Some inside the the White House are confusing political pragmatism with (narrow) possibilities. From the NY Times:
Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Plouffe, and his chief of staff, William M. Daley, want him to maintain a pragmatic strategy of appealing to independent voters by advocating ideas that can pass Congress, even if they may not have much economic impact....
But some others "get it":
[O]thers, including Gene Sperling, Mr. Obama’s chief economic adviser, say public anger over the debt ceiling debate has weakened Republicans and created an opening for bigger ideas.... Even if the ideas cannot pass Congress, they say, the president would gain a campaign issue by pushing for them.
Mr. President: Please take Plouffe and Daley by the ears and show them the door.
Normally I'd have much more to say on a philosphical topic so dear to my earnest sentiments, but at the moment I must pause to watch Michele Bachmann serially evade questions on the Sunday shows.