Making Progress

A fascinating analysis in the LA Times  on a perceived shift in President Obama's decision-making: after two years experience as President, he's asserting his own judgments earlier and more confidently.  The case in point is the Afghanistan withdrawal decision, which he made quickly and against the advice of the major Generals.

On Afghanistan as well, E.J. Dionne notes President Obama's centered foreign policy decisions, and the move (too slow for some, too fast for others) towards a different way that America relates to the world.

Apropos of the "too slow" folks, Michael Grunwald takes on the chattering left in a funny and pointed critique that even in language (for the blogospheric left, Obama is dad, and for the White House, the blogos are the rebellious teens) supports my "President of Projection" thesis.  Gunwald's examples fit his thesis--major Obama initiatives that the left groused about and considered failures because they didn't get exactly what they wanted, even though what they wanted was politically impossible.   "He’s a politician, not a magician," is Grunwald's takeaway line.  Still, there are other disappointing White House decisions  he doesn't cite that are unexplained.  What he says about Obama and global heating is true; but so is what Al Gore wrote.  On balance though, his conclusion is apt:

"It’s easy for activists to complain about imperfect achievements like the stimulus or Obamacare, especially when they’re not among the 3 million Americans who would’ve been unemployed without the stimulus or the 50 million Americans who would’ve been uninsured without Obamacare. Complaining is what activists do. And bloggers are right that Obama hasn’t made a consistent case for liberal politics or Keynesian economics, allowing anti-government Republicans to hijack the national debate. But making a case is what bloggers are supposed to do. Presidents, on the other hand, are supposed to make progress, whether progressives like it or not."

Meanwhile, just about unnoticed here in North America, the rest of the White House Obamas are in South Africa.  Here they  listen to former resident Noor Ebrahim as they visit the District Six Museum in Cape Town. Ebrahim described the forced segregation that occurred after 1966 when District 6 was declared a "White Group Area." (click on the photo to see the whole scene--I'm not sure why this version cuts part of it out.  I sized it big so their expressions are clear.  Both photos here are White House photos.)