A brief moment in bold media leadership

[Image via Bronx Banter]

Never would have expected John Dickerson to write this piece advising President Obama to forget the bipartisan nonsense and do the Hulk Smash on the GOP. John has historically been one of the most tepid, "both sides do it" journalists on the beat. So much so I found this piece to be shocking in its frankness.

Worth a read in full, because it's good advice but this bit about Obama's new resolve was what captured my interest.

He ran for president as a one-term senator with no executive experience. In his first term, he pushed for the biggest overhaul of health care possible because, as he told his aides, he wanted to make history. He may already have made it. There's no question that he is already a president of consequence. But there's no sign he's content to ride out the second half of the game in the Barcalounger. He is approaching gun control, climate change, and immigration with wide and excited eyes. He's not going for caretaker.

I would characterize our President's new attitude as approaching these issues with clear eyes and unshakeable resolve. But that aside, I predicted Obama would do this last November. While seemingly everybody else was relying on the conventional wisdom about second term presidential complacency, I said Obama wouldn't be content to rest on his laurels and would push harder for a more progressive agenda if he was given another term.

I see nothing to suggest I was wrong. This is one time I'm happy to be right.