Politicians often like to brag about how they aren’t really political animals but public servants. It’s almost a political cliche, to accompany a craven decision with the statement: “I’m not doing this to win votes, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
But Obama is different. He truly doesn’t seem to relish politics, in the raw, mix-it-up sense. Most of all, he isn’t needy for public attention in the way our most neurotic and gifted politicians have been — walking outpatients such as Richard Nixon or Lyndon Johnson or Bill Clinton. He doesn’t like red-hot; he likes cool and deliberative…
Maybe Obama, the anti-politician, really doesn’t care if he gets reelected, so long as he’s doing what he thinks is right. Somehow, I can’t imagine this breakthrough president stepping aside to write law-review articles. But to stand a chance in 2012, he’s going to need someone to light a fire under him, someone who can play politics fiercely — and also can bring in some new voters.
Surely it’s obvious that I am describing Obama’s second-term masterstroke: Vice President Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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