12:05 | [Comment From Andres Martinez]
Obama is no ideologue in that he has no dogmatic approach to policy, much to the disappointment of some of his strongest supporters. He is first and foremost a practical lawyer, the nation's mediator-in-chief. The idealism stems from his biography and his ability, and intense desire, to bridge communities and differences. He proclaimed in his inaugural that the time had come to end petty grievances, recriminations and "worn-out dogmas that for too long have strangled our politics..." and to set aside childish things. That is what he is about. the tragedy is that the parties in this case don't want to do that. They don't want to be in mediation. |
