Tag Archives: predecessor

With increasing vehemence since the midterm elections, pundits and journalists have recommended Barack Obama move to the right — and now are citing recent polling to suggest that the president has benefited from following their advice. But there is little evidence that Obama’s current approval ratings have anything to do with a rightward shift, and the entire conversation rests on the premise that Obama was governing from the left in the first place. This is nothing new; there is a long corporate media tradition of urging Democratic presidents to move to the right in order to capture the “center.” After the midterm elections, many pundits were encouraging Obama to “pull a Clinton” — based on the dubious notion that a liberal Bill Clinton, chastened by defeat in 1994, moved to the right and found success ( Extra! , 1/11 ) Continue reading →