“Ideas aren’t important to them”

From George Packer’s recent New Yorker profile of President Obama:

As one former aide told me, Hillary Clinton ran on issues, while Obama ran on character, apparently not seeing how the two should reinforce each other. “Axelrod will tell you they won because of character, not issues,” the former aide said. “It’s a touchstone for how they think about the world… Ideas aren’t that important to them.”

That rings true. I’ve seen President Obama as a technocrat who depends upon his personal story rather than vision to inspire from the beginning. And truthfully, the symbolism of his ascent to the top is inspiring. But it only takes you so far. Unfortunately for him, technocrats are not doing very well in the current crisis.