The opposite of libertarian political ideology is not left or liberal, it's authoritarian.

[RainDog]

188. imo, President Obama will be remembered as a great president

Consider the situation in which he took office. Just as with Bush Sr. and the S&L bailout crisis and Clinton, Obama inherited the bank crisis that arose from deregulation of the financial industries that has been part of right wing political action over decades.

Democrats moved to the right, economically, because power had already constrained politics through favors gained by money. This is how Clinton changed the conversation about Democrats from 60/70s liberalism and its association with the anti-war movement and "the establishment." The way that Democrats became associated with a particular era was because of the media, but also because of the many white people who defected to Reagan, from the Democratic Party after the civil rights act. This is white populism in this nation. Democrats used to have that vote because of strong union identification in the north and populist economics in the south. But the threat of integration and the rise of the religious right in opposition to social changes for women and others made populism in the modern age synonymous with white flight, white fear, and poor and middle-class white identification with the rich rather than those who share their economic interests.

When Obama took office, and since, as we have seen, latent and closet racists came to public attention like ghosts rising from the grave - well, a lot of people thought they were ghosts. Most of my Af-Am friends were entirely not surprised by this reaction to a powerful man whose skin is a little darker on the melatonin scale, tho.

When I've said things like... I understand the constraints Obama faces, in terms of his historical position, but I don't know if he knows how many people have his back - as in support his attempts to gradually - which is how things happen via legislation, elections, etc., move this nation toward important milestones - like some form of health care for citizens. He has, for me and others, been too willing to compromise or start from a position of compromise, rather than negotiation.

But I think the goal, for him, is to start a process within the confines of what is feasible within a coalition of people in this nation who range from far left to far right.

Most people are somewhere in the middle of those points.

I know the president has made mistakes - all presidents do. I know the president has relied upon traditional means of power - as all presidents do. I know the president has been more conservative than many liberals - as are most politicians in office at both state and national levels.

But I also know his presidency has been paradigm changing for this nation, in ways that go beyond particular policy at particular times. And this sort of exercise of power, over the cultural conversation, is also one of the most important functions political leaders serve.

The recent political actions by Democrats were strategically important, as far as changing the conversation in this nation, as well. Harry Reid, the President - they made me proud to be a part of this moment in time, when the pendulum swings away from the right and moves, again, to the left to address the abuses of power that always occur in any system.

This doesn't mean I agree with every action or have no criticism.

But criticism without effective strategy to create something different is impotent.