Obama's Gambit

Certain segments of the current ruling coalition are up in arms over President O's apparent dithering under the onslaught of ridiculous right-wing vitriol. Some segments are simply fed up with Obama. Another decent percentage of erstwhile progressive folks seem to have thrown in the towel. A mere eight months into O's Presidency, Democrats, Progressives, Liberals -- or whatever the hell people want to call themselves -- feel betrayed by their guy, the man they believed in last November. Most if not all of their vainly solemn views are expressed in Maureen Dowd's recent NY Times article, "Less Spocky, More Rocky."

Read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/opinion/09dowd.html (Sorry for the long link. I'm a tech-tard. Copy and paste. It won't kill ya').

In general, Dowd criticizes Obama's lack of passion. She wants less "brainy talk" and more "leadership". I don't feel like taking her on point by point. What I will say in general is that Dowd echoes the chorus of ridiculously short-sighted nitwits who don't realize they may be watching a true master as he compiles a canonical work of art.

One reason the disillusioned dimwits may doubt Obama's chess game (aside from the fact that many people are too stupid for adopting a strategic point of view) is that these very same outraged individuals are the chess pieces. The words and wills of pawns and bishops are often dire and shaking.

The king, of course, remains on the back line. The king appears withdrawn from the game. The king, the others pieces may suspect, strays behind, perhaps fearful in his knowledge of the truth: that the game ultimately ends with his success or failure.

But the player, if he/she is good, knows that sooner or later, when the time is right, when the pieces are in place and when the springs are set, the real action begins. That moment, that is the point in time wherein the gravity of the king's weight bares it's relevance. You see, most good chess games are not played in this moment -- they are played in preparation for it. In this moment, the game is not played but decided. The pawns, were they able to speak in this moment, may sound like those doubters currently standing face to face with the other side's proverbial Queen, the most powerful of the pieces which strikes in apparent nonsensical fashion from any direction, from any distance. But while these pieces shake about the board, the king watches, prepares for the players to make their decision.

Now, the average American is a pretty crummy player. As is the American tradition, voters are accustomed to riling up for an election and then checking out for the next three and a half years. They let the man in charge take care of that "Government" stuff. That's why they put him there, right? Obama, however, sees it differently. His job, as a leader, is not to straddle the bully pulpit and point the way. It's not even necessarily to provide a general map. Like most leaders, his job is not to do the job for us; his job is to help facilitate the process as we take care of our own end of the bargain.

So first, please avoid a simplistic viewing of President O here. In the absence of a good chess player (that is, in the presence of American Democrats), he's not only the king… He's the king and the player.

With this in mind, let's revisit the question: Why isn't Obama speaking up? Why not more Rocky Balboa, less Mister Spock? Well, for one, he isn't getting bogged down into a pointless debate over non-issues like "death panels", nor is he taking the bait laid out for him by cable TV's talking heads. Two, he's giving a little credence to these objectors by appearing to soften. Thus he appears to give in while essentially changing nothing about his strategic position. Instead, like a master of such gambits, he’s letting Palin, Limbaugh and co. speak for themselves. These things alone may combine to place enough rope in the hands of Republicans so that Obama's fiercest opponents may, as the saying goes, hang themselves.

No, Obama's not telling you what he thinks, and he's not going to tell you how he feels. He will provide no vicarious governance, no fictional involvement for voters who wish to "achieve" real change by the emotional effects of whatever eloquent advice he may impart.

Instead, he's letting you suffer. He's letting you build your own reasons to defy convention. He's letting you consolidate your own response to vacuous vitriol. He's letting you figure out what you would do, what you would say, why you would prefer Healthcare Reform, why you want green energy, gay marriage, and so on.

Next step: Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!

That's what we will see in the speech tonight. No, he won't pantomime a preacher. He won't let out an autocratic yelp from the saddle of power. He'll be Barrack Obama. He'll be cool while he lays it out for you. What you do then, which issue you decide to support, whatever letter you decide to write to your representative or what amount of money you decide to donate is then your own damn problem.

Fact of the matter is that Obama isn't the person cowering in the face of asinine opposition. Obama isn't the one panicking. Obama isn't the person looking for the next excuse to cast off the last two and a half years worth of work as a failure, to quit and proclaim the end of change. Maureen Dowd and those with whom she agrees, these people are the cowards, the turncoats, the real opponents to change. These are the people ducking for cover. These are the people who have handed over their dialogue by their own inaction, by their own willingness to offer up Obama as the lamb in sacrifice to the realities of making change actually happen!

The power is in our hands and the debate is on our terms. We have a majority in the House as well as the Senate. We have a relevant issue which stirs passion. We have a powerful stance on the issue which is buttressed by political, social, and economic necessity. And we have Barrack Obama.

Our opponents have lies and conspiracy theories, they are vocal about them, and they're resting their case on Sara Palin's credibility with the American public.

The opponents of Healthcare Reform have fallen for Obama's Gambit. For once it's been the conservatives who fell for the bait -- now's time for the switch. It's in the bag, but only if the pawns and bishops stay in position.