The Big Question: Where Is Obama’s Positive Message?

In 2008, it was all over the place: Hope. Hope for what? That was pretty clear, too—hope for an end to wars abroad and to political bickering at home.

After eight years of George W. Bush and five years of carnage in Iraq, a vision of peace and bipartisanship appealed not only to traditional Democrats but to many Americans. The fact that it was being presented by someone whose very candidacy seemed to embody the idea that the United States was making progress, persuaded many voters (and commentators) to overlook its utopian aspect. When some Clintonians, such as my former colleague Sid Blumenthal, questioned Obama’s belief that simply by offering to work with Republicans he could forge a cross-party consensus on major issues, arguing that this thinking reflected a fundamental misunderstanding of modern American politics, they were dismissed.

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