What you have described is the sport of politics in normal times. Yes, politicians in normal times might need to be clever and cagey.
Some might not use those negative characterizations but might instead use "savvy" or "strategic" or "noncommittal".
These are not normal times and the room you are reading seems to be different from the room I am reading. I see a 5-alarm fire that has already burned down half the building.
You are narrowly viewing the room from the perspective of someone who is basically "a political junkie" who posts on a political discussion forum on the internet. Only a tiny tiny fraction of the population is like that, so they are NOT in the "same room" as you are. In fact, most are not even in the same building or in a building at all.
I.e., they are not going to get into the "macro" environment of this society and instead prefer to stay in a "micro" environment that is narrowed to whether whatever is going on in this country is impacting THEM
directly. If it's not, then they are not going to actively seek out "problems" and dwell on whatever else is going on.
I see worse than a "5-alarm fire" and generationally, I descend from those who lived through 10-alarm fires and have passed those experiences down to me. So you can't dismiss the experiences of others and how they perceive the "current", as some have developed much better survival skills when confronted with what is going on, and consider any lecturing about what someone else is supposed to "see", as "elitist".
I do not see any room for business as usual, and that is the vibe I am getting from Obama. That seems disastrous to me, and that has nothing to do with race, life experience or anything else. The destruction is right there in front of us. If we live is an isolated gated community, maybe we can choose to ignore it. I don't think moderation is what we need at this moment.
Again - each person is different but there are some who insist that everyone "is the same".
Obama grew up in 2 different majority-Asian societies as a child - Hawai'i and Indonesia. His background became a meld of 3 different "races" and his entire demeanor, which is often falsely mischaracterized, is based on that. There are definitely cultural aspects to how he approaches things, but there are many out there who not only refuse to "see" that, but refuse to accept that.
I expect, like the MLK Jr. quote in my sig, it comes down to "sincere ignorance". People truly "don't know". It's not necessarily their fault but it becomes a "fault" when trying to argue strategy.
Anyway, I really do appreciate the education you have passed along to me and I will think on these things.
As a discussion board, DU offers the ability to exchange ideas and perspectives and it is always good to have the discussions.
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