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Turning Point: A Look Back at The Week That Was
As The Week That Was comes to a close, let us ponder its possible significance.
A turning point? Hard to say - but remember that the stimulus money has just started to flow, the Climate/Energy bill has yet to clear the Senate, the Health Care debate is still heatedly underway, and we are still fighting two wars.
And yet President Obama is back up to 58% job approval in the latest Gallup poll.
As Darth Vadr once said, "Impressive, most impressive."
And this week made clear that Obama is not daunted by the huge challenges he faces, nor by the powerful forces arrayed against him. No, like Teddy taking on the Trusts or Franklin assailing speculators on Wall Street - Obama is psyched.
This week he began to strike a more populist chord, urging on the faithful to get fired up again - doing whatever is needed to win this battle for the soul of our country. E-mails went out calling for those who campaigned so hard for change to show up again. And they did.
This morning I read of the Town Halls in Washington, Indiana, and Massachusetts where respectful progressives showed up in large numbers at town halls - balancing out the shouting crazies with thoughtful questions - changing the tone of the debate just by being there and staying cool.
Until I ready these stories I admit, I had my doubts that this all would work - that change can really happen in this mixed up country of ours. But it is -and it will.
So allow yourself to dream a bit, fast forwarding to next August, 2010:
What will the race-baiting, hate-spewing crazies be saying then?
More importantly, will there be anyone left listening to them?
For now, civil discourse is winning the day and progress in remaking America is being made.
And that, friends, is The Week That Was.
- Unemployment went down (surprise, surprise), not up
- $'s spent on "Cash for Clunkers" went up and # of gas guzzlers on the road went down
- # of stories titled "Stimulus Not Working" went down
- # of non-crazies at Town Halls went up and # of Town Halls disrupted went down
- # of stories in the MSM highlighting scariness of the right wing-nuts went up
- # of stories in the MSM pushing Republican talking points went down
- # of Republican Senators willing to talk seriously about health care reform went up
- # of stories about things returning to normal in Iraq went up
- # of Taliban leaders in Pakistan taken out without collateral damage went up
- Obama's poll numbers went up, not down
A turning point? Hard to say - but remember that the stimulus money has just started to flow, the Climate/Energy bill has yet to clear the Senate, the Health Care debate is still heatedly underway, and we are still fighting two wars.
And yet President Obama is back up to 58% job approval in the latest Gallup poll.
As Darth Vadr once said, "Impressive, most impressive."
And this week made clear that Obama is not daunted by the huge challenges he faces, nor by the powerful forces arrayed against him. No, like Teddy taking on the Trusts or Franklin assailing speculators on Wall Street - Obama is psyched.
This week he began to strike a more populist chord, urging on the faithful to get fired up again - doing whatever is needed to win this battle for the soul of our country. E-mails went out calling for those who campaigned so hard for change to show up again. And they did.
This morning I read of the Town Halls in Washington, Indiana, and Massachusetts where respectful progressives showed up in large numbers at town halls - balancing out the shouting crazies with thoughtful questions - changing the tone of the debate just by being there and staying cool.
Until I ready these stories I admit, I had my doubts that this all would work - that change can really happen in this mixed up country of ours. But it is -and it will.
So allow yourself to dream a bit, fast forwarding to next August, 2010:
- Unemployment is down to 7% as the stimulus is creating thousands of jobs
- Affordable health care for all Americans is the law of the land
- Our carbon footprint has stopped growing as green energy is big business
- And our men and women are finally leaving Iraq - in peace
What will the race-baiting, hate-spewing crazies be saying then?
More importantly, will there be anyone left listening to them?
For now, civil discourse is winning the day and progress in remaking America is being made.
And that, friends, is The Week That Was.
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Wow, I got teary-eyed reading this.
Thanks! Positive thinking works, and boy do we need some of that!
August 9, 2009 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nice post, Greg. Your vision for 2010 is on the optimistic side, but I believe we'll at least be headed in that direction.
August 9, 2009 11:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Fred. I particularly liked your post on Writing Well at TPM. As as fellow believer that we need to be less sarcastic, less scathing and more respectful in our political discourse I was getting really concerned there for a moment that the debate on Health Care had descended into a proxy war between those with the loudest voices on both the right and the left. I was moved to write a blog earlier this week on the need for more truly bipartisan, truly respectful discussion of these very serious and complex issues. But as the week ends I am optimistic that if those who are committed to a better way just show up - we will carry the day.
As for my vision of 2010, I realize it is a tad on the rosy side - but we need a clear sense of where we are going and how great it will be on the other side - if we are to continue, day in and day out, to fight the good fight. Beside, look what happened in '34, the last time a midterm election followed on the heels of president saving the country from economic disaster. Never underestimate the tendency of Americans to vote based on their sense of economic security.
August 9, 2009 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I didn't take the time to fact check it, but if your assertions are correct, it was, indeed, a good week.
I had to quit reading for awhile this weekend, it was all just getting too depressing. But after a little break from the action and your optimistic post, I'm feeling a little better this morning.
Thank you for that.
August 9, 2009 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good point on the fact check suggestion. I think an end of the week assessment blog is something I will continue to do and not exactly sure how to score it but will consider a way to make the assessment less subjective. But that said, it sure did feel better by the end of the week.
August 9, 2009 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink