I'm going to pick one example. Just one. Because for those of us who stand with neither side in the ongoing pie-fight between critics and supporters of the President, there is a lot to be said that is not being said - and choosing more than one example makes for a long, long diary.
The fundamental flaw the pie-fighting exposes is the unwillingness to recognize the grievances each party has. And there are grievances. Solid, legitimate grievances. Unfortunately, almost all are treated as shrill, unreasonable tirades that have no merit whatsoever. The "Comments" section of a pie-war diary is riddled with remarks like, "Why can't you just admit you hate Obama" and, "So you're saying that the only way to be a good Democrat is to shut up and bend over".
It's almost like you're there, watching Lincoln and Douglas do their verbal funky, isn't it?
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "...the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." Easy for him to say, huh?
For (the aforementioned lone) example: The Public Option was abandoned too easily and health care reform accomplished good things.
Granted, both statements are subjective. Who defines "too easily", and who defines "good things"? Might I be so bold as to suggest that both are very likely to be something close to what I've written? As in, I am glad that children with preexisting conditions won't get tossed aside, and I am annoyed that the Public Option was not supported more rigorously.
To the staunch supporters, HCR was a triumph, unsullied by the compromises necessary to make the legislation happen. To the ardent critics, HCR is a fatally lamed, limp example of gutless compromise. At least, those are the frames you hear, and it's safe to say that I will be ignoring the frames.
So let's begin with an uncontroversial observation: The Public Option was a good idea that had support from the people and in a just world should have passed. I think we can all agree on what the best possible outcome would have been in regard to the PO.
Now, regardless of how everyone wanted things to turn out, things happened the way they happened, so I won't venture any further down the avenue of speculation. Instead, let's examine what remains to be said and done.
What is left to be said about HCR? I think a pretty obvious statement is that many people feel that it is incomplete. So what (besides hammering out poorly reasoned, spelled, and punctuated diatribes directed at each other while skating the edge of HR-able commentary and tossing recs and donuts left and right) is there to be done? Let's go back to our example, the PO. Obviously, the critics wanted and likely still want it. It is likely that the supporters wanted and - in a differently prioritized way - still want it, as well.
So, there's some agreement, right? Let's go crazy and try to build on that. Next, the process of deciding how to get what both parties want in a manner that is agreeable to both parties. Perhaps the critics will offer to stop demonizing the President on HCR if the supporters will agree that the PO should stay on the front burner until it is realized. This is not to say the critics must shut up on every subject or that the supporters must set everything else aside. This is just a suggestion - one of many that could be made - on how this issue might be resolved.
The point is, if the critics feel that their grievance is being addressed rather than dismissed as a childish tantrum, they might be less apt to attack the President and the supporters. If the supporters feel that the President is sometimes being recognized for what good has been done instead of always being vilified for what hasn't, they might be more apt to listen to criticism.
Of course, I'm just pulling all this out of my ass. Any example will do, as far as this process goes. Then again, it could be crazy talk. Rational discourse? Not when so-and-so is saying things like such-and-such. Why, anyone who even tried to build a bridge would have it torched in front of their eyes by the very people the builder was trying to reach. So, even starting the process would take a mindset so out-of-touch with DK culture that it appears completely insane. Right?
Just an idea. That I wanna share. You don't like it? So what. I don't care.