More Examples of Obama Being the Grown-up

More examples of why Obama is the grownup arose in the past day. First, his decision to not reveal photos of torture. In doing so, the President has reached across the partisan divide to give to Republican and military conservatives something they need: cover from the real abuses that took place under the Bush Administration. And, Obama did this, knowing that progressives would put this one in the bank of resentment that is already growing among the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Second, Obama's speech as Arizona State was masterful. He figuratively bowed to ASU's board, while using the perceived slight to encourage graduates to think about something beyond themselves, and to think about a life-long body of work. Very smart, very grown-up...

Obama, the "Grown-Up President"

"We want this to be a political mud pit for Obama...Our mission is to tar him with the blood of the babies so he can never shake it between now and 2012." - Randall Terry, on his work in trying to disrupt the Obama speech at Notre Dame. See the full discussion here, at the Washington Post "On Religion" section.

When will conservatives understand that the days of the postmodern approach to politics, which emphasizes polarization and demonizing opponents rather than respectful disagreement, are behind us? When President Obama goes to South Bend on Sunday (and I when I will be sitting with a Thich Nhat Hanh book reading it to try and stay awake during Providence College's uninspiring and inelegant ceremony), expect him to show everyone how political divides can speak with dignity and respect. That is more than what conservatives, who do not seem to get the major paradign shift we have seen in politics, are able to comprehend.

Respect for others and the will to express oneself with integrity; these are two hallmarks of the Grown-up in the White House. And, it is a refreshing change...

A Bit More on the Nixon-Obama Comparison

This one is going to be disappointing to anyone who is not a presidential studies geek, but I get this impression of the similarity from the concerns expressed by Senator Robert Byrd about his concern that Obama is using administrative mechanisms to subvert the constitutional process of confirmations. Specifically, his selection of White House staffers to deal with a variety of serious issues means that he has decided to keep control over policy firmly in the White House and is giving major policy responsibilities to people who are loyal only to the president. Nixon did this repeatedly. This is something that Clinton did as well, and something for which Byrd was critical back in the 90s.

The point here is that in almost every way Obama is a throwback to the modern era for presidents, one where substance of policy was central to decision making, and political considerations are filtered through the policy goals of the President. this is good. But it seems like even Obama uses tools of the postmodern presidency to scoot around the constitutional system of separated institutions sharing power. The tendency to build on the informal powers of his predecessors to speed up the deliberative and implementation processes means that at least in one respect, Obama is subject to the forces of inevitability that determine the parameters and approaches of all presidents.

Well, the Obama press conference the other night was interesting, not because he was engaging, but precisely because Obama's responses were long, detailed, and boring. He continues to remind us that a President should be detailed rather than simplle, and be concerned with educating instead of entertaining...this is really a return to a combination of Kennedy and Eisenhower...