A Liberal Bias

Much pressure from the Right, insisting that Obama, unlike GWB with his massive wins, has no mandate for any kind of leftwards move on policy. That he MUST not try to implement any "liberal" policies.

A curious view. The logic seems to be that, faced with an issue -- global warming, health, Iraq, education, the economy - and a decision to be made, Obama should not seek the correct decision, but one that the pundits of the Right would approve. So Obama should consciously make decisions knowing they will not work, in order to avoid any suggestion that he is "liberal".

This is an odd view of public policy and indeed reality. Fortunately Obama seems to be a man who considers evidence and then reaches a decision based on that evidence, rather than being an ideologue who will proceed to create his own reality after he makes a decision.

There are, probably, cases where there is genuine debate between left and right over the precise emphasis that should be placed on an approach. The role of nuclear power is one area, the precise mix of public and private resources needed in health care is another. But this kind of nuance isn't what is being suggested. Rather it is that, for example, Obama shouldn't proceed with encouraging the development of renewable energy because this is a "liberal" policy, or that he shouldn't try to help poor people get access to health services.

If an Obama presidency is going to mean anything it should mean a return to reality based decision making, not some kind of spurious process by which ideological and political decisions are made in the face of evidence. We have had eight years to see how that process turns out.

Too much reality on the Watermelon Blog?