Obama’s passion

In a comment to the previous Obama post, Raustin says

My issue with him is that he seems to have no true passion for anything, except basketball. He just wants to have everyone like him.

I’ve heard this from a few people, and I deeply disagree with it.  On the minor side, I don’t think Obama cares at all if anyone likes him (beyond the professional “I’m a politician and I need people to like me to get elected” concerns). But on the more substantive issue, I do think Obama has a serious passion, but not for any particular political issue. I think Obama’s passion revolves around proving that we can still tackle big issues, that we can still govern effectively, that we can actually act responsibly. It’s kinda absurd to have a passion for “responsibility,” but in the aftermath of the absolute irresponsible Bush years (turning budget surpluses to record deficits; incompetent planning and execution of two wars; appointing hacks to important positions, resulting in disasters like the response to Katrina; creating new entitlements without a way to pay for them, namely their Medicare prescription plan), I think it’s pretty necessary passion.

It’s a recurring motif in Obama’s most soaring speeches. From Obama’s inauguration speech:

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

…

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

From Obama’s January (Not Quite) State of the Union speech:

As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us, watching to see what we do with this moment, waiting for us to lead. Those of us gathered here tonight have been called to govern in extraordinary times. It is a tremendous burden, but also a great privilege, one that has been entrusted to few generations of Americans, for in our hands lies the ability to shape our world, for good or for ill. I know that it’s easy to lose sight of this truth, to become cynical and doubtful, consumed with the petty and the trivial…. if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis, if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity, if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then some day, years from now, our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, “something worthy to be remembered.”

From Obama’s health care address in September:

But that’s not what the moment calls for. That’s not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it’s hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history’s test. Because that is who we are. That is our calling. That is our character.

Obama’s agenda is to meet the toughest issues head-on: health care, climate change, then it’ll be immigration reform (which I personally think will be his toughest challenge), plus Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s a lot safer to govern like Clinton did during his second term, after he abandoned big ideas like universal health care and turned instead to small accomplishments. Remember how the Democratic leadership in Congress agreed to the war in Iraq in 2002 to “get the issue off the table” for the elections? That’s the mentality that Obama is fighting against. Congressmen who want to avoid tough votes are already bitching about Obama.

People who question Obama’s toughness don’t recognize that while he appears soft, he’s chosen the toughest battles to fight. Dems have been fighting (and failing) on health care reform since Truman. Why choose a fight that’s been a sure loser for half a century if you’re not serious about it? People are mistaking his strategies — striving for bipartisanship — for his principles. If bipartisanship was the end-all for Obama, his agenda would be completely different. Isn’t it worth noting that for all the supposed compromising Obama has done to gain Republican support, both the House and the Senate health care bills contain everything he’s said he’s wanted in them from the beginning? I have plenty of opinions about his strategies, and I’m certainly willing to debate what I think is useful and what’s a waste of time. But the idea that he’s not a fighter, or that he lacks passion, is a non-starter with me.