David Brooks, displaying his knack for discerning the bigger picture, argues that Obama is framing an essentially liberal goal - more active government - in culturally conservative terms, his watchword being responsibility rather than equality. It's a powerful pitch, says Brooks:
If Republicans aren’t nervous, they should be. Obama is arguing for his activist agenda not on the basis of class-consciousness, which is alien to America, but as a defense of middle-class morality, which is central to it. Obama is positioning the Democrats as the party of order, responsibility and small-town values. If he pulls this mantle away from the Republicans, it would be the greatest train robbery in American politics.
Comments