OBAMA, LEADERSHIP FROM THE MIDDLE.

When I called President Obama a uniter, some people scuffed. When I said he was going to use the mid-term elections as a rallying cry for consensus, some people doubted. When I predicted that Obama was going to take a middle ground in the next phase of his presidency, I was decried. Lo and behold my fellow Americans, observe the birth of our next great moderate president, Obama the intelligent.

I love the term moderate; I prefer it over terms like Liberal, conservative, fiscal conservative etc. I think a moderate is the only true representative position not prone to succumb to hipocrisy, or be percieved as intolerant. Every person that defines him or herself as a liberal or conservative has been a moderate at some point, more so than their identified idealogy. Obama has found himself in a position where he has to embrace the moderate point of veiw; he has to embrace it, or be subject to irrelevance.

President Obama is not the only one who will have to moderate their stance; Republican leaders are also in the unenviable position of having to do the same. The American voter today will have no patience or use for any politician who holds up the nation's business in the name of idealogy. Our leaders will have to compromise to produce life sustaining results, or they will all be swept away in a tide of voter discontent. The American voter has never been more aware of it's power behind the throne status as it is today; it will serve the wise well to take good notice. If I know anything about Obama, it is that he is wise, and gets good counsel (Clinton one and two).

So, who is a moderate? A moderate is someone that believes in the middle of the road policies of Govermnent; their idealogies are governed by common sense, reason, science and need, and they advocate or vote based on the economic realities of the time. The moderate does not defend a position blindly, and he/she is always willing to find a middle ground in order to acheive results. The moderate position may not be as popular or virulent as the Republican or Democratic, but at any point in time, it enjoys the greater share of the American consciousness. We are as great as we are as a nation because that middle ground exist.

President Obama was groomed and elected as a Democrat, but he is learning fast what every great Democratic leader before him has found out, the moderate blood runs through all our veins; and we have no choice when the voter says that this is what we are.

President Obama is facing the anger and scolding of his liberal base who belief that he has sold out, by not resisting the middle ground. All I have to say to that, is that the American voter is sarvy; they saw in Obama someone who can bring his intelligience and negotiation skills to bear when the occassion calls for it. They saw in him a person who could become a moderate at any time, to advance the common good.

Nancy Pelosi is not the President, she could never be. Newt Gingrich never became President, he could never be. When you think Presidents who find middle ground you think of Clinton, Raegan. They have strong legacies because they showed that flexibility.

As we go forth into the next phase of Obama's presidency, I look for more attempts at middle ground and compromise. I also fully expect a swing to the left, as the issue dictates it should be. By and large however, Obama will be better served to remain in the middle, and history will show that he did, and that it advanced his stature.

Thanks for the tax breaks and extended unemployment benefits. Some would like liked to fight it, and the wealthy benefited, but the bottom-line is this, you placed much needed food on very many tables.