.

[Democratic Hawk]

Depends on whether or not it achieves its objectives expanding insurance for those uninsured and reducing costs

Where can a Democrat realistically govern from? I don't think its from the left. My advice would be to stear clear of cultural wedge issues (especially, gun control and abortion rights) for as long as he is president beyond repealing DOTA at some stage and don't raise taxes on the middle class. Rein in spending as soon as feasibly possible (emphasis, on feasibly)

Many editorials endorsed pragmatism in 2008 (especially those which swtiched from Republican to Democrat) and when he was elected opined that that was what Americans voted for. That could mean a desire for genuine bi-partisanship on major issues. There will be Democrats who want no compromises with Republicans. As for the myriad of Democrats in Congress, it's time they focused on what unites them instead of what divides them; while not all Republicans in Congress are dogmatoid arthritics

Larry Sabato, on BBC Election Night, commented that Americans are surprisingly non-ideological and that the center is pragmatic moderate

He'll be judged on his record. If the economy has rebounded nicely; there are no unpopular foreign wars or major scandals directly involving him - he wins. In the meantime, will the economy show tangible signs of improvement before the mid-terms? Will unemployment have fallen from where it is now? [And we all know that is a lagging indicator]

Obama's goal seems to be a realignment that is essentially center-left but, when all is said and done, he can only please some of the people some of time and not all of the people all of the time

Don't expect too much too soon - if you want to avoid disappointment

[Democratic Hawk]

Of course, as we all know, the most moderate of Democratic proposals are deamed radical by the dogmatoid Right, who are pretty ept when it comes to playing psychological warfare by tapping into peoples' anxieties of "change". Result: caution on the part of many Democrats. Democrats were bold in 1932 (the 'Great Depression' discredited Republicans) and 1964 to be sure. FDR and LBJ had thumping mandates and even then LBJ overreached with his 'Great Society', but what you have today is essentially a center-left Democrat (Obama is no radical) - a mainstream Democrat - leading what is pretty much a center-right nation, in so far conservatives outnumber liberals in the electorate

Among the worst things to have happened to the Democratic Party was their adherence to a model of welfarism that was perceived as rewarding "idleness over work" - and that drove the white working class (long the stalwarts of FDR's 'New Deal'), among other things, into the arms of the Republicans. FDR's vision of welfare was that of a safety net. Isn't the way forward for Democrats to bring the white working class back into the fold?

Indeed, realistically, there is no going back to pre-Reagan tax rates or a welfare state which rewarded 'idleness', or anything remotely reminiscent of a mixed economy

George W Bush's rampant fiscal favoritism towards the richest, partially, explains why the economy hit the crappers to the extent that it did given that median income households were not the major beneficiaries of economic growth. The Nixonian, Kevin Phillips, is very critical of both Bush presidencies on that score

No economy can be on secure foundations when those who form the backbone of it - the middle class - in, real terms, fall behind and severe as the 'Great Recession' is there has been no ideological realignment. Conservatism endures but bear in mind that conservative Democrats tend to be more socially, than economically, conservative; hence, another reason for caution on wedge issues, like guns and abortion, on the part of Obama and the Democrats in terms of their legislative agenda

Yet many feel Democrats need to drop the culture of caution. I recall Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party, in the early 1980s, at the height of the worst recession prior to this one, when they were languishing in 3rd place in the polls behind the then SDP/Liberal Alliance and a badly damaged Labour Party (riven by infighting with ineffective leadership), which prompted her to say at her party conference, in response to being urged by party "wets" to u-turn on major initiatives, "You turn if you want too, the lady's not for turning"

Of course, the American system is very different