Friday, August 08, 2008

Is Obama the Answer?

As I have articulated my disappointment and suspicion with John McCain, I have failed to look at the candidacy of Barak Obama. I do not think Obama is a Messiah. I do not think he is "the answer, the heir of the Kennedy mantle or the better version of Bill Clinton. Senator Obama is the man the Democrat votors were looking for when they realized that it wasn't the Republicans that were preventing our country for progressing into the twentieth century, but the lack of leadership and ability to engage the electorate in the idea's that matter. While I respect Al Gore and John Kerry, neither one of them were able to articulate a campaign that could get the liberal voters to the polls. (Where was the Al Gore we love to see expounding on the inconvenient truth?)

Obama does excite people in a conceptual way. He represents change, not only from the failed policies of the talentless leadership of Bush and Company, but the uninspired resistance of the Democrats. Consider the current debate on energy. The old guard Republican approach of drilling our way out of the oil shortage has little or no chance of solving the problem, but the Democrats have not come up with a compelling case for why we should build a thousand windmills either. what is needed is Obama's comprehensive plan of a national energy policy, which is going to have to include increments of transportation, pollution abatement, and just generally telling people what they don't want to hear. We need to change the way we live.

Obama, in a typical don't show your cards until all of the bets are in, has hinted his approach will be more comprehensive and I'm sure it will be or he will be a one term President. What Obama is doing is talking about issues that matter to people and he is not promising an easy time of implementation. For instance, when you talk about a sea change in foreign policy, you're talking about changing the opinion of our country in the minds of millions of people across the globe, friend and foe alike, that remember that in spite of evidence in abundance to his incompetency, we reelected George Bush. That was not a miscalculation of George Bush's, it was a colossal mistake on the part of the citizens of this country. Like it or not, voted for him or you didn't, we brought the world a incompetent leader. The power that the US has in the world makes that choice a issue for every citizen of the world and now they are deeply suspicious of our judgment.

Furthermore, if we are going to finally tackle the health care problems in this country, you only have to remember what happened the last time anyone had the nerve to take on the establishment. it is not going to be any easier this time and probably worse.

The infrastructure of this country is rotting like a ninth ward New Orleans abandon home. Bridges, roads, affordable housing stock and many other necessities, that we require to keep our life style and offer similar prosperity for our kids, is suffering from neglect and overuse. The anti-tax movement has stopped the progress of this country for almost thirty years. Even if they gave up and went away, it will take a major infusion of cash to bring our situation into anything that's reasonable and trust this, the anti-tax guys are not going to just go away.

Obama would be the first President that will have to answer for his environmental policy. prior to the recognition that we are experiencing climate change and that it's driven by human activity, everyone else got a free ride as long as gas was cheap and the road builders were happy. Now, even though we are exporting jobs and pollution to China, a drop of fifty cents a gallon my revive the Humvee industry and resume the accelerating rate and huge contribution the American automobile makes to world climate change.

Here's my point. Obama has the right idea's and has shown some competence in surrounding himself with the right people to get things done. If the stars align properly and we do elect him, and that is a big if, he will be powerless unless we persist. He has been campaigning for this job for almost two years. Those that believed in him from the beginning and those who have come around to supporting him need to understand one thing. If he wins it's not over.

In order to affect meaningful change, it will take a concerted campaign of persistent pressure on the congress and press to hold them and him accountable for the promise of change. If we elect him and than go home to watch TV sitcoms than I can assure you the effort will fail. The rich and powerful will not go away and they will be influencing every congressperson they can to hold to the status quo or even make things worse.

No one speaks for the average person in this country after the election. We are like the crowd at the NFL football game. We pay a lot of money to get in, they use us as necessary atmosphere for the broadcast and while millions get to watch commercials for everything from cars to cardiac cures, the fan in the stands freezes during the TV timeout , forgotten and awaiting the resumption of game. In the case of the country, after the election, if we let them, the politicians will forget us.

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