Obama: The fire from the Left

last updated 8 January 2015

"Mad-as-hell conservatives” aren’t the only Americans incensed at President Obama these days, said David Saltonstall in the New York Daily News. A growing number of liberals are accusing Obama of betraying them by waffling or stalling on the progressive agenda they elected him to enact. Pro-choice proponents, for example, are “livid” that Democratic health-care legislation will not include federal abortion funding for the poor. Gay activists are fuming that Obama hasn’t overturned the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bars gays from serving openly. Immigration-rights groups want Obama to “live up to past pledges to tackle comprehensive reform”; anti-war crusaders are outraged that he’s weighing a troop increase in Afghanistan. And civil libertarians are chagrined that he’s continued the Bush administration policy of detaining suspected terrorists without charge or trial. So much for the audacity of hope, said Charles Blow in The New York Times. “When, Mr. President? When will your deeds catch up to your words?”

Give the guy a break, said Peter Beinart in TheDailybeast.com. Have liberals already forgotten how much Obama has accomplished in just nine months? His stimulus bill, “which includes vast sums for college tuition, renewable energy, and mass transit, is one of the most important pieces of progressive legislation in decades.” Democratic presidents have been trying—and failing—to enact meaningful health-care reform since the 1970s. When the final health-care package emerges from Congress, Obama will get much of what he’s asked for—a historic achievement. This president “may seem to dither,” said Andrew Sullivan in the London Times. But his apparent indecision masks a brilliant sense of timing and political savvy. Obama makes a move, waits for opponents to show their hand, and responds strategically, always thinking two or three steps ahead. “This is cunning, not weakness.”

Sorry—I don’t buy it, said Leon Wieseltier in The New Republic. There’s a reason men and women of principle are often described, admiringly, as “uncompromising.” Obama’s fixation on finding “common ground” makes you wonder if he considers anything worth fighting for. In dealing with Iran’s “illegitimate theo-fascist rulers,” there is simply no room for compromise; this president either stands for human rights or he doesn’t. The same goes for domestic concerns like abortion and gay marriage. When there is no common ground, this president is a major disappointment. “It is just him and his halo.”