Is Obama more pragmatist than ideologue?

Question

Is Obama more pragmatist than ideologue?

Answer 1

Obama is g*y and a drug addict...like Bush.

Answer 2

Pragmatic look at his voting record in Illinois

Answer 3

Yes. He sees what works best in his view depending on the issue at hand. In my opinion to an extend he's ideologically too much an empty vessel. Pragmatism has a lot of benefits but there are limits. Obama is a very smart guy so he knows what he was doing when he echoed right wing talking points to defend his healthcare plan or his social security approach or when he talks about expanding faith based initiatives.

Combined with little experience in some areas what will make him lean on advisers this lack of ideological basis can become a serious problem. It's definitely a point of attention though it needs to be said overall pragmatism is certainly a good thing. A fundamentalist ideologue who's blind for reality or thinking outside the box is a nightmare , W comes to mind

Answer 4

I think he's very pragmatic. Republicans have subsisted on a diet of sizzle for so long that they think the actual steak is pie in the sky. -end food analogy- Obama has told Americans every step of the way what and how he intends to improve conditions in America. Republicans keep saying, "Change? Sure, sure... but what are the particulars?" They would know what the particulars were if they were listening to Obama, but they're not. They're listening to McCain, Limbaugh and all the other talking heads who are saying that Obama is inexperienced and doesn't have a plan... so they just keep parroting that. They would rather parrot than take a look at what Obama is actually saying.

Answer 5

Remains to be seen. Need to see a deeper, more substantial policy framework before making the judgement there. It'll come, as the election draws closer. Interesting q though and markedly different from the standard we normally see. When I ffirst came here this is what I thought a lot of the questions would be like. Boy, was I wrong!