Today’s quote comes to us from an unlikely source – not because Barack Obama is unlikely to provide something quotable, but because of the quote itself.
Yesterday, while speaking at an Obama Foundation event in Berlin, Germany, the former President had this to say about hardliners who have overtaken the Democrat Party:
“One of the things I do worry about sometimes among progressives in the United States, maybe it’s true here as well, is a certain kind of rigidity where we say ‘Uh! I’m sorry this is how it’s going to be. Then we start sometimes creating what’s called a circular firing squad where you start shooting at your allies because one of them is straying from purity on the issues. When that happens, typically, the overall effort and movement weakens.
“So I think whether you are speaking as a citizen or as a political leader or as an organizer…you have to recognize that the way we’ve structured democracy requires you to take into account people who don’t agree with you. And that, by definition, means you are not going to get 100 percent of what you want.”
Very interesting words, especially from a man who, as President, told us:
“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone – and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward”.
Is it just me, or does that sound a bit less committed to compromise/conciliation than what he said yesterday?
So why the change?
-Maybe it is out of sincere concern for the consequences of his party’s lurch to the hard-left;
-Maybe it is because he is trying to create a pathway for his two-term Vice President, Joe Biden – who is center-right compared to where his party is currently lurching – to win the nomination;
-Maybe it is because Mr. Obama is one of those “do as I say, not as I do” folks, who sets different rules for others than himself.
-Or maybe it is a combination of those factors.
Whatever the reason(s), Barack Obama wins Quote Of the Day honors for making a very logical, very reasonable statement about today’s Democrat Party and a very logical, very reasonable suggestion for how to do something about it.
Given where the party is moving, however, I doubt his words will have much impact.
