Matt Zeitlin: Impetuous Young Whippersnapper

Matt Stoller, despite my disagreements with him about Obama, is a very astute observer of Democratic politics, which is why I’m so surprised he said this, “What I do like about Obama’s message is that he’s talking about including the American public in the process of self-government. That’s new.” This just isn’t true. One of Obama’s main messages has been popular participation in government and activism. There’s a reason he always talks about his time as a community organizer, because it’s a model of the type of activism and participation that he thinks is important. Look at this line from his speech he gave announcing his candidacy:

After three years of this work [community organizing]…I became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law, and after a time, I came to understand that our cherished rights of liberty and equality depend on the active participation of an awakened electorate. (emphasis added)

Or this, from later in that opening speech:

It must be about us – it must be about what we can do together. This campaign must be the occasion, the vehicle, of your hopes, and your dreams. It will take your time, your energy, and your advice – to push us forward when we’re doing right, and to let us know when we’re not. This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.

While that rhetoric sounds hokey, it shows that Obama really thinks that individual and community participation in government and activism is incredibly important, and this has been a key theme since the beginning of his campaign. And in light of his Iowa victory, which was driven by getting new, younger voters, was another example of his commitment to citizen participation. Ezra Klein captured this dynamic very well:

The beginning of his speech also shed some light on the results in Iowa. Obama begins by inviting two of his young, GOTV volunteers onto the podium. He talks about what it was like to be a volunteer and community organizer, to work long days for little pay, to be hungrier for inspiration than compensation. He talks, in other words, about what it’s like to be young and in the political process. And he transitions that very smoothly into an explanation of how to vote for him, who to talk to, what cards to sign for the campaign, etc. It’s a one-two punch that goes far in explaining why he amped up turnout among the young. His speeches begin by affirming them, then instructing them. It’s very smart — the sort of thing that’s unsurprising coming from a community organizer, but that you rarely see in politicians.

It’s not surprising that Obama considers the nuts and bolts of his GOTV workers so important. What is surprising is Stoller’s claim to have been blind to that dynamic. Or maybe Stoller is realizing that his hits on Obama look petty and wrong in wake of what happened in Iowa.