Obama growing up

Politicians, like the rest of humanity, come in various stripes. Human nature being what it is, causes us to try and put them in boxes. While no one fits in a box some have certain characteristics that allow us to qualify them to some degree. One area is whether they stand by certain principals that we call ideological or do they vary their ideas based on circumstances which we refer to as pragmatic. Obviously they do both but some tend to one direction. Reagan was considered an ideologue. He came into office saying he would strengthen the military to defeat the evil empire, that he would lower taxes and that he would balance the budget. These were all ideological goals. Clinton was pragmatic. He moved to the center to get re-elected. He used don’t ask, don’t tell as a compromise. He instituted welfare reform when he campaigned by saying that welfare should be a helping hand not a way of life.
When I first saw Obama I considered him a pragmatist but as I have observed his performance I now think of him as an ideologue. I say this because he is willing to stake out positions that seem not to help him get re-elected, more like Reagan. I believe the President has certain beliefs that he will stand by even if it negatively affects his chances of re-election.
I believe he is unyielding in his belief that our future depends on developing green jobs and green industries. That is the reason he pushed for GM to develop the electric car, he offered government loans to green companies, refused to approve the oil pipeline from Canada, closed down drilling in the Gulf but gave loans to Brazil for drilling. He said he would like the price of gas to rise slowly overtime to encourage people to move away from fossil fuel.
He strongly believes in one of the fundamental concepts of the Democratic Party, that being, redistribution of wealth. He plans to do this by making the income tax system more progressive. His has sent stimulus money to the states to keep state employees from being laid off. The Obama care health plan provides affordable plans to low income people paid for by higher income people. By increasing Pell Grant money he uses tax money from higher income people to pay educational expenses for low income people. The same principal is involved in extending unemployment benefits.