"'Historians Can Never Forget That It Is a Debate They Are Interpreting'"

"Journalist and author E.J. Dionne once observed that we are a nation conceived in argument. None of these were more important than the meaning attached to the Constitution, which played such a central role in creating our sense of nationhood. I would caution my conservative friends from trying to hijack the meaning of the Constitution for their own ends by playing the trump card (no pun intended), that the founders were all in agreement with modern right-wing politics. How could this be true when they didn't even agree among themselves about how to interpret the Constitution? Instead, lets debate the issues of our day so the American people can make an informed choice without resorting to historically dubious claims."

Donald J. Fraser at History News Network asks, "What do historians make of originalism?"

"Judgment and Nerve."

"In an unusual way, the success of Obama’s first term hangs in large part on his reelection bid, as a President Romney would probably kill his grandest achievement of providing health insurance to those Americans too sick or poor to acquire it in the marketplace. So any evaluation of Obama’s term before the election must be provisional.

"What can be said without equivocation is that Obama has proven himself morally, intellectually, temperamentally, and strategically. In my lifetime, or my parents’, he is easily the best president."

Jonathan Chait at New York makes his case for President Obama's reelection and against Mitt Romney.

E. J. Dionne, Jr., endorses Obama at Time.

"By any reasonable standard, no president since LBJ accomplished as much on domestic policy. And LBJ didn’t have to contend with the same political obstacles. The public wasn’t as skeptical of government. Conservatives didn’t have (quite) as much power to obstruct. Obama made plenty of mistakes, about policy and about tactics, but he also fought the good fight—and, more important, he did so when it was difficult. He didn’t let the auto industry die, even though the polls said it would be unpopular. He didn’t let Republicans roll him on food stamps on Medicaid, even though it would have helped him achieve an elusive spending deal. He didn’t drop health care reform—not in January, 2009, when advisers warned him it would be difficult; not in August, 2009, when the Tea Party protests exploded; and not in January, 2010, when Scott Brown’s election made enactment seem impossible.
"Obama staked his political life on these gambits. With this election, progressives can help decide whether he made the right bet. And if they don't? The damage to progressive causes could last a long time.
"Change in American politics is difficult, because the constitution divides power among three branches of government. Progressive change is almost impossible, because the big money in politics typically lines up on the other side. If progressives don’t reward Obama for what the positions he took—if they don’t turn out for him on election day—future reformers will take notice. And when they confront similar situations, when the polls start to look bad and advisers tell them to back off an important goal, they won't push forward defiantly. They'll buckle."

Jonathan Cohn in The New Republic adds his take.

The Right-Wing Will Always Be with Us

"Should Romney lose in November, a far happier liberal scenario can be entertained: For all their qualms about stimulus spending and Obamacare, perhaps voters still prefer the party of modest government activism to the party of no government. Polls provide support for this view. In the latest Pew survey, the GOP as a whole is almost as unpopular as the tea party: Only 27 percent of Americans describe themselves as Republican (as opposed to 31 percent Democratic and 36 percent Independent).
"One can almost write the obituaries for the right that would appear after a Romney defeat right now. Even the millions spent by Karl Rove’s sugar daddies in the post–Citizens United era had failed to sell a far-right GOP to American voters. Once again the republic has been saved from the crazies by good old bipartisan centrist common sense.
"Dream on."

Frank Rich in New York argues that "conservatives are the cockroaches of the American body politic, poised to outlast us all."

But E.J. Dionne, Jr., in The Washington Post writes that at least the "right wing has lost the election of 2012."

"We Were Born with a Divided Political Heart"

"For much of our history, Americans—even in our most quarrelsome moments—have avoided the kind of polarized politics we have now. We did so because we understood that it is when we balance our individualism with a sense of communal obligation that we are most ourselves as Americans. The 20th century was built on this balance, and we will once again prove the prophets of U.S. decline wrong if we can refresh and build upon that tradition. But doing so will require conservatives to abandon untempered individualism, which betrays what conservatism has been and should be."

E. J. Dionne, Jr., in The Washington Post wonders why conservative no longer seem to value community.

"The Product of Our Own Contradictions"

"'Deregulation' is wonderful until we discover what happens when regulations aren't issued or enforced. Everyone is a capitalist until a private company blunders. Then everyone starts talking like a socialist, presuming that the government can put things right because they see it as being just as big and powerful as its tea party critics claim."

E. J. Dionne, Jr., in The New Republic casts his gaze toward the oil hemorrhaging in the Gulf of Mexico.

Our Country and Our Culture

"Most writers who advocated socialism during the 1930s no longer saw themselves as 'rebels and exiles'; in the early years of the cold war, many even agreed that America had 'become the protector of Western civilization, at least in a military and economic sense.' But few intellectuals extended their new optimism about the nation to mass culture. 'Its tendency,' the editors of PR complained, 'is to exclude everything that does not conform to popular norms; it creates and satisfies artificial appetites...[and] has grown into a major industry which converts culture into a commodity.'
"In our own uncertain era, it is useful for women and men with a reputation for thoughtfulness and creativity to reflect on issues that bear profoundly on both their craft and their country. We asked four questions:
"1. What relationship should American intellectuals have toward mass culture: television, films, mass-market books, popular music, and the Internet?
"2. Does the academy further or retard the engagement of intellectuals with American society?
"3. How should American intellectuals participate in American politics?
"4. Do you consider yourself a patriot, a world citizen, or do you have some other allegiance that helps shape your political opinions?"

E. J. Dionne, Jr., Katha Pollitt, and others attempt to answer these questions in a special issue of Dissent.

Obama-Rama IX: The Return

Various writers assess President Obama's first year in office (and this blog renews a theme):

E. J. Dionne, Jr., in The New Republic argues that the recent Massachusetts Senate election marks for Obama a "failure of comity."

In Salon, Micah Sifry, Joan Walsh, Steven Clemons, Juan Cole, Angela Blackwell, Gloria Feldt, Walter Kirn, Simon Rosenberg, Michelangelo Signorile, and Michael Lind consider a variety of issues.

Who Would've Thought; It Figures

"For Obama's base of progressive and liberal supporters, it is his intellectual side that draws such fierce loyalty and admiration, while his conservative foes mistrust the very part of him that imagines and dreams--because they do not share his dreams."

E. J. Dionne, Jr., in The New Republic contemplates the ironies of President Obama.

"I'll Rise Up and Break the Backbone of Your Power"

"'God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war. . . . And we are criminals in that war. We've committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it. And we won't stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation. But God has a way of even putting nations in their place.'"

In The Washington Post, E. J. Dionne, Jr., recalls the fiery rhetoric of an anti-war African-American minister: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Obama-Rama VI (For Those Who Need a Fix)

In anticipation of the March 4 primaries, here is another round-up of Barack Obama-related articles:

In The New York Times, Jeffrey Rosen explores Obama's civil libertarianism.

E. J. Dionne, Jr., in The New Republic connects Obama with Ronald Reagan.

In The New Republic, Michael Crowley explains how Obama has disarmed white supremacists?

Gary Younge in The Nation sees a touch of aristocracy in American politics.

E. J. Dionne, Jr., again in The New Republic notices the influence of Paul Wellstone in the primary campaign.

In The New Republic, John B. Judis compares Obama to a biblical Adam.

Robert Creamer at The Huffington Post stresses the importance of Obama's ability to inspire.

Kate Zernike in The New York Times looks to how personality can help a candidate.

In The New York Times, John M. Broder attempts to explain the parties' delegate rules.

John Heilemann in New York says that Obama has benefitted from a press story-line.

Jack Shafer in Slate investigates Obama's rhetorical style.

And YouTube hosts a parody video depicting what Hillary Clinton would like to do to Bill.

Obama-Rama III

In light of today's New Hampshire primary, and after a weekend of overdosing on political websites, here is another roundup of Barack Obama-related articles:

In The Washington Post, E. J. Dionne, Jr. compares Obama to John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Demosthenes.

Jake Tapper on ABC News' Political Punch reports Bill Clinton comparing Hilary to Nelson Mandela.

Ben Smith at Politico prints Hillary Clinton's comparison of herself to Margaret Thatcher and to Lyndon Johnson.

Tina Daunt in the Los Angeles Times watches Hollywood fundraisers jump from Hillary Clinton to Obama.

Richard Wolffe in Newsweek visits Obama's speechwriter Jon Favreau (not the actor/director).

Isabelle Duriez in Liberation gives a French take on this week's phenomenon.

And Reuters reports that Dixville Notch goes for Obama.

Liberal Religion

"Moreover, as Christopher Lasch once noted, following the 1960s the left made the politically suicidal choice of cultural radicalism, which succeeded, over political and economic radicalism, which failed. Quoting Peter Steinfels, Dionne noted, 'American liberalism has shifted its passion from issues of economic deprivation and concentration of power to issues of gender, sexuality, and personal choice.... Once trade unionism, regulation of the market, and various welfare measures were the litmus tests of secular liberalism. Later, desegregation and racial justice were the litmus tests. Today the litmus test is abortion.'"

In The Nation, Eric Alterman notes the importance of connecting liberalism and religion.