"But there is a danger: "a striking division between elite ideas and broad public opinion..." Obama is supposed to have taken care of that, as he advertised he would in the Audacity of Hope. But there are problems -- shown by the fact that in both foreign and domestic policy the ideas of the US public -- however inchoate -- are substantially and increasingly to the left of either party. And it's the job of those parties to constrain and contain those ideas.
In desperation, we can contend that that "broad public opinion" is benighted and reactionary and therefore condemnable as "neo-isolationism" ("They're tea-partiers!"), as the article does: "
Yes, I've definitely noticed this, with respect to health care and with respect to the war and with respect to economic policy. The teabaggers and their ilk are portrayed by the media as being Obama's opposition, which is carefully manufactured lie because: 1) they are a very small number of people whose visibility is entirely due to the media carefully culling and featuring them 2) they make it look like Obama is to the left of something, thus putting whatever left there is in the difficult position of opposing one of their own and 3) it conceals a growing cohesion on the part of the broad population around opposition to the wars, opposition to neoliberalism, and support for a single payer system.
When you think about it, it's a beautifully choreographed show. One thing the left could do is to educate people about this sleight of hand. What prevents it?
Joanna