Edge of the Water

Greg Sargent over at WhoRunsGov watches (okay, reads through) the Sunday shows so I don't have to, and comes away with the following observation about President Obama: "It's hard to avoid the conclusion that he's still not quite engaging the eternal American debate about government, and could be making a stronger, more affirmative case that government has often been a force for good in people's lives.That, after all, is what Obama believes. It's what this whole debate is really about. It's a case that Obama has the rhetorical chops to make. Why not stake out a stronger position?"

It's a good question. I think one answer is that in part, the job of making that case has been farmed out to intermediaries like John Berry, who are making more specific cases for respect for certain parts of government. But it does seem like an odd--and potentially problematic--political strategy for a president whose agenda relies on the idea that people will trust the government, whether to run a public option, or to help produce green energy.