Marshall Ganz, who was the primary organizer for the United Farmworker's under Cesar Chavez, understands social change like few individuals living today. And so his TPM Cafe post arguing for Barack Obama should be read, and deeply considered. But the MLK/LBJ dichotomy he's creating seems unhelpful. Ganz is, of course, right that the president needs to understand how to mobilize voters and leverage popular pressure. But you need the inside game, too. LBJ was not merely an operator -- after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s assassination, he masterfully tapped into the public's grief and rage, used it to elect a wave of Democrats, deployed Kennedy's memory to align the public with the Great Society agenda, and then used his legislative talents to pass the thing. He knew how to play the inside game and the outside game. So too will the next president.
