Defying our inner Bligh

BETWEEN editorial floggings by the press (“20 more lashes, Mr. Christian – and be quick about it, man!”), former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham manages to derail the Obama narrative with a much needed dash of historical reality.

He argues, “Obama is not surprised that the kingdom of heaven has failed to arrive in his first two years. A more historically minded country would not be, either.”

Aye, mates – if only me own Cap’n William Bligh and ‘is scurrilous pack of sea-dog pundits could figure that one out. Arrgh! But I digress.

Meacham thinks:

A president who understands that life will never completely conform to our wishes - that the world will disappoint us again and again, yet we have a duty to press on and make the best of things - is a president particularly well equipped to endure calls for a "reset" or a "move to the center," as though he has been dabbling in Marxism as corporate profits continue rising.

Extraordinary leaders tend to seem ordinary in real time. Thomas Jefferson left office disappointed and defeated by the threat of war with Britain. Abraham Lincoln expected to lose the 1864 election. Franklin Roosevelt divided the nation between those who loved him and those who could not speak his name (to the latter group, he was "that man"). Ronald Reagan risked impeachment in his now-fabled second term.

In other words, let Obama be Obama.

In closing, Meacham says that “In politics, what distinguishes genius from folly, masterstrokes from blunders? Winning.” No one can dispute the prodigious amount or the historic scope of Mr. Obama’s accomplishments thus far. So, I’d say he’s doing just that – winning. Arrgh!