More Of This, Please

Barack Obama hits back at the little authoritarians of the right, the GoOPer Napoleons, and shows he's plenty tough to handle a Presidential campaign.



One of the reasons that the events of this week disappointed me so much is because people get their understanding of political parties as much through watching their actions as they do from their policy positions. Actually, much more so. And the Democratic leadership provided the opposite of leadership this week. If they can't be trusted to stand up to the Republicans, how can they stand up to the world's bad actors, etc. Which is why it's very important for Obama and Edwards to distinguish themselves on this score, not just through staking out strong positions, but through acting strong when challenged. Both passed the test this week.

On a similar topic, Ezra Klein describes the learned helplessness of the Democrats on foreign policy issues.

They've been spanked on national security for so long that they literally cannot conceive of pulling out a win merely because their position commands overwhelming public support. At best, the reprisal will be delayed a few years, until the Right convinces a fickle populace that the Reid-led withdrawal lost the war for us.

And it's almost hard to blame them. Hawkishness holds court as the default correct position in national security politics. Save, possibly, Curtis LeMay, I can't think of a single figure reviled or even mocked for excessive warmongering. Meanwhile, the ground is littered with dovish Democrats, from McGovern to McCarthy to Dean. Scoop Jackson, for no particular reason, is far more revered than William Fulbright. It's a sick and twisted tendency, and it manifests constantly, as in the Fineman column discussed earlier today, where McCain's poor accuracy in evaluating foreign policy outcomes is ignored and his enduring hawkishness and "moral seriousness" grant him the status of wise old national security man.

This kind of ties into my lizard brain post. There's an obvious instinct for self-preservation in humans, and people who constantly see Democrats in a defensive position won't instinctually expect them to ever be able to lead. The only way to break out of this is to accentuate the positive benefits of a progressive "smart power" foreign policy and to never back down from any mockery from the other side; in fact, turn it around and mock them right back. Every Democrat should be issued a copy of Dr. Strangelove, pronto.