Believer

I'm a believer. I think that Barack Obama was the right choice in the past election, for lots of reasons. I want him to succeed, more urgently than I have ever, I think, wanted a President to succeed before. I'm not willing to say that every major conclusion he reaches is right. Certainly, the ones that I hear about sound right to me, at least in outline. I may question the details, or the execution, but not to a great degree. And there are times that I think C'mon, Barack, level with me here. For example, his comments about earmarks. I believe that he went with the earmarks on that last bill because he had to; it was much, much more important to him to get the bill moving than it was to make it morally pure. He knew, better than I, that doing so would make it more difficult to deny earmarks next time, but it was a price he was willing to pay. Not eager, perhaps, but willing. Overall, I like what he's doing, and I want him to continue.

If it pisses off the hard-core Republicans, so much the better.

But I haven't given up on Republicans, because I think that their core attitude -- one of limited government and fiscal restraint -- is a worthwhile one. Freed of the crazies who dominate the headlines and energise the base (what does that phrase really mean? I think its 'appeal to the fanatics'), such as a bloviating radio pundit or a helicopter-riding moose shooter, I think that there are core Republicans who have worthwhile,useful ideas. Some of them have only those ideas -- my way or the highway folks -- and they're not going to be much help. Others see the worth of other approaches. They're the ones I want to hear more from, to counteract the wild-eyed crazies on our side. I know we've got some. A couple. One or two. What we don't have is the One True Answer. Tricky thing, that, because it changes. To find it, we need bright people from both sides, willing to give their all in a common effort.

Any takers?