has been
delivered by Jonathan Chait:
What can be said without equivocation is that Obama has proven himself
morally, intellectually, temperamentally, and strategically. In my
lifetime, or my parents’, he is easily the best president. On his own
terms, and not merely as a contrast to an unacceptable alternative, he
overwhelmingly deserves reelection.
Chait understands that true pragmatism is the rarest and most powerful lever of leadership:
Obama’s résumé of accomplishments is broad and deep, running the
gamut from economic to social to foreign policy. The general thrust of
his reforms, especially in economic policy, has been a combination of
politically radical and ideologically moderate. The combination has
confused liberals into thinking of Obamaism as a series of sad
half-measures, and conservatives to deem it socialism, but the truth is
neither. Obama’s agenda has generally hewed to the consensus of
mainstream economists and policy experts. What makes the agenda radical
is that, historically, vast realms of policy had been shaped by special
interests for their own benefit. Plans to rationalize those things, to
write laws that make sense, molder on think-tank shelves for years, even
generations. They are often boring. But then Obama, in a frenetic burst
of activity, made many of them happen all at once.
