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CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE REAL OBAMA NOW? by Sam Smith

by Erik Larson | November 5, 2008 at 10:14 pm

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Obama is President elect in a landslide rejection of the disastrous administration of the twice-unelected G.W. Bush, and in an embrace of his message of "Hope" and "Yes, we can". Sam Smith of the 40 year-old Progressive Review has compiled a list of over 30 examples from Obama's history that make him seem more like a neocon and corporate tool than the "man of the People" his campaign ads portrayed him as, including his support for the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretapping with immunity for the Telcoms that broke the law, Wall Street Bailout, death penalty, Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq, appointing corporate insiders to his cabinet, nuclear power and Yucca Mountain, offshore drilling, and many more.

If you can find an error in any of the items in Smith's list, please point it out in the comments. Personally, I am very relieved that the far worse McCain didn't win, and I'm very encouraged by the massive turnout in support of "change" and in opposition to Bush policies, but I think Smith is correct when he observes, "The only thing that will make Obama the president pictured in the campaign fantasy is unapologetic, unswerving and unendingly pressure on him in a progressive and moral direction,"

The American People have elected Obama President, and I'm confident the American People can also do much to make Obama work for us; he wants to get re-elected, leave a positive legacy and be judged well by history. There is much in his platform that's good; but considering the opposition he faces from the racist Right, and the conflicts of interest already apparent in his record, words and proposed actions, it will take the American People's will and actions as well to make much of it happen. Already he has indicated he may put his whole platform on hold to "stabilize the financial system"; he has said nothing about changing the system that permitted the Wall Street and Federal Reserve corporate criminals to pump and dump our economy, and on top of it, rob the taxpayers of well over a trillion dollars for corporate socialist golden parachutes, that might have gone instead towards programs that serve the public interest.

Now the party is over and it's time for people to put away their Barack and Michelle dolls and start dealing with what has truly happened.

This, I admit, is difficult because the real Obama doesn't exist yet.

[List of nearly 3 dozen neocon-globalist-conservative ideals and goals]

The only thing that will make Obama the president pictured in the campaign fantasy is unapologetic, unswerving and unendingly pressure on him in a progressive and moral direction, for he will not go there on his own. But what, say, gave the New Deal its progressive nature was pressure from the left of a sort that simply doesn't exist today.

Above are listed nearly three dozen things that Obama supports or opposes with which no good liberal or progressive would agree. Unfortunately, what's out there now, however, looks more like a rock concert crowd or evangelical tent meeting than a determined and directed political constituency. Which isn't so surprising given how successful our system have been at getting people to accept sights, sounds, symbols and semiotics as substitutes for reality. Once again, it looks like we'll have to learn the hard way.

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djermano

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:00 on November 6th, 2008

Erik Larson, I like this story. It's good stuff.

I agree Erik...He is no super-nova....he is but a tape recording of John McSame....He will call ending the war in Iraq...but really is a redeployment to Afghanistan.. His issues are not that significant. He can't get his health care bill passed because of the bank fallout.

Wall Street you might as well say the level they are at now is really half of the real equity in the market...The rest is all debt, with hidden in debt, that can not be paid off....They don't want it paid off. This is the sad reality about this. The more debt they can place on the govenment the more interest they collect as working wages for the private bank managers. It is legalized fraud....and Obama will follow along. He is really a sheeple President...He is a make you feel good and forget about the issues for awhile, until the next round when Republicans will stomp back...I have always said Obama is a Republican in the Democratic party. I voted for him because he does not have blood on his hands in comparison to McSame. If he stalls on the withdrawal and gives nothing on withdrawal from Afghanistan...It will confirm his mark as one of those who instigates violence. He will be purged from my graces...and put along side with GW... another failure for American leadership.

It gives me pause for prayer.

Rev. Jermano

Heritage

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:10 on November 6th, 2008

Erik Larson, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Erik Larson

at 08:48 on November 6th, 2008

thx for the good stuff guys, good points dj- again, i'm glad McCain didn't win and there are many reasons to believe Obama can be one of the better presidents the US has had (imho, the bar's pretty low). My main reason for post this is so people who do want change will have a better idea of what we're up against with an Obama presidency, and can strategize accordingly. We have the resources to end war, feed, clothe, shelter and provide healthcare to the world; the Democrats, Republicans and their corporate ownership are standing in the way, institutionalizing inequalities that benefit them and protect their undeserved and unearned privileges.

Fairbanks

at 10:46 on November 6th, 2008

The party is over. Now the work has begun. President Elect Obama has nine pages on his To Do list and this is only the first day. Unless something remarkably surprising puts him in front of the microphone during the next two months, the next major appearance should be about Jan 20 2009 and then every day or several times a day.