socialmedian: Want Obama To Be Bolder? Take To The Streets!

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Want Obama To Be Bolder? Take To The Streets!

Source: The Huffington Post | Full News Feed

Nov 06, 2009

Summary

Arianna Huffington and Drew Westen earlier this week posted persuasive arguments that Barack Obama, as president, should govern the way he campaigned for the job: Fired up, with an unswerving focus on changing the status quo and standing up for the people against the vested interests that thrive on politics as usual. Compared to Obama the campaigner, Obama the president has been remarkably timid and conciliatory.

One theory is that what we're seeing is Obama's background as a community organizer coming to the foreground. And as many critics have pointed out, with plenty of justification, the community organizer tendency to seek consensus can look pretty darn naïve and ineffective when one of the parties simply has no interest in compromise -- and indeed sees obstruction as its primary goal.

But there's another part of the community organizing analogy that's been widely overlooked.

Community organizers take strength from the community.

They are able to bring recalcitrant parties to the negotiating table by threatening community action. They can force the hands

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