Monday, November 03, 2008

Is It Wednesday Yet?

Okay. Tomorrow is the big day and all the Kool-Aid jugs, both red and blue, will get drunk dry. Whoop-itty-doo. This endless, tedious American election cycle has been focused on little more than hopes and dreams. My fervent hope and my dream of dreams is that soon I will be able to log onto the Canadian intertoobs without being deluged by news of how squishy, gosh darned swell Obama is or how scary, creepy and poopy McCain is. I am sick to death of reading otherwise rational Canadians insisting that once Obama is elected that there will be ponies and rainbows forever. That the Bush legacy will be dismantled by an eager Democratic Senate and Congress, that the religious right will have their influence and access snatched away by the collective power of the wishing that will make it so.

I've not had much to say in the last few weeks because my lack of faith in the Obama juggernaut has been, it appears, heretical. I've not been feeling too welcome or encouraged to share my opinion. So a few snips aside, I've kept to myself. And fair enough, I understand that after the long years of George Bush, anything that isn't a complete waste of skin will seem like a glorious leader. But I just can't get over the disconnect of people in one breath hailing the conquering hero and appending their gushes of praise by noting that in reality Obama lies somewhere to the right of Steve Harper on the political spectrum. Hello? Anyone in there?

The grand transformation that is sweeping America this electoral season comes down to the ability of a black candidate to be seen as electable. Alas, in the year 2008 that is the great American step forward and it speaks volumes about the hidebound ignorance and undercurrents of racism that still underpin much of America. Both Islamic Pakistan and mostly Hindu India have had women as heads of state. America's great achievement and signal of progress is that one of their parties was willing to put forward either a woman or a black man as Presidential candidate. Forgive me not joining in the rapturous applause at the sight of the world's most well armed nation reluctantly joining the modern world.

Obama is an attractive, younger candidate with a sonorous voice and a charismatic presence. He has managed to propel his campaign on stirring platitudes and empty catch phrases and folks have eaten it up. "Yes we can!" Stuart Smalley would be so proud. Gosh darn it, he's good enough, he's smart enough and people like him. Thing is, every time I ask the obvious question,
yes we can what? I get the worst of answers. More platitudes. For months I have asked the supposed progressives with whom I dialogue such questions. For months I haven't received compelling responses. I'm told that it is good enough that there is hope. Well hope is important and the power to engender hope is impressive. But I prefer a little specificity when it comes to my hopes and dreams. Blanket expressions of generalized hope are nothing more than wishful projection and that my friends is a sure recipe for disappointment. Therein lies my fear for the Obama presidency, should it come to pass.

As far as I can tell, the Republicans are taking a dive in this race. McCain is the sacrificial senior and Palin is the base feeding anchor that will help sink that campaign among the more rational of the right. I find it difficult to believe that the Republican machine that has been such a potent force for the last four decades would stumble this consistently and this often. It is as though
they aren't even trying.

It was early afternoon on a Monday in late September, and we were the only two people at the phone bank. Damaged tables of prefabricated wood stood end to end around the drab office space. On the tables were phones and miniature white laptops.

A week earlier, I'd seen a flier calling for McCain volunteers. When I arrived at the headquarters, the local campaign chair, an affable, bearded man named Brian, showed me how the call system worked. Other than getting my name, phone number and address, he asked few questions.


An even more telling view of the apathy of the Republican campaign is available from
Five Thirty Eight.



Offices in Troy, Ohio were closed on Saturday October 11. With perfect coincidental timing, two elderly women dropped by to volunteer but found the office shut. At Republican state headquarters in Columbus later the same day, one lonely dialer sat in a sea of unoccupied chairs. In Des Moines on September 25, another empty office. In Santa Fe on September 17, one dialer made calls while six chatted amongst themselves about how they didn't like Obama. In Raleigh this past Saturday, ten days before the election with early voting already open, two women dialed and a male staffer watched the Georgia-LSU game. In Durango, Colorado on September 20, the Republican office was locked and closed. Indiana didn't have McCain Victory offices when we were there in early October.


I doubt anyone bothered to tell McCain but he's been sent to sea on a raft and his only company is the crazy lady who's thinking about eating the old guy. For decade on decade the Republicans have built and refined a power grabbing machine and it is suddenly nowhere to be seen. My suspicious nature brings me to a truly tin foil worthy conclusion, the Republican party is throwing the election. They knowingly chose a candidate that didn't have support from the base. They knowingly chose a candidate who had made many enemies within the Republican corridors of control. They selected a guy whose ego and arrogance were matched only by his ambition, an ambition that blinded him to any and every reality around him. To gain the candidacy he had to abase himself before the party, the base and brokers. The capstone to the long career of a former hero was to have been his rise to ultimate power as President but that story, it seems, will not be told. The party has allowed McCain to flounder and they've saddled him with a freak show running mate. In one swift move they've thrown a sop to the wallet wielding maniacs that form the religious right, a promise toward future battles during a rebuilding time for the party. Palin is for the moment, a star shining bright in the retarded firmament of the zealots. Despite her rapacious ambition, she will be cast aside before the whole ugly cycle starts anew. But the fresh fundie dollars will roll on in.

If I am wrong and this is the very best effort of the vaunted Republican machine, then I stand in awe of the nearly complete failure of their proven apparatus to gather and horde power, to massage and control the media and the message. Yes Obama is good and yes the Democratic party has done a good job but the Republicans just aren't this inept, disorganized and disinterested. The only thing that makes sense to me is that this is a fix. The wheels of state are coming off. Two long and failing wars in difficult and unpopular terrains have broken the armed forces, emptied the treasure vaults and stripped America of influence and moral persuasion around the globe. Thousands of American families are living in tent cities in the wake of a mortgage scam that has collapsed a good deal of the economy and caused massive instability in markets world wide. The repercussions are still being felt and the implications are dire for many in the middle class. America is a nation in crisis and it will surely get worse before it gets better and while
hopes and dreams are a pleasant salve in the short term, a Band-aid on a sucking chest wound is not a cure.

The next President will have to negotiate and navigate the processes that extract American forces from the sink hole they have been consigned to in Iraq. Many of those same broken and demoralized forces will need to be redeployed to the failure of Afghanistan, if there is to be any chance of righting that debacle at this late date. The full weight of the trauma of returning veterans will begin to be felt on the grossly under-equipped and under-funded resources of the Veterans Administration. Where will the funds come from to care for the valiant souls whose bodies and minds were spent with so little care? What sources will fund the rebuilding of the American might after so much materiel has been spent and destroyed on these foolish missions? And with the current administration making increasing incursions into the territory of Pakistan there is every possibility that a President Obama could face a new and far more deadly battle ground, should the passions and outrage of Pakistan ignite. Let's not even touch on the recent American assault across the border of Iraq into Syria, the result of which has been for the Syrians to pull their forces away from protecting the border. It is as though the Bush administration were using their waning days in power to sow unrest and seek instability as a perverse parting gift to the world.

The upshot as I reckon is this, you don't need to be a genius to see the avalanche of shit heading toward the American state and gathering momentum. The rumble of the collected disasters are becoming deafening. Should the Republicans go down to defeat as all signs indicates they will, then the entirety of the damage, distress and disaster will land at the feet of a Democratic Congress, Senate and President. The difficult decisions needed to start righting the ship of state will be forced upon this new government. I don't see how any progress can be made without raising taxes, cutting away the fat and making some very harsh and unpopular decisions. And should those decisions be made, there will be the Republicans waving from the sidelines of power, cooing 'told ya so' to the public and blowing kisses to the base. They will effectively have slipped responsibility for the filthy mess they made while in power and left the ugly work of cleaning up to the other guys. Any farmer will tell you that you have to shovel up all the shit in the yard, it needs to be done but nobody wants to give you a hug right after. Obama and the Democrats are going to end up owning the rotten mess that Bush and the right wing have left festering in their crooked wake. And it isn't as though the Democrats aren't at least partially complicit in making that mess.

If Obama were a progressive minded politician, if he were putting forward an agenda that radically shifted the balance of power back toward that which the framers intended, he would face an intractable obstacle within his own party. Spineless jackals like Harry Reid aren't about to sprout ethical standards any sooner than they are wings. Nancy Pelosi is not about to turn on her true constituents in corporate America. The conservative Democrats in both houses have more than enough clout to stall and quell any effort to truly turn the tide of American politics. They are just as deep into the pockets of the corporate gangsters as the Republicans. The same executive over reach that galled them in opposition will be a bludgeon they relish using once in power. And that is where hopes and dreams falter. Your hopes don't count, your dreams aren't coming true and while yes you can elect a different guy, you're pretty much deluded to think that the different guy will echo your voice in the halls of power in this day's America. The change you can believe in is a change of brand and a new logo. I wait to be proven wrong on issues that matter, like habeas corpus, extraordinary rendition, black site prisons, balancing security against constitutional rights and the disturbing accumulation of power in the executive. Bring on some justice for the war criminals and their accomplices and I'll be the first to admit the error of my doubts.

So enjoy the day tomorrow, eat the popcorn, pop the bubblies and celebrate to the full. You've earned every moment of a day's fete. Let every celebrity endorsement, no matter how foul the source, ring out from your keyboards and Youtubes. Sing the songs and dance the dances but understand this, if America is truly to be transformed, it will not be because one man, regardless of colour, takes office. The American transformation will only come through the concerted effort of American citizens to hold that man and his fellows to task. And again, forgive me my doubts but the real majority of Americans don't believe in the need for change. By which I mean the real change, of policy and the sacrifice, needed to achieve a better, more just society. They are too well trained, too well indoctrinated into the myth of exceptionalism and I predict that the sort of change they will need is the exact sort of change they will fight against tooth and nail. So until I am proven wrong, I will continue to advocate for Canadians drawing back from American influence and control. No to deep integration. No to further "free" trade. No to common defence. No to American control over our security in the fallacious war against terror. No to the sharing of our personal and/or biometric data with a deeply corrupt police state. No under Bush, no under Obama. No.

As for my fellow Canadians, I look forward to your renewed commitment, wit and wisdom once the Kool-Aid binge wears off.

49 comments:

LuLu said...

Bravo! Bravissimo!

theo said...

Exactly how I feel, PSA and said so much better than I could have.

Ti-Guy said...

Outstanding post, PSA. This...

"No to deep integration. No to further "free" trade. No to common defence. No to American control over our security in the fallacious war against terror. No to the sharing of our personal and/or biometric data with a deeply corrupt police state. No under Bush, no under Obama. No."

...is what *we* have to worry about. We are being fed shovel-fulls of propaganda about the inevitability in all of this and it has gone seriously unexamined, most of all, by our media.

Somena Woman said...

I have on post about Obama from Feb - then another in 2006. There is not a single mention of McCain on my blog at all. US Election Kool-Aid free since 2004 aside from that. But then again, I only get 45+ visitors a day. I suspect that if I did go on and on about the US election that my blog would actually be more popular than it is. :)

Unknown said...

I've watched you piss and moan about people paying attention to a rather important event with a combination of puzzlement and mild offense, Ape.

If you really, honestly don't think that the election of (let's face it) the closest thing to the King of the Planet isn't an event of international importance, let alone for us what gots to live right NEXT to them isn't something worth paying attention to, you are entitled to your opinion.

But the sneering and snide hyperbole does you no favours, and I'm honestly not sure explaining exactly why you're wrong to talk that way would do any good, the state you're in. "The Kool-Aid binge"...Bastet's Tail, Ape, I'd expect that kind of reductive, simplistic smear from a Blogging Tory, but not from YOU.


As an aside, I've complained about your choice of font/font size and the long, rambling nature of your posts in the past, but this is honestly the first time you've actually blundered into tl;dr territory.

C'mon, man. You're CC's homie. I KNOW you can do better than this.

Mike said...

Simply Awesome.

Like many others, the only time I mentioned Obama on my blog was to point out that little tidbit too - that he is the ideological equivalent of Harper and that a very few people who were intellectually honest recognized it - Lore Weaver, for instance (whereever he is now...).

Everything else is knee-jerk cheerleading. Drooling Conservatives side with McCain and Bible Spice because they think they have too since he's "conservative" and "right wing" and spit-flecked Liberals praise Obama because he's supposed to be "liberal" and "left wing". All the while never actually examining what they stand for and how utterly similar they really are.

So good on you psa for saying what a lot of us have been thinking...

CC said...

You're missing the point, PSA, and that's that, once Obama wins, I can finally answer Kate McMillan's perpetual, PMS-induced whining of "Is there nothing Obama ca't do?", and say, "No, Kate, there isn't, so fucking shut the fucking fuck up once and for all, you demented screech harpy."

Or something to that effect.

Ti-Guy said...

the closest thing to the King of the Planet...

This is where the delusion begins.

This is so typical of the insulting attitude Canadians have to put up with whenever some of us indicate that we're not all that impressed with what's going on South of the border (for whatever reasons, a few bad, but most...well, reflect on the last eight years, just for starters); that it's practically an issue of intolerable, outrageous lèse majesté.

I'll start caring the minute all of us subjects get to decide who becomes "King of the Planet."

Rositta said...

I'm one Canadian who isn't enamored with Obama. Granted he is eloquent (without saying much) and charismatic but if you say you don't like him you get accused of racism. Therefore I've zipped my lips for this one, Wednesday can't come soon enough for me...ciao

Lindsay Stewart said...

m'kay robin, i have a solution for you. when you see the offending typeface, use the magical power of the page down button until it goes away. really. the reason cc asked me to join his blog was because i wrote differently than he does. perhaps your difficulty isn't so much my rambling but your attention span. whatever. i did take your advice and use a smaller font when i write larger pieces. so thanks for that at least.

as for the importance of the event, nowhere do i say it is not important. america, even in the shabby state it occupies at the moment, is a big and potent neighbour. i follow their politics because it is often interesting and they are an influential factor in the state of life here in the land i call home, canada. that said, i stand by my post and my opinion. canadians, particularly on the left, have gone gaga over obama as a celebrity hero.

many disagree with me when i post on this issue and that is their prerogative. i see this election cycle as having devolved into american idol for the left and it started in the long primary run. i don't think the democratic party chose wisely through the primaries, the presidential race hasn't changed my mind. all hail the lesser of evils.

and as far as kings of the world go, given the sliding stature of the state to our south, a far better argument could be made for one Hu Jintao. perhaps our future well being would be better served by heeding the doings of the true super power, china. they are the cats that hold the world (meaning america) by their short and curly purse strings. but gosh, that isn't romantic and exciting is it? does that mean i get voted off the island?

Ti-Guy said...

I disagree about the choice resulting from the primaries, but then I think the primaries are a problem of their own altogether. And so do a lot of Americans.

KEvron said...

"king of the planet" is pretty damned close....

fawn over or desise, the potus is the single most powerful man on the planet (ostensibly!). the us is the single most powerful nation on the planet (for now!), and her influence is felt keenly around the world.

tories in uk are openly supporting obama. conservatives all over europe are doing the same. it can't be for nuthin', can it?

i'm disappointed; this wholesale dissaffection with the election, and with the most exciting candidate in forty years, doesn't strike me as intellectual, but as a pretense of it. "can't lose if you don't play" is what i coming away with.

KEvron

Ti-Guy said...

and her influence is felt keenly around the world.

Says a lot, KEvron, when you devolve into referring to your own country as a "she." Heraldic language...from a lefty. Can it get any worse than that? ;)

Remember...the USA is in debt, to the tune of 200,000$ for every man, woman and child.

Like I've always said...I'll believe the change when I see it. Both Carter's and Bush I's administrations are widely understood as failed presidencies, whereas Reagan's and Clinton's are lauded, in mutually-exclusive versions of reality, as successful.

sooey said...

Here's one to warm the cockles of your heart, psa - on the weekend my teenaged son said, "What do I care who becomes President? I'm Canadian!"

Lindsay Stewart said...

KEvron, it is almost impossible to not support Obama in a two person race. I mean cripes, look at the other option. Why shouldn't conservatives support him, he isn't exactly left leaning and neither is he a geriatric anger management case. Obama is only exciting (in my personal opinion) as a celebrity. He has charm, charisma and glamour. He is well spoken and telegenic. He delivers his line with great skill. I simply don't buy his line. I'm not trying to be contrary for the sake of being contrary, I have consistently maintained from the outset that I doubted his heft.

Of the original Democratic contenders, I liked Kucinich best but given the current climate I also recognized that his visual wouldn't win the day. America won't elect a funny looking little guy regardless of his guts, smarts and policy. So of the originals I had hoped to see Chris Dodd emerge as front runner. He's got the courage to go against the grain and say what he actually believes and to fight for it. So far Obama has evinced none of that courage. Dodd, unlike Kucinich, looks Presidential, distinguished and capable. But the writing was on the wall. The party wanted a glamour candidate and that's the way the primaries played.

Yes Obama is an exciting candidate but I don't believe he's the best candidate. I certainly hope he proves me wrong. There is too much riding on the performance of the POTUS in the next few years. And tat for tit, the passionate love affair people are having with the Obama image machine sure as crap doesn't strike me as intellectual. My fear is that the intellect has been disconnected in favour of the excitement. As a Canadian, it really doesn't matter what I think, I don't get to vote. It is not unpatriotic for me to not love what America has become. Funny how many Canadians adamantly disagree on that.

This whole nonsense has been playing out for months now, I'm looking forward to the cards hitting the table and moving on. Whoever wins, I wish them the best of luck, they'll need it.

Lindsay Stewart said...

You raised up a smart kid there sooey.

KEvron said...

"Heraldic language...from a lefty. Can it get any worse than that?"

i call my mini "hyacinth".

"Remember...the USA is in debt, to the tune of 200,000$ for every man, woman and child."

more of that influence. remember polonius's advice.

KEvron

Lindsay Stewart said...

"remember polonius's advice."

um, don't sit on thistles in a kilt?

Ti-Guy said...

Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.


It's not Canadians who are the lenders, I'm afraid...

KEvron said...

i was a bill richardson supporter. i wanted to win, and governors do better than senators in presidential races. that wasn't the whole reason, but after eight years, it was a big part.

candidates seem superficial because we only get to see them under superfiacial conditions. to see deeper into obama, i had to listen to those who know him, have spoken with him at length. i'm satisfied with their reports. reasonable voices have said obama is more than just the cult, that he is highly intelligent and capable of the job.

also: i've said before that the presidency is more than just the president, but i stopped at advisors and appointments. international relations, world leaders with whom a president must work, is a part of a presidency. that support for obama i mentioned, coming from around the world? that'll be a part of obama's presidency.

i love dennis kucinuch. he's everything you say he is, and his betty is smokin'! maybe he has the gravitas to command a world stage. don't know, really. but i know that obama does, and that his presidency will also be people who aren't the president.

i was going to add that, as obama's bound to win tomorrow, you might as well jump on the party train anyway; you've got nothing to lose! but if you're soured on it all, you're soured. a few of you seem to be. that's fine, but don't be a bunch of killjoys. it's just a couple more days, for fuck's sake. grousing about it all at this heightened point seems like pissing in the wind.

i don't need to use (hugs) tags anywhere, do i? nah, we're good.

KEvron

KEvron said...

"It's not Canadians who are the lenders, I'm afraid..."

how do you say "can't get blood from a turnip" in mandarin?

KEvron

Lindsay Stewart said...

vote cthulhu for drastic change!

Frank Frink said...

Yep. I'm with you on that, psa. Have a look tomorrow morning. I'll make it pretty clear ;-)

Ti-Guy said...

but don't be a bunch of killjoys. it's just a couple more days, for fuck's sake. grousing about it all at this heightened point seems like pissing in the wind.

That's what Canadians do. Do you think it's fun living here? In a country where it's almost required to openly hate it to be considered credible?

Don't worry. We'll celebrate with you. Some of us are just little...tentative. We've been there before...

wv: "frantiv"

KEvron said...

"We've been there before..."

(unblinking stare)

have you, now?

KEvron

Lindsay Stewart said...

in my heart of hearts i'm pissing with the wind, i swear.

Frank Frink said...

If you aren't getting wet, psa, then you actually are pointing in the right direction.

Either that or it's pure dumb luck.

Ti-Guy said...

have you, now?

Yes. How old are you anyway?

KEvron said...

"How old are you anyway?"

how drunk are you?

KEvron

KEvron said...

and are you as drunk yet as you are bitter?

KEvron

Ti-Guy said...

Oh, well...

For future reference, everybody...think only happy thoughts about KEvron's beloved native land. The Pollyanna's down there get awfully pissy and right quick if you don't join in on the "Shiny Happy People" celebration.

Smiles, everyone...smiles...

KEvron said...

we gotta get a bigger mulberry bush....

do you snicker at the word "mixer"?

KEvron

liberal supporter said...

Thanks KEvron, always nice when you elaborate on your views. One article I read says both Obama and Biden are highly intelligent. I think some real brains is what is most needed now.

One can criticize the details (or lack of such) of Obama's policies, but I see them as simply dry runs for the policies he would actually put in place. They really only speak to his character. We did see his positions change in light of new information, this being seen as a weakness by some, I see it as evidence of someone willing to listen.

What is being forgotten is the President is not supposed to be micromanaging the details. Bush was good at leaving the details to others though I disagree with the directions he took. He did this a little too well, allowing the neocons surrounding him set the agenda and never reigned them in.

When the Kyoto Protocol was slowly working its way through ratification, I supported it. I supported the idea of the world working together on a problem. I believed that we would never be sending money to other countries to buy credits, instead we would be investing in research to develop better technologies. I hoped it would be an agenda setting process that would result in the kind of breakthroughs that past efforts on grand challenges have produced.

In my view, Obama would have the same kind of effect, of bringing people and nations together to work on the challenges of our time. As President of the US, he can indeed be that galvanizing force. He sets the agenda, others work out the details. I don't recall President Kennedy being a rocket scientist or having much more than advisers telling him it was possible, but he said go to the moon in ten years, and they did. The computers we use today owe a great deal to the spinoffs of meeting that grand challenge.

So it could be with Obama. A galvanizing motivating force.

In Canada, had we tried to do things that are in aid of our Kyoto agreements, instead of our own government mounting a shrieking attack where scientists are politicized and science treated as faith, we might now be preparing to open the Chevy Volt factory in Oshawa next year, instead of it going to Hamtramck the year after. I believe the galvanizing effect of something like Kyoto would have Canada on a much better economic footing today. Instead we continue to be hewers of wood and haulers of water. Just a resource based economy gradually losing all the value added work we've had.

I think Obama would be much more able to formulate and pose the grand challenges that will get us out of the messes we are in. As he has said, energy independence and making the economy work. I think he may surprise in foreign policy with resolving a few long standing problems. His personal credibility will go a long way there.

I believe he will be one of the greatest Presidents.

Ti-Guy said...

do you snicker at the word "mixer"?

I snicker at the words "use in a well-ventilated space."

Anyway, talk louder...I can't hear you.

Lindsay Stewart said...

yes but don't forget the unicorns ;-)

KEvron said...

to be honest, ls, i havn't given his interior policies much attention. been too focused on iraq and foreign policy, bush's cuts, nat'l heathcare and, now, the current crisis. ultimately, greener policy is inevitable, but i do believe his admin would make greater advances sooner.

ti-guy, you wanna catch the pivot on this?

KEvron

KEvron said...

"yes but don't forget the unicorns"

they'll come in handy when obama announces his "green shift"....

KEvron

liberal supporter said...

My comparison about green stuff was not based on considering what specific policies he has come out with there.

Just that he could issue a grand challenge to become energy self sufficient, thereby setting the agenda to do so. He could just as easily set a challenge to ensure everyone has health care, and it would be more likely to happen simply because he is behind it.

That is what the US President is supposed to do, lead by challenging his own people to be their best and inviting the world to help.

I've had enough of those who think the world is going to hell and you might as well grab and consume as much as you can and to fuck with anyone else. We're capable of better and we deserve leaders who think so.

Ti-Guy said...

ti-guy, you wanna catch the pivot on this?

Huh? I'm busy. I'm writing the commissioner of official languages to complain about this flat of Pam that was delivered by forklift to my home today. All the labelling is in English and Spanish only.

KEvron said...

there goes my "single malt" theory....

KEvron

Ti-Guy said...

Funny. I get "You're a degenerate cooking sherry drunk!"

Meanwhile, Redtory only gets "No...Noooo!...Not you, too?"...*swoon*

KEvron said...

i'm so unfair.

wv = "whingi". lol!

KEvron

Katkinkate said...

Not only are they letting the Dems take the blame for the coming shit storm, but the first black president. Which may make it even harder for the next black contender to get into the top spot. It will be used by some as proof that they are not capable of national leadership.

Frank Frink said...

It will be used by some as proof that they are not capable of national leadership.

Ah yes.... the ole '...they may not have some of the necessities...' line, which apparently is still in circulation...

plus ça change...

Alison said...

PSA : Not that you need any help here but : Change should be more than a slogan

the regina mom said...

Hey, PSA, interesting how we each come at it differently, but end up at a similar place.

"The American transformation will only come through the concerted effort of American citizens to hold that man and his fellows to task.

But I don't know that I agree with your prediction that the change they need is exactly what they'll fight against. I have a strong sense that Americans will be able to continue insisting upon the changes necessary to move towards a more fair and just society. Certainly, that kind of change is not going to happen overnight. It cannot. But what we have seen in our neighbours to the south is an awakening. And it is hard, if not impossible, to go back to that kind of deep sleep after being awakened.

That said, I'm in agreement with you on Canada "drawing back from American influence and control. No to deep integration. No to further "free" trade. No to common defence. No to American control over our security in the fallacious war against terror. No to the sharing of our personal and/or biometric data with a deeply corrupt police state. No under Bush, no under Obama. No."

I don't think I've heard any progressives say otherwise.

Chris said...

Two things...first quite feeling sorry for yourselves about expressing your opinion. So what if you're a heretic, why should what people think of you matter? And what do you care if people think you're racist for criticizing Obama rositti? If you're nOT racist, then they are wrong. Just keep going.

Cripes.

And then, okay look, this guy is running for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. It's not a job that outsiders ever win. It's not a job he will be allowed to do as a radical left wing organizer. America is inherently conservative, and the political establishment is just that: established. Pretty firmly.

Having said all that, Obama's surge is doing three things worth noting. One, he his energizing non-white voters who are blinking their eyes in disbelief that a black man will become President on January 20th. Two, he is galvanizing world opinion positively towards the United States which helps a great deal to make for a more peaceful world. And three, and perhpas most important, take a look at the progressive political action going on in the US. The Presidential race is just one thing. At th elocal level there are scores of incredibly radical people about to be elected, and lots of ultra right wing agendas are suffering in the referendum campaigns. Gay marriage will be legalized in Conneticut and Proposiion 8 in Calaifornia seems to be going down.

Radical politics will never have a place at the top of the American political food chain, but it lives at the local level and this year it is coming on. In that sense the President doesn't matter, but this year THIS President matters at that level.

KEvron said...

chris, i think yopu owe ti-guy an apology....

KEvron

Alison said...

Well put, Chris.