Washington Matters
Obama as a Centrist. Really
The president is a pragmatist. That's why he's assailed from both sides.
By Mark Willen, Senior Political Editor, The Kiplinger Letter
March 31, 2010
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When they’re not calling him a socialist, Republicans, conservative talk show hosts, Tea Party enthusiasts and other detractors love to refer to Barack Obama as the most liberal president of modern times, and undoubtedly that will be a rallying cry in the November elections. But the man in the Oval Office isn’t making it easy for critics who care about the facts. Just ask the Democratic left, which knows he’s not one of them.
Consider Obama's proposal today to open a huge swatch of coastal waters to offshore drilling, a move that has the president’s environmentalist allies in a rage. Or his escalation of the war in Afghanistan, which alienated his party’s left wing. He’s also adopted many (but clearly not all) of former President Bush’s views on interrogations, trials and the long-term incarceration of terrorist suspects. And his administration’s crackdown on deportations of illegal immigrants has Hispanic supporters up in arms.
Even the health care bill -- despite the hype on both sides -- is far from a liberal makeover. Obama gave up the public option, reduced penalties, delayed key provisions and settled for less than universal coverage, all bargains that many liberals dislike. The new law includes hundreds of compromises, ranging from tax hikes to abortion that left plenty of liberals grumbling.
The stimulus bill was half the size that Obama originally wanted, and in a futile bid to win GOP votes, he agreed to tax cuts -- more than a third of the cost -- many of which would have happened anyway. It’s one reason the stimulus hasn’t been as effective as hoped, though almost all independent economists say it was critical to turning the economy around. They include Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, who advised Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the 2008 presidential campaign.
Both liberals and conservatives complain that Obama isn’t being true to his campaign promises, but New York Times columnist David Brooks argues pretty convincingly that Obama campaigned as a center left pragmatic reformer and that’s pretty much what he is. Not that he is carrying out every campaign promise, but anyone who was paying attention got what they voted for. He is not an ideologue; he is clearly willing to compromise to get things done. And he believes that though government should act to solve problems, he doesn’t like to interfere with market dynamics unless they’re not working.
Brooks also argues that Obama is still misreading the country, imagining a hunger for government activism that doesn’t exist. I’m not sure that’s fair. It may be true on health care, but not on other issues. If anything, the country wants the government to do more to create jobs and spur growth, but voters don’t realize that options are limited and that whatever the government does will come with a price voters don’t want to pay – higher federal debt.
The truth is, Obama is out of place in today’s highly partisan political arena. His policies make very few, whether on the right or left, happy enough to be enthusiastic about his presidency, Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to upset him too much, and he has the tenacity and conviction to pursue the pragmatic center-left approach he campaigned on. But it would help a lot – and certainly increase the likelihood of him settling on the best possible policies – if he had more people willing to work with him, offering ideas, compromising and helping instead of yelling.
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Reader Comments (8)
Posted by: Lock Piatt at 03/31/2010 12:49:33 PM
Let me understand this - BHO has taken control of the Auto makers, controls AIG, controls the banks and Wall street, FREDDIE and FANNIE, controls the health industry, attacks the insurance and banking industries and fires CEOs. Yet he is not operating outside the confines of the Constitution and having a strong Federal government controlling most elements of the economy and energy production. You redefine the term "FASCISM". COME ON NOW YOU CAN DO BETTER?
Posted by: Greg at 03/31/2010 12:55:15 PM
C'mon, you guys are sure showing a very liberal side of the Kiplinger tradition. All of the last articles that have been sent, in response to my subject interests sign up,have been supportive and apologetic for this Administrations policies. Now realize you too are part of the great liberal media. Please cancel my subscriptions!
Posted by: Bostonian at 03/31/2010 03:53:44 PM
President Obama is a center right politician from a center right party. Those who argue otherwise probably don't know what terms like "the left" and "socialism" actually mean. These are not generic, meaningless terms. In Europe, Obama's brand of supposedly "leftist" policies would be universally criticized as too far to the right. Consider: the Conservative Party of Britain has long supported the UK's socialized health service on the grounds that it works well. On health care, Obama simply recycled free-market reforms supported by Republicans for years. (We call it "Romneycare" here in Massachusetts.)
Posted by: Rick in Seattle at 03/31/2010 09:04:13 PM
Mark - I am surprised that some readers feel that your article was something less than a fair analysis. You have reiterated what I have believed since the campaign: Barack Obama is no ideologue - though he has usually been portrayed as such by his political enemies. He is certainly no socialist (despite the charges from people who have no idea ewhat that means, other than "they're agin it"); and the charge that his administration is "fascist" because of its drastic economic policies, as suggested by LP, is a gross exaggeration was surely meant to be humorous. Being a centrist means being surrounded by people who disagree with you at least 50% of the time - that doesn't make you wrong. In fact, in today's highly charged partisan atmosphere it probably proves the opposite: by not following the dictates of any particular faction, and thus making all factions equally unhappy, Obama is doing exactly what Presidents are supposed to do - lead. My bias is that of a liberal (or progressive if you prefer); for example,I would like to have a government-run insurance option available for everyone. Interestingly, my mother said the same thing, and she usually voted Republican. In this age, polical labels (Conservative, Liberal, Independent, etc.) mislead more than they categorize accurately. Get past the hype, and I find that everyone wants pretty much the same things - a strong economy so we can find jobs with decent pay, good schools for our kids, and a bright future for the country as a whole. I don't need to approve of everything the President or my Senotor does in order to give them my supprot - I just need to have confidence in their judgement. I think centrists are what the country needs at this point. The disappointment felt by liberals is that, after 8 years of Bush/Cheney imperialist foreign policy and crony-capitalism at home, the Obama administration has not managed to change the country's course 180 degrees.The hysterical chest-thumping of Obama's critics amongst Republicans and Tea-baggers is mostly noise pollution and virtually 99 and 99/100ths policy-content free. To self-described Conservatives I say, be happy that your fears about Obama were baseless - he is not leading the country into Socialism, but trying to moderate the effects of unfettered Free Marketeering. He is your President, too, remember. To my fellow Liberals: Let's not condemn Obama because he has not given us 100% of what we wanted. No one poltician or party has all the answers, all the time. Long live the art of compromise!
Posted by: PAUL at 04/01/2010 05:08:57 PM
YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING. YOU GUYS WILL THINK OF ANYTHING TO MAKE BHO ACCEPTABLE. GET OUT OF WASHINGTON AND EXPERIENCE THE CRAP ALL OF US IN SMALL BUSINESS ARE PUTTING UP WITH. I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE ON OUR SIDE.
Posted by: Jim at 04/02/2010 02:20:53 AM
As the Senior Political Editor for "The Kiplinger Letter," I would assume that Mark Willen is a man who possesses a relatively high degree of intelligence. Mr. Willen's cites a select few of President Obama's policies, offers little infomation to tell the complete story on each, and concludes that Barack Obama is a "centrist" who pursues a "center-left approach" of governance. However, Barack Obama's nominees for federal judical positions, alone, including his choice to fill last year's Supreme Court Justice vacancy, reveal the true political position of this man. Last week's end-around-Congress, in which Mr. Obama made fifteen recess appointments, enhanced his credentials as one who governs from the extreme left. Included among the fifteen is Craig Becker, Obama's choice for Board Member on the NLRB. Even the heavily weighted, Democratic-controlled Senate rejected this man last month by a 52-33 margin on a cloture vote. I may agree with Mr. Willen when he points out Barack Obama's pragmatic approach to dealing with issues. But labeling President Barack Obama a "centrist" is an entirely different matter that is easily debunked. I can only conclude that Mr. Willen neglected to include one important item in his column--the punch line.
Posted by: Bob at 04/02/2010 09:18:45 AM
Obama's whole career has been about compromise but unfortunately that seems to include principals as well. That is NOT a good thing. Now as to this next line from the article "If anything, the country wants the government to do more to create jobs and spur growth, but voters don’t realize that options are limited ...". You've got to be kidding. Our government seems to have done everything possible to eliminate jobs and lower our standard of living. This ranges from trade agreements and tax breaks that facilitate foreign outsourcing to allowing the huge influx of illegal low wage workers. There is much, much that the government could but won't do to create jobs and a better standard of living for our people. The current policies seem to be aimed at eliminating the middle class and splitting their wealth between the rich and welfare. Both parties are just puppets to the same big money. That's why they try to keep us distracted with social issues and name calling.
Posted by: Nomen at 04/04/2010 11:29:50 AM
"The president is a pragmatist. That's why he's assailed from both sides." I think you picked the wrong word. When you make promises and don't keep them, that's called LYING. If the press would do a better job of pointing out false statements, you would have a lot more credibility. Knowing that a statement is a lie and not reporting it as such, just makes the press an accomplice to the deception.