Friday's USA Today featured an op-ed, "Centrist Obama mustn't sacrifice too much [1]," from Rich Benjamin, a Senior Fellow at something called "Demos [2]," who admitted he remains "besotted by President Obama" as he gushed:
Obama is...rebooting his operation to what he knows best: wizard of all things to all people and master of warm healing. He is acting as a multi-hued, but blank, canvas upon which a swath of Americans can project its diverse hopes and dreams. President Barack Tabla Rasa.
Benjamin, author of Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America [3]
(I never heard of it either), began: "It's getting a bit lonely out in
left field. Unlike many coach-flying passengers on the liberal wing of
America, I'm as besotted by President Obama as ever."
Benjamin presumed anything but liberal policies hurt the vulnerable and gently prodded Obama:
Typically, centrism is a shabby compromise for those on the left. Progressives have to lurch rightward; the right basically stays in place. Centrist politicians often pretend to split the difference. But in this lopsided tradeoff, the most powerful walk off with the bargain and the vulnerable get stuck with the bill. That's why Obama must not allow Latino immigrants, struggling seniors, financially strapped youth, and the 47.5 million people living in poverty to get hustled by his new centrism. His new ties with business must demand sacrifice and social responsibility from big corporations, too....
Liberals need not fear a centrist future so long as the president matches his centrist sentiments with inclusive, fair-minded actions.
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here [4] to follow him on Twitter.