◼ Americans of all political persuasions are now comfortable criticizing the president. - Glenn Reynolds/USA Today
Last week, I speculated that we may be seeing a "preference cascade," as people who previously supported Obama now feel safe about publicly changing their minds. It seems that we're seeing more of that this week as word of the Benghazi debacle spreads. The Obama campaign no doubt hopes you'll be distracted from this by hurricane news, but that's probably a vain hope on its part.
On the left, the defections are mounting. Last week, I spoke to Camille Paglia about her new book on art history, but she also stopped to explain why she wasn't voting for Obama this time: basically, disappointment. She said he ran as a moderate, but has been "one of the most racially divisive and polarizing figures ever. I think it's going to take years to undo the damage to relationships between the races." h/t: kb
◼ The progressive case against Obama - Matt Stoller/Salon
There are many good arguments against Obama, even if the Republicans cannot seem to muster any. The civil liberties/antiwar case was made eloquently a few weeks ago by libertarian Conor Friedersdorf, who wrote a well-cited blog post on why he could not, in good conscience, vote for Obama. While his arguments have tremendous merit, there is an equally powerful case against Obama on the grounds of economic and social equity. That case needs to be made....
why oppose Obama? Simply, it is the shape of the society Obama is crafting that I oppose, and I intend to hold him responsible, such as I can, for his actions in creating it....
Bottom line: The president is complicit in creating an increasingly unequal -- and unjust -- society
