Tilting at windmills

Listening to the Diane Rehm Show on NPR this morning, one commentator said many Democrats are disappointed that President Obama has not change the bitter partisan climate in Washington. I go a little nuts every time I hear this absurdity. The underlying presumption is that Obama possesses mythic, Zeus-like powers. Like it or not, unbridled partisanship is woven deep into the DNA of American politics. (You can blame egotist Hamilton for starting it, his opponents for inflaming it, and the Founders for unintentionally creating a system that allowed it to thrive.) During the 2008 campaign, it was dumb of Obama (who knows better) to imply he could divine change. But it was dumber of Democrats to believe he could actually do it. To pull off "Change You Can Believe In" would require selfless politicians with no interest in politics plus Harry Potter's magic wand. Both have been in short supply since 1789. What Obama should have said in 2008, to paraphrase another campaign slogan, is: "We are the change we've been waiting for." That would have properly put the onus on us, the American people, and spared Mr. Obama from being cast as the knight in shining armor. In that role, he is doomed by our own history to tilt at windmills.