Thanks for the response. I think you’re right that no social conservative should hold his breath that President-elect Obama is going to change his stripes on the fundamental issues that have divided him from social conservatives in the past.
Still, the course Kristol advocates appears to have two possible benefits. First, strange as it may seem, there might be some areas of compromise between the Obama administration and social conservatives. They might be hard to see at this point, but they never will emerge if no one attempts to find them.
The second benefit is more purely political. As Kristol points out, our next president has gone out of his way not to antagonize social conservatives directly. Those who have delved into the details of his record have a pretty good idea where he stands, but those who don’t follow politics particularly closely likely have a muddier view of Obama’s beliefs.
A willingness to work with Obama offers the new president an opportunity to clarify his stances on issues he has sidestepped during the course of his campaign and subsequent transition efforts. If he rejects overtures from social conservatives and sticks with his pals on the Left, he’ll have a harder time muddying the waters with that important group of potential voters in 2012.
