Obama the schemer?

Writing in The Ottawa Citizen, David Warren echoes an interesting hypothesis about Barack Obama first expressed by Charles Krauthammer: namely, that Obama is a lot more strategic than he seems.

He claims – among other things – that Obama might be intentionally alienating the most left wing voters, in order to improve his electoral prospects by appealing to centrists.

I don’t know how convincing the hypothesis ultimately is. For one thing, if Obama was secretly a brilliant election-winning political operator, he would probably have done better in the midterms.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.

6 thoughts on “Obama the schemer?”

  1. May I perhaps suggest, as a starting position, that Warren is an idiot who manages to effortlessly convey pretentiousness and obsequiousness in the same breath? Seems to me there are more worthwhile right-wing thinkers out there to consider. Ones that, you know, think. I know I verge on ranting here, but he appears to select his facts from an alternate reality, so his opinions should probably be discounted in this one.

  2. I don’t know anything about Warren, but it was appealing to think for a moment that perhaps Obama is having more success than it seems he is having.

    It’s beyond absurd that – faced with the economic and social conditions prevailing in America now – tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans were maintained, and that the supposedly deficit-conscious Republicans drove it.

  3. The reality is that to be a ruling leader in a democratic you must be strategic, if strategic means that you are responsible for being the leader of entire country, including those who do not agree with your policies. That is an element of democracy.

  4. There is no doubt politicians need to be strategic in order to be successful. The question here is whether Obama has been significantly more effective than he seems to have been, when it comes to advancing his policies.

    So far, the evidence supporting that hypothesis does not seem strong.

  5. Welcome to the one world government. I don’t really care where Obama was born. The thing that I worry about is am I going to have enough food to last until I receive money next time. The wealthy churches in Canada that are not performing the services in a Christian manner could care less if a person in their congregation starves to death. Presently, I am attending St. Pauls Anglican church in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Every Sunday there is a different crowd. No chance for fellowship because you can’t get to know the people. No one carries bibles to church which is what normal Christians do in some countries. If they cook up a meal everyone has to pay about 20 dollars for the meal instead of everyone bringing potluck. People are unfriendly and do baby baptisms which is against the bible. They take Christianity for granted by not giving the invitation for people to come forward and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior in public. They tell lies in the bulletin and make false promises to the congregation. But I am going in a few minutes. I like to read the scriptures from God’s word. Just me and my bible. Have a nice day and God Bless.

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