Historically, the presidents we tend to remember and/or revere tend to be the presidents who frame their style thematically.
FDR's New Deal.
JFK's New Frontier.
LBJ's Great Society.
In recent generations, though, the art of frame naming seems to have gone the way of the iron horse and/or eight track tape player.
Pop quiz.
Anybody remember any "theme" attributed to Ronald Reagan?
Bill Clinton?
George Bush?
George Bush?
Yeah. Me neither.
Barack Obama, meanwhile, seems to have subscribed to a concept without actually giving it a catchy campaign button moniker.
Said concept might reasonably be labeled...
All things in moderation.
Noble...
Lofty...
And ultimately futile.
Because leadership, in its purest and most exquisite form, requires a willingness, and ability, to transcend moderation.
The greatest home run hitters in the history of baseball are, most often, the same players who struck out the most.
Big swing, big risk.
Moderation might get you a decent RBI average, but won't send that horsehide over the center field wall very often.
Barack Obama appears, with each new compromise and/or capitulation, to be doggedly determined to find a way to be all things to all people.
Noble...
Lofty...
And ultimately, futile.
We don't want our leaders to exercise moderation in all things.
We want our leaders to leave presidential shaped holes in the walls they run through without fear or hesitation.
Any mere mortal can pop a base hit.
It takes a risk taker to hit home runs.
And a presidency that is remembered and revered is about taking risks.
"Moderation in all things" is a quote attributed to a hundred different sources.
Barack Obama would be better served reading a little Mark Twain.
"Moderation in all things...including moderation..."
The folks in the center field seats will only wait so long before becoming a nation turning it's lonely eyes to a different hitter.
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