There were some muted calls for George W. Bush to engage with the American people as his job approval numbers sank in his second term, but nothing like what we’ve seen with Obama. Even more intriguing is that these calls have been more or less a constant throughout Obama’s terms as president; my first encounter with them came in mid-2009, when a radio host asked me, “What happened to the guy I voted for back in 2008?”
And there, I think, is the answer to why we have this debate, and why I think it is almost a bit unfair to criticize those who wonder why Obama doesn’t engage Congress and the public more in order to accomplish his agenda. Many of the president’s supporters thought they were voting for the Green Lantern in 2008.
…Which is to say, a guy with magic powers that could do anything if only he wished hard enough. Which is kind of a redundant description, actually: one of the reasons that I wish that magic did exist is because then all those poly sci majors would instead go into Conjuration Studies, or something else along those lines…
? – those conversations rarely end well.