Barack-Lasch?

I'm struck by the resonance of this sentence right now:

The tradition I am talking about ... tends to be skeptical of programs for the wholesale redemption of society... It is very radically democratic and in that sense it clearly belongs on the Left. But on the other hand it has a good deal more respect for tradition than is common on the Left, and for religion too.

Who does that sound like? A reader writes:

I second the notion of your reader who sees a strong connections between the political philosophy of the late Christopher Lasch and that of Obama. The first few times I heard Obama speak about the audacity of hope as opposed to blind optimism, and describe in detail the difference between the two, I had to wonder if he'd read The True and Only Heaven. Clearly, the distinctions he speaks about are those Lasch would have recognized. The similarities are most striking in Obama's Martin Luther King day speech. Both recognize the need for self-responsibility within a supportive community; both understand the forces that work against community in this particular era.

As a former Lasch graduate student, I can't help but wonder what Kit would have thought about Obama's candidacy and the end of the era of don't-worry-be-happy conservatism that had its genesis with Reagan but has come full flower with GW Bush.

Kit recognized the perils of corporate politics and the artificial hardening of lines between "liberal" and "conservative." His politics transcended narrow categories, which is what made his critics on both the left and the right so nervous. He defied easy definition. So does Obama. Much of his appeal to me is in how intelligent his campaign has been, how he doesn't speak down to voters, and how many of his positions cross the political divide between what's genuine in both the liberal and conservative movements. It's given me hope that so many people of differing political vantage points have been able to unite behind him. I suspect Kit would have approved.