The Presider

I was surprised by how underwhelming the Inaugural address seemed, though I also didn't expect the President to treat it like a campaign speech (and I wondered if he intentionally wanted to avoid feeding the adulation of millions) - but rereading the speech I couldn't get over how much there is in it, how precise the language is, and how dense it is with philosophy of governance.

It is such a pleasure to watch this man. I get a little nervous that he's going to give away the store to Republicans, but I can remember being needlessly worried about what seemed like mistakes in the campaign, too, and he, um, seemed to have a pretty good plan.

Kathy - I said the same thing in JNS's post down below. I was always in favor of Obama using the big stick, but he got things done with soft words during the campaign. It could be the same way during his presidency.

Yes, he's serious about actually governing, and he's thought quite a bit about how to actually do that. It's a nice change.
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For Kathy (not picking on you alone) and everyone else that is nervous about him "giving away the store," sheesh, give it a rest. Does anyone seriously think that Obama and Rahm Emanuel don't know precisely what the GOP is all about?

Cliff and 4 legs - I perhaps didn't make it clear enough that my worrying about him is in the past. "I get a little nervous" is not in need of being given a rest, it just is.
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So yes, he has a plan, he knows what the GOP is about, he's not going to be out-thought or out-flanked.
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Chances are they sat around thinking what they could put in the bill that the Republicans could complain about that they could give up.

Among the contrasts, Obama seems utterly unperturbed by the prospect of listening to opposing viewpoints. After the tone-deafness of the Rove/Cheney administration, this is severely disorienting.
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And not to change the subject, have we uncovered any more insight into how John Heilprin managed to singlehandedly alter our Iranian policy to one of continued silence and intransigence?

The biggest difference between Bush and Obama is that Barack Obama is a guy who is used to working for a living.

What we are seeing, for the first time in 8 years, is a President who is actually doing his job.

It only seems remarkable because we have forgotten what that looks like.

Andrew Sullivan's piece is brilliant, thanks for posting this.

The system is correcting itself after one of the most unbalanced periods in American history. But it took the self-restraint of one man to do it.
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Do we want to credit this to the system or an individual? If McCain had won would Sully still call the system self-correcting?
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I detect a severe amount of wishful thinking here. The system is still broken. The crimes of the torturers are still unpunished. Rove is still ignoring Conyers. The telecoms are still officially above the law.
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Obama may understand the Constitutional limits of the Presidency but that doesn't mean that they have been restored. We just got lucky this time.

Kathy & fourlegs - I still worry about him, but now I understand that he plays a lot different game than I can even conceive of.

What PaulD said. But sometimes lucky feels awfully good.
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kathy, did you read Scott Horton's marvelous review of Obama's speech: First Words and Deeds? He regularly delivers speeches that are more than flash and sizzle, that offer us something to chew over, debate and measure. He also pays close attention to his words; they have obviously been culled and sculpted with unusual skill.
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I was on the Mall that day and, frankly, he said precisely what I wanted to hear. He's a serious guy, these are serious times, and his was a serious and deeply thoughtful speech.

OT, but atrios tells me that Tapper asks the Drudge question
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I wonder, does drudge still rule Halperin's world too?

What's that? Andrew "Fifth Column" Sullivan has discovered a new appreciation for disagreeing without being disagreeable? Color me unimpressed.

OT, but I think JoeK might be interested to know something about the irrelevant Limbaugh: Gingrey Begs Limbaugh For Forgiveness On-Air, Expresses ‘Very Sincere Regret' For ‘Foot-In-Mouth Disease'

Also:
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And so one of the oddest aspects of Bush's presidency was his tendency to declare things as if merely saying them as president could make them so.
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We saw this even in his exit interviews. He insisted that we're safer, we're taking better care of the environment, etc. etc., as though no one has noticed that he has done the exact opposite.

"Hence the obvious shock of some Republican Congressman at debating with a president who seemed interested in actual conversation, as opposed to pure politics."
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Let's not forget another problem for Republicans here: they don't do government. Nothing could be more obvious at this moment than the fact that the GOP is simply an opposition party (their organizing principle is that "government is the problem" for god's sake). But, even when they have actual governing power - the Bush Administration, the Gingrich congress - they use it mainly to tear down the government's ability to do it's job: regulating industry and the country through taxing and spending (a very bad thing according to Republicans). Opposing good government and the politics of making that sound like something other than traitorous obstruction is what they do - after 30 years, it's all they know how to do.

um. obama's game isn't that complicated for those watching.
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Build the structural frame of the issue. pass it on to congress to fill in the minutiae.
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Set the rules for negotiations: No provision that's counter-cyclical to the basic structural frame will be adopted.
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actively listen to both dems and repubs. Mediate between the powerless repubs and the dems.
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Shield yourself from giving the repubs too much power. Make sure their most extremist member becomes the heart and soul of the party if they embrace him, or isolate him if they exclude him. Either way, put yourself in the people's corner as the moderate bi-partisan.
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never leave a vacuum that republicans can fill. Your white house and cabinet are on steroids, they're so ripe with talent and stature. So keep moving on issues at record-speed that leaves little time for a pause.

Snap, that must be the sound of the big vein in P-Luk's forehead bursting.

[...]  I see that Joe Klein at Swampland has picked up on Andrew’s comment as well. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)A Case for a [...]

“During the campaign, then-Sen. Obama put forth the toughest ethics and lobbying reform policy in history,” Vietor said, “and now he's acting on it to reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington.”

... ... ...

Here are former lobbyists Obama has tapped for top jobs:

Eric Holder, attorney general nominee, was registered to lobby until 2004 on behalf of clients including Global Crossing, a bankrupt telecommunications firm.

Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year on behalf of the National Education Association.

William Lynn, deputy defense secretary nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for defense contractor Raytheon, where he was a top executive.

William Corr, deputy health and human services secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until last year for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a non-profit that pushes to limit tobacco use.

David Hayes, deputy interior secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until 2006 for clients, including the regional utility San Diego Gas & Electric.

Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for financial giant Goldman Sachs.

Ron Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, was registered to lobby until 2005 for clients, including the Coalition for Asbestos Resolution, U.S. Airways, Airborne Express and drug-maker ImClone.

Mona Sutphen, deputy White House chief of staff, was registered to lobby for clients, including Angliss International in 2003.

Melody Barnes, domestic policy council director, lobbied in 2003 and 2004 for liberal advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the American Constitution Society and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Cecilia Munoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, was a lobbyist as recently as last year for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.

Patrick Gaspard, White House political affairs director, was a lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union.

Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff to the president's assistant for intergovernmental relations, lobbied for the American Association of Justice from 2001 until 2005.

... ... ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090128/pl_politico/18128

... ... ...

Some change, that one.

Move On indeed.

wvng - thanks for the link - I'll get to it sometime today. (Been one of those weeks). I think Obama's remarkable in choosing the tone of his speeches to fit the occasion, rather than to meet expectations. I think my favorite speech was the Grant Park speech, for the skill with which he wove in the mountaintop speech without ever referring to it. But the inaugural speech is a keeper.
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It's also worth listening to Sharon Watkins prayer service sermon if you didn't catch it. Great delivery or a good sermon.
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http://www.disciples.org/OfficeoftheGeneralMinisterandPresident/NewsandUpdates/GMPToDeliverSermonatNationalPrayerService/tabid/476/Default.aspx

that should read "great delivery of a good sermon"

President Obama is meeting with and actually listening to the republicans. Although none of the house republicans voted in favor of the stimulus package yesterday, it wouldn't surprise me if after the senate passes it and it goes back into committee to iron out the differences, high single or low double digits of house repubs change their minds and vote for it. If the truckloads of money start to turn the economy around by the midterms, the republicans would be foolish to have provided the democrats with ready made campaign ads. Then again, they have foolish pretty much nailed anymore.