Barack Obama

President Obama: "You deserve better" (updated)
No one can ever credibly accuse President Obama of being inconsistent. As a matter of fact, it is his faithfulness to his own guiding principles that has engendered my trust (something his critics find disdainful) - whether I agree with him or not.

So lets once again take a trip in the way-back time machine to look at what he said back in September 2005.

...I firmly believe that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. A polarized electorate that is turned off of politics, and easily dismisses both parties because of the nasty, dishonest tone of the debate, works perfectly well for those who seek to chip away at the very idea of government because, in the end, a cynical electorate is a selfish electorate...

Our goal should be to stick to our guns on those core values that make this country great, show a spirit of flexibility and sustained attention that can achieve those goals, and try to create the sort of serious, adult, consensus around our problems that can admit Democrats, Republicans and Independents of good will. This is more than just a matter of "framing," although clarity of language, thought, and heart are required. It's a matter of actually having faith in the American people's ability to hear a real and authentic debate about the issues that matter.