What Obama's doing

Ever hear of the Gordian Knot? Read up on it if you haven't.

The vast majority of politicians who try to solve a problem try to do so in a fashion that avoids breaking as many assumptions about the System as possible. Budget, things that depend on existing infrastructure, political clout and favor, etc. etc. "Broad, sweeping changes" are usually little more than patching a subsystem of government, without doing anything that would disrupt other components. Because making the changes that are actually campaigned on are either difficult or impossible to do without burning through political capital, throwing the "budget" out of anticipated patterns, or disrupting something else that people like just the way it is.

People simply don't see the disconnect between what they vote a candidate in for, and what the consequences of that candidate actually following through on anything. I'm not saying Obama did or did not follow through on any campaign promises, just that people don't realize that they vote for what they'll find difficult or unpleasant to experience the implementation of.

If you're familiar with the Gordian Knot by the time you're reading this paragraph, you can probably already see where I'm going. So here it is. By throwing budgetary caution to the wind and implementing the policies and programs he wants implemented, Obama is cutting the Gordian knot. Don't bother untying it, just cut it in half and lace things back together where necessary.

I don't know what the fallout is going to be. I don't think anyone knows to totality, but I can at least say things are going to be different. He was voted in on Change, and that's Change for you...