The “quiet” president
This article is a good demonstration of Obama’s equivalent of Clinton’s “small-bore” initiatives.
In the past year and a half, President Obama has quietly used his powers to expand federal rights and benefits for gays and lesbians, targeting one government restriction after another in an attempt to change public policy while avoiding a confrontation with Republicans and opponents of gay rights.
The result is that scores of federal rules blocking gay rights have been swept aside or reinterpreted by Obama officials eager to advance the agenda of a constituency that strongly backed the president’s 2008 campaign.
It’s well known that after failing at health care, Clinton narrowed his focus and started working toward smaller, targeted achievements like the FMLA. The reason this is well known is that, strategically, Clinton wanted these initiatives to be talked about on the front pages.
Obama seems to operate very quietly. I think he’s been far more effective than his critics on the left will admit, but many of his accomplishments just don’t get much coverage. As outlined in the Wapo article above, his accomplishments on glbt equality have been under the radar. The same is true of what I think is one of the greatest things about his first year in office – the quiet dismantling of the federal War™ on Drugs.
It appears that team Obama does not want to risk confrontation on these issues, but I am not entirely sure why, at least where the gay rights issues are concerned. Public opinion is now solidly in favor of nearly every gay rights plank with the exception of marriage. If Obama comes out strongly in favor of equal treatment for gays in employment, housing, health care, etc. he forces Republicans into the uncomfortable position of having to cater to their base on an issue about which swing-voters disagree with their base. It marginalizes conservatives, strengthens their identity in the public consciousness as narrow-minded, overly-religious busybodies. It also plays to Obama’s strengths of the soaring rhetoric, high-minded visionary.
Making these accomplishments “quiet” has been a strategic mistake for Obama. I have no doubt that once I start doing more political focus groups with swing voters as the election nears that my opinion on this strategy will be confirmed.
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