The reasons that President Obama should stay away from Wisconsin are as simple as they are irrelevant. Obviously, he can't DO anything about the law stripping public unions of bargaining power. And of course the Fox Newswits will go nuts gleefully calling him a socialist and blathering about States rights. But these things don't matter. No one really wants the federal government overthrowing local laws (unless of course they are determined unconstitutional.) And the pundits will be calling Obama a socialist no matter what he does. On the other hand, there are some good reasons that it would be the smart thing for him to do. Even if he only showed up for an hour and left Biden behind to carry a sign.
The first and somewhat obvious reason is that he said he would do so. Now, I'm not suggesting for a minute that every hyperbolic or allegorical promise a politician makes in a stump speech has to be followed literally. Obama could support the unions from the Oval Office and not be tarred as a flip-flopper or traitor. But Obama needs a grand gesture. He rode into office on a powerful wave of popularity and hope, and failed to keep that wave rolling. The Tea Party wasn't victorious in 2010 because the whole country suddenly changed their minds and decided they didn't want progressive reform after all. They won because Obama was so busy trying to accomplish things that he forgot the importance of exciting people. He admitted as much himself when brooding that income taxes actually went down for Middle Class America, but no one knew about it. Getting out on the street in Madison and showing his comfortable shoes to the camera would go a long way toward helping congressional races in 2012.
The second reason is to help the recall movement, and flip another state to a Democratic governor. While the president can't (and shouldn't) call on a state's residents to kick out their governor, he CAN and SHOULD encourage them to stand up for their rights. He needn't ever mention a recall, or even bring up Walker's name. It looks more and more like Wisconsinites are already supporting a recall - assuming the sentiment not only holds but builds. And Obama can be an incredibly motivational speaker when he sets his mind to it. Imagine Obama quoting the same letter that the right wing has misappropriated to claim that FDR was against public unions. You know, this one, congratulating and agreeing with the national federal workers union in which FDR says
The desire of Government employees for fair and adequate pay, reasonable hours of work, safe and suitable working conditions, development of opportunities for advancement, facilities for fair and impartial consideration and review of grievances, and other objectives of a proper employee relations policy, is basically no different from that of employees in private industry.
Which brings me to the third reason Obama should literally stand with the workers. It would be a video op that the media could not pass up. I'm not talking about Fox or CNN or even msnbc. I'm talking national broadcast news and talk. You know, the big audiences. What better platform to debunk the lies being spread by the right?And who better to debunk them? He's done it before. He's smart - almost as smart as I, and far more personable. The nice thing is, the lies are so stupid and easy to counter. Someone just needs to get the nation's attention and do so.
Finally, it's an excellent opportunity for Obama to begin securing his place in history. It's not enough to be the first African American president. That's an interesting statistic for the record books, but it isn't the way to be remembered. FDR isn't remembered for being the first disabled president - he's remembered for the things he did. If Obama wants to be great, he'd better get moving before he misses his chance.
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