David Brooks wrote inNew York Times Barack Obama had a theory. It was that the voters are tired of the partisan paralysis of the past 20 years. The theory was that if Obama could inspire a grass-roots movement with a new kind of leadership, he could ride it to the White House and end gridlock in Washington. Obama has built his entire campaign on this theory. He’s run against negativity and cheap-shot campaigning. He’s claimed that there’s an “awakening” in this country — people “hungry for a different kind of politics.”
It was a very good theory. But it needs to be ridden by someone in the center. Someone like John McCain. If a centrist Democrat had jumped on that horse he could have ridden it too. He would have caught flack from his left wing, just as John McCain has caught flack from conservatives on his right wing. But Obama is the most liberal senator in the Democratic party. You don't end gridlock by trying to make either the extreme left wing OR the extreme right wing dominant.
It was a very good theory. But it needs to be ridden by someone in the center. Someone like John McCain. If a centrist Democrat had jumped on that horse he could have ridden it too. He would have caught flack from his left wing, just as John McCain has caught flack from conservatives on his right wing. But Obama is the most liberal senator in the Democratic party. You don't end gridlock by trying to make either the extreme left wing OR the extreme right wing dominant.
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