Katrina Vanden Heuvel wrote yesterday about the Occupy Wall Street movement in the Washington Post. Venden Heuvel is a predictable progressive who never bothers to let the facts get in the way of her ideology. Nevertheless, she makes a point that merits repeating. According to Katrina, president Obama and the Democrats are moving towards the positions espoused by Occupy Wall Street as they see the movement gather steam. (Of course, elsewhere in the same article Katrina points out that the movement does not have positions on the issues, but no one ever called Katrina logical. Indeed, Katrina says the movement does not need an agenda since it has "moral clarity".)
Let's assume for the moment that Katrina is correct and Obama and the Obamacrats are moving towards positions that they believe will please the Occupy Wall Street crowd. If so, it will be the end of the last chance Obama has for re-election. Americans are not anti-capitalist. Sure, there are some who buy into that ideology, but they are far from a majority. Americans do not spend their days concerned with tearing down those who are successful since they realize that it is those successful people who provide jobs to the rest of society. Marching in front of the home of the CEO of JP Morgan Chase may make good TV, but it makes horrible policy, one that most folks reject.
It will be interesting to see how long Occupy Wall Street lasts. It will be even more interesting to see if the movement forces Obama further to the left than he already is. My guess is that this is the end of the age of Obama.
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