Holding Two Thoughts In One’s Head

Holding Two Thoughts In One’s Head

In response to Obama’s impressive $52 million haul, Matt Stoller makes this point:

At any rate, the whining from DC pundits about how the left was undermining Obama’s chances at winning was absolutely wrong. His small dollar donor army wants him in that White House, and they are going to pay to put him there. While it’s often impossible for consultants in DC to keep multiple thoughts in their head, it is possible for most of us normal bluggers and blug readers to get that we don’t like his vote on FISA but we want him to win the White House desperately anyway.

Right. Exactly. Democratic politics (I mean that in the small-d sense) is a constant struggle between pragmatism and politics, the possible and the ideal. Most folks on the left are sophisticated to understand that it’s not either/or, but both/and.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

In response to Obama’s impressive $52 million haul, Matt Stoller makes this point:

At any rate, the whining from DC pundits about how the left was undermining Obama’s chances at winning was absolutely wrong. His small dollar donor army wants him in that White House, and they are going to pay to put him there. While it’s often impossible for consultants in DC to keep multiple thoughts in their head, it is possible for most of us normal bluggers and blug readers to get that we don’t like his vote on FISA but we want him to win the White House desperately anyway.

Right. Exactly. Democratic politics (I mean that in the small-d sense) is a constant struggle between pragmatism and politics, the possible and the ideal. Most folks on the left are sophisticated to understand that it’s not either/or, but both/and.

Your support makes stories like this possible

From Minneapolis to Venezuela, from Gaza to Washington, DC, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence. 

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power. 

This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you want to see more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation today.

Ad Policy
x