“Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008. He pushed a tax plan to soak the rich, ripped NAFTA for hurting the middle class and tore into John McCain for supporting a bankruptcy bill that sided with wealthy bankers “at the expense of hardworking Americans.” Obama may not have run to the left of Samuel Gompers or Cesar Chavez, but it’s not like you saw him on the campaign trail flanked by bankers from Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. What inspired supporters who pushed him to his historic win was the sense that a genuine outsider was finally breaking into an exclusive club, that walls were being torn down, that things were, for lack of a better or more specific term, changing. Then he got elected.”
Oh dear. Who’s my favorite political reporter? Who’s the guy I always turn to for the hard, profane truth? That’s right, Matt Taibbi. The graf above is the lead to his latest piece in Rolling Stone. And this, sums it all up:
“What we do know is that Barack Obama pulled a bait-and-switch on us. If it were any other politician, we wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe it’s our fault, for thinking he was different.”
Tagged as:
John McCain,
Obama
Obama can and (I hope) will do good things during the remainder of his term(s). But he has already demonstrated (to me) that he is not man I supported and helped elect.
It’s tempting to rationalize that he’s smarter than W and less crooked than Cheney et al, but I hate it when the neocon goobers play that game so I won’t.
The “surge” in Afghanistan pushed me over the edge. I can’t convince myself the decision wasn’t politically motivated. (Big sigh)
UPDATE: (12/5/09) This story by Peter Baker in the New York Times (yeah, I know… I know) about the process leading to the decision to send more troops (and a little reflection) has brought me to the conclusion that I can not know what is in the heart of this –or any– man. Excerpt:
“Unsatisfied, the president posed a series of questions: Does America need to defeat the Taliban to defeat Al Qaeda? Can a counterinsurgency strategy work in Afghanistan given the problems with its government? If the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, would nuclear-armed Pakistan be next?”
If politics played a role in the president’s decision, God help him. But I can’t know. And I can’t lead… I’m not sure I can follow… but maybe I can get out of the way.
Tagged as:
Obama
Thanks to Nancy for sharing this photo of Sheryl Crow (and her momma and daddy) with our new president. I’m guessing this was taken before or after the opening ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. Is that Jamie Fox in the background.
Tagged as:
Obama,
Sheryl Crow
President-elect Barack Obama told CNN he thinks he may be able to “hang onto” his blackberry after all.
“I think we’re going to be able to hang onto one of these. Now, my working assumption, and this is not new, is that everything I write on e-mail could end up being on CNN. So I make sure that — to think before I press ‘send.’”
What if all of our leaders understood that everything they say an do “could end up being on CNN” and they had to think before pressing send?
I love that O wants to keep his Blackberry, even if he can only use it for personal communication. The man wants to stay connected.
Tagged as:
Blackberry,
Obama
"The city with the highest percentage of viewers was St. Louis, where 52 percent of the TVs were tuned to the debate, reflecting either an inordinate civic-mindedness or a complete lack of actual lives, take your pick." [McClatchy: Link: 57 Million Watched Presidential Debate: Nielsen Estimate]
Tagged as:
Obama
