"A backlash in the progressive base which pushed President Obama over the
top in the Democratic primary and played a major role in his general election
victory has been building for months. The fight over the public option
involves real policy substance, but it's also a proxy for broader questions
about the president's priorities and overall approach
Meanwhile, on such fraught questions as torture and indefinite detention,
the president has dismayed progressives with his reluctance to challenge or
change Bush administration policy.
And then there's the matter of the banks.
I don't know if administration officials realize just how much damage
they've done themselves with their kid-gloves treatment of the financial
industry, just how badly the spectacle of government supported institutions
paying giant bonuses is playing. But I've had many conversations with people
who voted for Mr. Obama, yet dismiss the stimulus as a total waste of money.
When I press them, it turns out that they're really angry about the bailouts
rather than the stimulus but that's a distinction lost on most voters."
PAUL KRUGMAN August 20, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/opinion/21krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
