Absurdist Theater

LIBERAL activists are a panicky lot. Sparked by anger over the coming compromise over tax cuts, they worry that the president is caving too easily to his Republican opponents. Timesman Frank Rich said Obama is taking his "non-argumentative reasonableness" too far. These liberals want an angrier, more blustery Obama who throws liberal thunderbolts at his enemies. They act as if Obama can govern by fiat. That if he shouts loud enough in righteous indignation, Republicans will simply cower and roll over. Principle über alles, they demand, even if it means losing and driving the Democratic Party over a cliff.

And, as Andrew Sullivan reminds us, what gets lost in the anguished handwringing is what Obama’s "non-argumentative reasonableness" has gotten us thus far:

“[Obama] prevented a second great depression, rescued Detroit, bailed out the banks, pitlessly isolated Tehran's regime, exposed Netanyahu, decimated al Qaeda's mid-level leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan, withdrawn troops from Iraq on schedule, gotten two Justices on the Supreme Court, cut a point or two off the unemployment rate with the stimulus, seen real wages for those employed grow, presided over a stock market boom and record corporate profits, and maneuvered a GOP still intoxicated with failed ideology to become more and more wedded to white, old evangelicals led by Sarah Palin. And did I mention universal health insurance - the holy grail for Democrats for decades?”

Fortunately, Obama knows political warfare is won in the center, and that Rome was not built in a day. His record speaks for itself.

That said, our absurdist culture demands a measure of Absurdist Theater from the president. The thought probably galls Obama privately, a serious man trying to save the damn world from its absurdist self. Nevertheless, the president would benefit from some Hollywood-style stage managing. I’d start with firing press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Writer John Blumenthal agrees:

“As for Gibbs, Obama needs to replace him with someone forceful, dynamic and perhaps a trifle quick-tempered. Gibbs is soft. He stammers. He fudges. And his most common expression seems to be fear. He resembles John Hodgeman, the actor who represents PCs in the Apple commercials. The president's press secretary is the person who must clearly articulate his boss's agenda to the press. He (or she) must do so with an economy of words. His (or her) tone and demeanor must reflect the president's attitudes and state of mind. Reporters must come away from press conferences with a clear understanding of not only the president's concerns and agenda, but his disposition. This is not happening.”