WAD CITY

The point, it seemed to me, was that politics isn’t all there is to life, there is something slightly off about those who think it is, and that political ideology has come to define us culturally and personally far too much. So this wasn’t an angry rally for the alienated Democratic left; or even a joyous rally like last fall’s March for Equality; or a desperate and frustrated rally like the Tea Partiers. No one was demanding their country back; they were just demanding, well asking, for a little less polarization, and a little more mutual understanding. It was an Obama rally that didn’t want to be an Obama rally. And it was only an Obama rally sotto voce because he seems currently the only adult in Washington with any interest in compromising with anyone.

Andrew Sullivan on the Stewart/Colbert rally (via aatombomb)

I think he’s generally on target, but I’m not sure so many folks were in favor of compromise. Obama’s attempts to compromise meaningfully were abused by Republicans to weaken bills they never intended to vote for, and when the 111th Congress rolls around with a GOP majority, compromise is a pill we’re not going to want to swallow.

What differentiates a rally like this from others (such as an anti-war demonstration, for example), is that Stewart and Colbert’s reasons for holding it may differ greatly from many attendees reasons for showing up. But in the end, I think this was a rally for folks who feel that their center-left moderate liberal views are being ignored by a punditry and news media that twists everything into a battle of extremes. It was a rally for people who think Obama’s done a pretty good job, all things considered, and that the apocalyptic language used by the right to frame this election cycle has been ignorant, dishonest, and way out of line.

(via themattsmith)

Source: The Atlantic