Levees Not War

In the already-dark of the shortest day of the year, the first day of winter, rather than denying the obvious it feels appropriate to acknowledge a certain lowness of spirits, a mood that the holidays will warm temporarily but not dispel altogether. “Winter of our discontent” (besides opening Shakespeare’s Richard III) was the title of a fund-raising e-mail The Nation sent out last week, and the phrase pretty well describes the mood. This time last year, even though it felt like the U.S. and global economy was spinning down into an abyss, there was much hope in the air because of the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. (It felt almost too good to be true.) Now, the mood is not what one would call elation, or hopeful. “Yes we can” feels like a long time ago.

The Senate Democrats are moving along with their health reform bill, but it is hard to know what to think about it. A few conservative, corporate Democrats and a certain self-styled independent have been posing a greater danger to the ultimate passage than the whole united bloc of intransigent Republicans. So far, since Saturday, the Democrats have held together with the filibuster-proof 60 votes, and many of the outspoken progressive, liberal voices who were critical this time last week are holding their fire, realizing that if this fails, much more we hold dear could crash and burn besides. (Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo lays out the steps toward passage.)

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“Those bloggers need to take off their pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult.” —Anonymous Obama adviser to NBC White House correspondent John Harwood

Wait—we have to get dressed? Drag! Our best pieces are done in our PJ’s! We just sit here in our flannels, drinking coffee and scratching our unshaven cheeks and making wisecracks about the hard-working grown-ups who have real jobs. (Maybe we’re still in our pajamas because—why bother dressing?—we can’t find a job?)

Hey, you know what’s difficult? Understanding how the Obama administration has let Wall Street get away with murder. You know what else is difficult? Going on a third, fourth, and fifth tour of duty to Afghanistan when your marriage is falling apart and the bank is foreclosing on your house. You know what else is difficult? Understanding how an anonymous source in the White House thinks it’s smart to whisper to John Harwood that the progressives who supported Obama when most of the “dressed” people backed Hillary need to get serious. That’s a real Sister Souljah moment—especially coming from an anonymous source. That’ll put us in our place.

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