(See the preceding posting, “Is It Cowardice?”)

It is in the context of thinking about that failure of American liberalism in the face of rising darkness from the conservative side, that I came to a happy realization about the true meaning of the health care summit: OBAMA HAS SIGNALED THE NATION THAT HE’S READY TO FIGHT THE REPUBLICANS POWER-TO-POWER, AND READY TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT ON USING THE MORAL WEAPON.

We’ll see how capable he is of persisting in the posture of warrior rather than conciliating bridge-builder. He has to pick up that role and incorporate it into the fundamental posture of his administration. Obama at the health-care summit SHOULD be an indication that from here on in, Obama is going to stand his ground and is going to be willing to shape the conversation to expose the unseemly nature of what the Republicans are doing.

This is one reason, among a fair number (like what happens in the economy), why one ought not feel certain about what will happen in the fall elections. (That is a reference to the conversation on the “Problem with the Media” thread, where Welder has weighed in with some certainties that delight him about a coming “tsunami” that will sweep away the bad liberal power in Congress this November.)

There are some indications that there’s been an important pivot on the Democrats’ side: the president, the leader of the Democratic forces, seems now to have shifted to the role of warrior and has done rather well in battle. He fumbled the job earlier on (for reasons I’d sure like to know), and seemed to be afflicted with whatever it is that weakens liberalism as a whole, and gotten in the way of the necessary confrontations. But Obama seems to have awakened and wielded the weapons at his disposal.

He skunked the House Republicans and then he stood his ground at the health care summit. And simply said: We will not capitulate, but if you refuse to work WITH us we will go ahead and get it done without you no matter how much you kick and scream.

Obama did not plead for anything, and he did not back off or back down. He acted like he believed in his ability to prevail and was going to do what he needed to do so. Including speaking truth to at least SOME of the Republican B.S.

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So, with the benefit of some days since the health care summit, it now seems clearer to me what was on display there: it was the good news that Obama has a pair.

The media picked up on that. Think of the film that got shown on TV: it was the confrontations that Obama had with the Republicans– John McCain and Lamar Alexander and John Boenert. I was at first frustrated by that converage, thinking it was reducing things to personalities. But they were right: the drama contained the message.

What we saw was a president who was willing to dominate them and put them down, in more or less subtle but unmistakable ways. Obama wielded the superior power of his office, becoming a factor in the battle and coming across as strong.

It is not so important how much and decisively he “won” on points. The point is that he came in with power and he left with power and he stood his ground on every essential point. Didn’t give an inch, and held out a hand he clearly understood wasn’t going to be taken.

Ready to stand his ground. Ready to come at them, too, with good put downs to McCain that we already had the election (and I won), and to Lamar about his simply not having his facts right, and to various people about their “talking points” that don’t advance the conversation.