by hgerhard
I never expected an easy ride for this President. No doubt, he is a different kind of leader. His problem is not that he is controversial, but that he is so insistent upon values that define what is best about our traditions and our history.
How often have we heard him exclaim âthatâs who we areâ as Americans when speaking of the mutualism of citizenship. He will cite âE pluribus unumâ to celebrate equal rights and equal opportunity as well as responsibility for one another. He will insist that we are indeed âour brotherâs and our sisterâs keeperâ. Thatâs not just a phrase for him, thatâs a core belief.
With that in mind, of course he will be the President of all the people all the time. He will treat all citizens with the same unfailing civility and regard, including those who do not respond in kind.
He will take pains to understand the points of view he does not share, not because he is lacking conviction, but because he will always attempt to find some common ground as a base for discussion and negotiation.
The outcome of such negotiations must always meet the test of âwho we areâ. Or, in the case of the arrogant dismissal of such things as the Geneva convention, he will say âthatâs NOT who we areâ and insist upon making our actions match our values.
There are those who dismiss this as âelitismâ or as somehow ill-conceived and unrealistic, but it is this same clear evidence of character that people value most about this greatest of all Presidents. And that will prevail over all self-centered political grandstanding and furor, over envy, racism and contempt because all of those manifestations fail the test of âwho we areâ.
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Greg Sargent (Washington Post): Hereâs why the supercommittee is failing, in one sentence: Democrats wanted the rich to pay more in taxes towards deficit reduction, and Republicans wanted the rich to pay less in taxes towards deficit reduction.
Any news outlet that doesnât convey this basic fact to readers and viewers with total clarity is obscuring, rather than illuminating, what actually happened here.
Full article here
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Paul Begala: Whatâs next? The Santorum Surge? The Huntsman Hiccup? Why Newt Gingrich would be a godsend to the Democrats.
âŚ. More likely the Gingrich surge is just the latest Republican tulip craze âŚ. with Newt simply serving as the latest vessel for the ABR movement: Anybody But Romney.
âŚ.. like MacArthur, Newt has returned. I, for one, could not be happier – but then again, Iâm a Democrat, so I have to take my political pleasures where I can find themâŚ.
âŚ. I fear the dream wonât last, alas. At some point Republicans will wise up and nominate the zillionaire layoff artist with the square jaw and the Slinky spine. But Iâve been saying that all year, and Iâve been wrong all year.
I really canât imagine how it must pain Mitt Romney âŚ. What does the guy have to do to win? Heâs changed so many of his deeply held convictions that heâs reduced to bragging that he hasnât changed wives or religions. Newt has changed wives and religions, and the base still likes him better than RomneyâŚ.
Full post here
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Congratulations Tally!
David Beckham raises the trophy after LA Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup final at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, November 20
The Obama Diary 
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