A few years ago, the Canadian recording group “the Poppy Family” came up with a hit in “Which Way you going, Billy?” Written by Terry Jacks, (He of “Seasons in the Sun” fame, the top40 cover of Rod McKuen’s poetry) the admittedly syrupy tune wound it’s way into the top 40 here in the ‘states in 1969. It tells the story of a girl who has just discovered that her man is about to leave her:
You are my whole, babe
My heart and my soul, babe
I’d have nothing to show, babe
If you should go
Given the almost lover status between much of the left today, and Obama a guy seemingly bent on leaving the far left to lick it’s wounds for the next four years, the lyrics seem to fit the situation rather well, for such is the reaction of the far left to Obama’s shifting his basic message.
So then, from Commentary, yesterday, comes Jennifer Rubin [1] to put a slightly more analytical edge to things:
There was much discussion this Sunday [2] over whether Barack Obama is shifting ground. [3] Over at This Week [4], Mark Halperin, Ted Koppel and host George Stephanopoulos were not shy about pointing out the divergence between the old and new Obama. Halperin termed an effort to adopt the surge “fundamentally at odds” with his primary stance. Stephanopoulos, sounding like another observer [5], noted: “He basically wants it both ways. He wants that position without getting accused of changing positions. I think he’s afraid if he gets accused of changing position that will communicate some uneasiness as commander in chief. ”
Mara Liasson [6], no right-wing critic, had this to say on Fox News Sunday:
LIASSON: Well, that’s the big question. And what I think is so interesting is how few people seem to know which one it is.
I mean, Paul Krugman, who’s a liberal columnist, wrote this week, “Gee, is he a centrist just masquerading as someone who’s a transformational progressive figure or is he really the opposite?” You know, people just don’t know. He’s a blank slate.
Well, look, this is nothing new, for Obama. Notice what gets blown right by, here.
He’s a blank slate.
And so he is; So, the question we’ve been asking for some months, now; “What change? Which direction is he going?” The fact is, even his own supporters don’t know, and never have.
It’s all well and good to express a desire for change, assuming you don’t forget that the logical question “Which way you going, Barack?” gets asked at some point prior to the commitment cerimony. Clearly, in this case, that’s not occurred. THe left is now starting to udnerstand it'[s not hitched itself to a far left ideolouge, but instead to alliberal pol of no particular principles at all. Yes, he’s a socialist, (at least,at need) but the over-riding principle of his existance is gaining power, and every other idea, thought or motivation succumbs to that one thing. In short, he’s a Democrat.
Obama, for his part, can’t bring himself to break away from these jilted Democrats completely,. But it’s clear to me, and Rubin apparently agees, that his own belief… whatever level of that he had, that Iraq is unwinnable, has been seriously shaken. He’s been operating under a lie for several months, now, when he continued to mouth the leftist plattitudes about withdrawal in 16 months. He was forced to face his own doubts when McCain cleverly demanded he go to Iraq to see for himself. He’s started coming around before the trip is even planned, apparently understanding what he’ll find there, his earlier positions not withstanding. He’s also found himself forced to toss long held Democrat talking points under the bus as reality [7] intrudes. [8]
Now, I’ve been doing this political commentary thing a long time, and one pattern I’ve noticed would seem to apply here. Democrats, particularly those on the far left, will argue against a premise until they’re blue in the face. (Pardon the pun) against the obvious, until you take the facts and beat said leftist about the head and shoulders with said facts for a while. Once you get them to admit the facts, they then raise the sour grapes arguments…”Well, it really didn’t matter anyway, and here’s why”. Obama hasn’t gotten to tha stage yet. Mostly, that’s because unlike his supporters, he sees it DOES matter. He really is in a box of his own making, and it’s almost comical to watch.
However that part of it falls out, Obama clearly has lost the ability to argue this stuff on the basis of his ‘new politics’, because his politics are looking increasingly like the political combination of the worst of Jimmy Carter and the Clintons. As he adjusts his politics to the reality of IRaq, which he must now do, he’s going to find himself thought just another fool by both the right, who has known him as such all along, and the left, who is just now coming to grips with the fact that their dream canddiate is more of a nightmare.
As a result, the rebellion of the Clintonistsas is the least of his problem within the Democrat party. HIs own supporters are the larger concern, now. Which in turn is why Obama is making moves on red state voters [9]; He can’t trust his own base. Mostly, because they no longer trust HIM, either.