From the ArcaMax Publishing, Arianna Huffington Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/ariannahuffington/s-378897-608933
In the last two weeks, there has been a flurry of stories that has
tried to portray criticism of Barack Obama's recent stands as the sole
province of disenchanted members of "the left" -- also referred to as
"the far left" (
And many of these stories have cited my urging Obama not to water down
his brand and tack to the middle in an attempt to attract undecided
swing voters as examples of the "fire from the left."
Actually, I am not offended that Obama isn't marching in lockstep with
progressives. I'd be worried if he was marching in lockstep with
anyone. Other than himself. My problem isn't that Barack Obama doesn't
always agree with me. My problem is that Barack Obama has started to
disagree with himself -- falling prey instead to the Conventional
Wisdom sirens.
Obama doesn't need to go down a checklist of progressive issues and
mark "yes" next to each one. His job is not to please the disaffected
voter profiled in the
He needs to remain true to himself -- and, above all, to make it clear
that he will not lead by sticking his finger in the air to see which
way the political wind is blowing.
In the 1950s, Jacques Soustelle, a close aide to President Charles
DeGaulle, returned from Algiers, where he had taken an informal poll,
and told the president that all his friends were bitterly opposed to
his policies. "Changez vos amis" (change your friends), DeGaulle
replied.
In 1977, when President Anwar Sadat went to Israel, he did so despite
fierce opposition even from within his own cabinet.
A real leader lights the way for others. That's why I respect the
leadership of Chuck Hagel -- even though we disagree on more issues
than we agree on. But on the seminal issue of our time -- Iraq -- he
followed his heart and his gut and his principles and stood up to his
own party. That's leadership.
And it's why I respected the leadership of John McCain in 2000 --
again, even though I disagreed with him on many issues -- and why I am
so troubled by his transformation from maverick to panderer.
This isn't to suggest that leaders should never change their minds. Of
course they should -- when they are confronted with new evidence and
new facts on the ground. Just imagine how different the world would be
if George Bush had done that.
So nothing is more important, especially for real leaders, than doing
whatever it takes to stay true to themselves. And that starts with
something ostensibly very simple but very important: getting enough
sleep. Even if that means not scheduling a third event that day or not
flying across the country for another dinner with big donors.
How to raise money and how to get your message out has changed
radically -- but campaign operations have not.
Look at all the money raised online, and at all the voters who have
been reached via YouTube. Both these things can happen while the
candidate is sleeping -- and making sure that when he is awake, rested
and recharged, his message is one that inspires donors to give and
voters to turn out, even if they haven't done either of these things
before.
The conventional-wisdom pundits, the conventional-wisdom campaign
advisers and our own worst instincts -- whether it be too much caution
or not enough -- come to the fore and hold sway when we are
sleep-deprived.
"Every important mistake I've made in my life," Bill Clinton once
said, "I've made because I was too tired."
So tell the donors: The press-the-flesh dinners can wait until Obama
is in the White House. His time is currently much better spent walking
on the beach or doing whatever else it takes to stay connected to his
own truth, his inner strength and his core principles.
As for the media: Not everyone is approaching everything in this
campaign from a right vs. left perspective. Stop trying to force
everything into that tired old way of looking at American politics.
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Arianna Huffington's e-mail address is arianna@huffingtonpost.com.