Without doubt, Krugman is correct in his criticism of Obama's intellectual accommodations to the Right. But that is only part of the answer to the question that Krugman raises.
Why do the "zombie ideas" refuse to die? To a great extent, it is because those ideas are protected by a well-oiled political/media machine. The machine not only generates support for Reagan's "trickle-down" economics through right-wing media and think tanks, but also reaches into mainstream information outlets, such as the influential news channel CNBC.
CNBC's "free-market" anchors never wavered -- nor were they held accountable -- when their anti-regulatory ideology helped blow up the economy and cost many CNBC watchers much of their stock portfolios. After the hated Big Government rushed in with taxpayer dollars to put Wall Street back on its feet, the CNBC anchors quickly returned to demonizing government interference, especially anything aimed at helping the little guy.
One truism that I've learned about political and media survival in Washington is that it's always smart to shift toward where the power lies. In effect, that is what "practical" politicians and journalists do. They venture only as far as they feel they can without creating undue political or career risks for themselves.
American progressives may hate that fact. They may want Obama to be another FDR whatever the political risks. They may feel bitterly disappointed if they were enthusiastic supporters of Obama in 2008. Or they may gloat over the fact that they warned their friends that Obama was just another opportunist pol eager to sell out.
But sitting on the sidelines -- either in despair or in vindication -- is irrelevant to the larger picture of what the United States and the world needs.
The hard truth is that until the Left gets onto the field in a much more serious way and starts engaging the Right in its "war of ideas" -- including making major investments in media, think tanks and other means of getting information to the public -- politicians will continue to disappoint and embitter the Left. So will mainstream journalists.
As Harold Meyerson noted, a major difference between the big accomplishments of FDR and LBJ and the little steps taken by Carter, Clinton and Obama was "a lack of left-wing street heat."
And that heat won't be forthcoming until Americans routinely hear real facts about their situation as well as rational arguments about what they can do to change things.
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