Paul Waldman on Wednesday’s health-care address:
Not long after the general presidential election began last year, some momentary fluctuation in the polls led to a fevered round of hand-wringing on the left. Our nominee is letting it slip away!, people cried. He ought to shift his strategy, change this, alter that! Then a photo of Barack Obama at his convention speech began to circulate through emails and blogs, showing the candidate looking strong and resolute. “Everyone chill the f*** out,” the caption read in bold letters. “I GOT THIS.” And he did.
For all the marveling at Obama’s rhetorical skill, it was his political skill that got him to the White House, most importantly his ability to see the whole field of the campaign and keep focused on the long-term goal without getting bogged down in the day-to-day ups and downs of polls and the news media’s obsession with distractions and minutiae. Today, with the health care debate coming toward its end, progressives once again are nervous and agitated, wondering if the victory for which they yearned for so long is slipping away.