Ta-Nehisi Coates on Obama and Progressives

After citing Paul Krugman's angry repudiation of President Obama for selling out progressives, Ta-Nehisi Coates has this:

I don't quite understand why progressives would feel punked. Perhaps, I'm just a cynic but I voted for Obama in the primaries, because I thought he was most likely to beat John McCain--not because I thought he was to the left of Hillary Clinton. Obama always struck me as a very talented and cerebral politician, with a left-ish bent. Again, maybe I'm a cynic, but his flip-flops don't really surprise. Isn't this what politicians do?

And Ta-Nehisi adds this regarding the ObamaCare debacle:

I have no idea what will happen, ultimately. Moreover, I'm not sure that most voters are bothered by any of this. still, it this whole escapade smacks of Obama being too clever by half--of an Obama who can't get over his own high-mindedness and holds out the bipartisan spirit as a kind of fetish, a gimmick. It's all so unserious.

Voters not bothered. Unserious.

Right.

That's why the Washington Post reports:

Public confidence in President Obama's leadership has declined sharply over the summer, amid intensifying opposition to health-care reform that threatens to undercut his attempt to enact major changes to the system ...

But, of course, bipartanship is "a kind of fetish."

Image Credit: The People's Cube.