because he has largely delegated his legislative priorities to the Congressional Democrats. And being a ruthless pragmatist who has never hesitated to discard others once they cease to prove useful to him, it is extremely unlikely that he is in any way concerned with the Democratic Party's probable loss of the House in the fall. Obama will simply keep pursuing his progressive goals while relying upon Republicans to do what they do best, namely, crumble under media pressure.

I'm hopeful that my pessimism won't come true. I'm also pessimistic my hope won't come true. Such is life at a key point in history.

Do not doubt it: this President, one term or two, is setting the stage for the next 20-50 years of domestic and geo-political history. By the end of his first term, Iran will most likely have nukes, if Israel hasn't bombed them, and if Israel does that's a regional war we can't afford to fight. The second housing bubble will have burst, most likely repaired by a third bubble. The partisan situation will be wider than the Grand Canyon (you think Republicans are "obstructionists", just wait until the Dems are in the minority protecting their second New Deal). I truly hope the next election gives us a real, honest to God bipartisan. Not a John "I can get my back scratched by both parties" McCain bipartisan, but a President who can disagree without insulting, who can get the Blue Dogs without bribes. A President who has balls.

I'm asking too much, aren't I?