5.3 Sullivan (10/1/12)
Sullivan, Andrew (10/1/12) "The Democrats' Reagan: What Obama Will Achieve in His Second Term." Newsweek, October 1 + 8, 2012.
Quick Look
Author Sullivan is a former editor of The New Republic and the author of five books, including The Conservative Soul. He is perhaps best known as the author and editor of his blog, The Dish, which mainly focuses on political issues. The core principles of Sullivan's blog have been the style of conservatism he views as traditional. This includes fiscal conservatism, limited government, and classic libertarianism on social issues. ~Wikipedia I've also reviewed on this site Sullivan's The Conservative Soul (2006, 2007 paperback) (see 5.10). |
This Resource’s Key Interpretations and Insights Related to the Purposes of This Website
Here's a conservative who wanted to help recreate a strong center-right in the Republican Party by urging Republicans to vote for Obama in 2012; and a detailed prediction that, if he gets a second term, Obama will be a transformation president like Reagan.
This cover story article in Newsweek, written by a traditional conservative Republican who supported Obama in 2008, is an important voice within his own party urging them to help recreate a strong center-right that they have lost to far-right extremists. Like me, he thinks the best way to do that is by voting for Obama and Congressional centrists of both parties who are willing to work with him.
While not assuming that Obama is necessarily going to win, Sullivan considers it probable at the time the article was written. If that happens and he has Congressional cooperation, he believes Obama will be a transformational president like Reagan. He lists Obama's first term achievements, which he thinks are formidable and that provide a base for the possible transformational achievements of his second term. Sullivan has a very interesting take on possible long term comparisons of Obama and Reagan, if both have two terms to accomplish their contrasting goals.
Here's a conservative who wanted to help recreate a strong center-right in the Republican Party by urging Republicans to vote for Obama in 2012; and a detailed prediction that, if he gets a second term, Obama will be a transformation president like Reagan.
This cover story article in Newsweek, written by a traditional conservative Republican who supported Obama in 2008, is an important voice within his own party urging them to help recreate a strong center-right that they have lost to far-right extremists. Like me, he thinks the best way to do that is by voting for Obama and Congressional centrists of both parties who are willing to work with him.
While not assuming that Obama is necessarily going to win, Sullivan considers it probable at the time the article was written. If that happens and he has Congressional cooperation, he believes Obama will be a transformational president like Reagan. He lists Obama's first term achievements, which he thinks are formidable and that provide a base for the possible transformational achievements of his second term. Sullivan has a very interesting take on possible long term comparisons of Obama and Reagan, if both have two terms to accomplish their contrasting goals.
Quotes from Text
"If you are a Republican who wants to see your party return to the center, reelecting Obama is the single most effective thing you can do. Look what Reagan's success did to the Democrats: it gave us the centrist Bill Clinton. A future centrist Republican president is out there somewhere--but electing Romney-Ryan would strand him or her further out in the wilderness." (p. 36) (my emphases)
"...if you backed Obama in 2008, as a liberal wanting change, as an independent wanting pragmatic solution-seeking, or as a conservative hoping to drag the GOP back from Palin-style insanity. it makes no sense to bail on him now. Because this is when the payoff of the long game really kicks in, when..." (Sullivan then has a long list of probable second term accomplishments that will be game changing, leading us beyond the present asymmetrical polarization. I encourage you to read them on p. 36). (my emphases)
"If those liberals who voted for him (Obama) in 2008 think this is somehow a failure or a betrayal, in the context of the massive crisis he inherited, then they could not have been serious about real change in the first place. We know that real change meets real resistance. In fact, you only know it's real when the resistance is so strong." (p. 36)
"If you are a Republican who wants to see your party return to the center, reelecting Obama is the single most effective thing you can do. Look what Reagan's success did to the Democrats: it gave us the centrist Bill Clinton. A future centrist Republican president is out there somewhere--but electing Romney-Ryan would strand him or her further out in the wilderness." (p. 36) (my emphases)
"...if you backed Obama in 2008, as a liberal wanting change, as an independent wanting pragmatic solution-seeking, or as a conservative hoping to drag the GOP back from Palin-style insanity. it makes no sense to bail on him now. Because this is when the payoff of the long game really kicks in, when..." (Sullivan then has a long list of probable second term accomplishments that will be game changing, leading us beyond the present asymmetrical polarization. I encourage you to read them on p. 36). (my emphases)
"If those liberals who voted for him (Obama) in 2008 think this is somehow a failure or a betrayal, in the context of the massive crisis he inherited, then they could not have been serious about real change in the first place. We know that real change meets real resistance. In fact, you only know it's real when the resistance is so strong." (p. 36)
(There are no plans at this time for either a Highlights or Detailed Review for this resource.)