Go for the Throat! - Slate

[WillyT]

Go for the Throat!
Why if he wants to transform American politics, Obama must declare war on the Republican Party.
By John Dickerson | Slate
Posted Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, at 6:13 PM ET

<snip>

On Monday, President Obama will preside over the grand reopening of his administration. It would be altogether fitting if he stepped to the microphone, looked down the mall, and let out a sigh: so many people expecting so much from a government that appears capable of so little. A second inaugural suggests new beginnings, but this one is being bookended by dead-end debates. Gridlock over the fiscal cliff preceded it and gridlock over the debt limit, sequester, and budget will follow. After the election, the same people are in power in all the branches of government and they don't get along. There's no indication that the president's clashes with House Republicans will end soon.

Inaugural speeches are supposed to be huge and stirring. Presidents haul our heroes onstage, from George Washington to Martin Luther King Jr. George W. Bush brought the Liberty Bell. They use history to make greatness and achievements seem like something you can just take down from the shelf. Americans are not stuck in the rut of the day.

But this might be too much for Obama’s second inaugural address: After the last four years, how do you call the nation and its elected representatives to common action while standing on the steps of a building where collective action goes to die? That bipartisan bag of tricks has been tried and it didn’t work. People don’t believe it. Congress' approval rating is 14 percent, the lowest in history. In a December Gallup poll, 77 percent of those asked said the way Washington works is doing “serious harm” to the country.

The challenge for President Obama’s speech is the challenge of his second term: how to be great when the environment stinks. Enhancing the president’s legacy requires something more than simply the clever application of predictable stratagems. Washington’s partisan rancor, the size of the problems facing government, and the limited amount of time before Obama is a lame duck all point to a single conclusion: The president who came into office speaking in lofty terms about bipartisanship and cooperation can only cement his legacy if he destroys the GOP. If he wants to transform American politics, he must go for the throat.

<snip>

More: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/01/barack_obama_s_second_inaugural_address_the_president_should_declare_war.single.html

[Vietnameravet]

1. I agree..he should go for the throat...

That is the only way to deal with these domestic terrorists..

[Recursion]

2. What does "go for the throat" mean in an operational sense?

You do know that politicians don't actually physically fight with each other, right?

[chieftain]

3. I linked to the same article and think it is spot on. n/t

[Oilwellian]

4. I'll believe it when I see it n/t

[WillyT]

9. I Think The 2016 Election Is Gonna Be An Interesting Time...

Who the Democrats choose will be revealing.

[Octafish]

5. New New Deal

Apollo-like programs for clean energy and de-pollution, among other current areas of need, from health care to education to jobs...There is a lot we need work on.

[WillyT]

10. + 1,000,000,000... What You Said !!!

Exactly !!!

[cbrer]

6. One may hope...

While maintaining a healthy level of skepticism. There have been several opportunities for President Obama to take this path. This BS Fiscal Cliff debacle comes to mind.

The upcoming self inflicted budget crisis will be another bellwether of the choices that this administration COULD take. Based on my observations, Washington DC has done little to solve the problems of our nation. And has demonstrably made some issues worse.

But one may hope...

[forestpath]

7. I wish he would. But it would mean he'd have to stand up for things like SS when

he's already offered them SS cuts. He has already shown he would rather declare war on SS benefits than on the Republicans. So I just can't trust him anymore after that. I wish I could, but I can't.

And I think articles like this are disingenuous. Anybody who has observed President Obama for the last 4 years knows this will never happen.

[madokie]

8. I can already see he is a different person

Same guy but with a whole different attitude.
President Obama's 'tud
And I like it

[WillyT]

11. I Hope You Are Correct !!!

Would LOVE to see it.