Why Obama can’t play every role at once

The Democratic Strategist has just posted a strategy memo by me on why Obama can’t be an activist, an organizer, a legislator and a president all at once.  It applies some of my ideas from Ruling Passions to what’s going on now.  My fans might find it of interest; my critics, great fun to insult.  Or the other way around—who knows.

Author: Andrew Sabl

Andrew Sabl, a political theorist, is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Ruling Passions: Political Offices and Democratic Ethics and Hume’s Politics: Coordination and Crisis in the History of England, both from Princeton University Press. His research interests include political ethics, liberal and democratic theory, toleration, the work of David Hume, and the realist school of contemporary political thought. He is currently finishing a book for Harvard University Press titled The Uses of Hypocrisy: An Essay on Toleration. He divides his time between Toronto and Brooklyn.

One thought on “Why Obama can’t play every role at once”

  1. A distinct role for Obama in an era of legislative deadlock: "defender of justice under law"

    Dream on … there is NO role in which this president has shown LESS interest.

    That's not to say he might not position himself as "tough on crime" provided the "crimes" in question were committed by impoverished immigrants, indebted homeowners, etc. All corporate criminals are — naturally — above the law. To say nothing of state torturers in secret prisons and such.

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