Obama: Beyond Savior or Trickster by Norman Solomon

[Better Believe It]

Obama: Beyond Savior or Trickster
by Norman Solomon
April 22, 2009

As President Obama enters his fourth month in office, two tendencies among progressive-minded Americans seem most hazardous to the political health of the country. The gist of one approach is that Obama can't do anything seriously wrong; the other is that he can't do anything seriously right.

Among the tendencies, the first is more widespread and more dangerous. All kinds of atrocious policies -- from Lyndon Johnson's war on Vietnam to Jimmy Carter's midterm swerve rightward to Bill Clinton's neoliberal measures such as NAFTA, "welfare reform" and Wall Street deregulation -- were calamities facilitated by acquiescence or mild dissent from many left-leaning Democrats.

Whatever can be said for avoidance of ruffling feathers in the new administration is greatly outweighed by the dire long-term effects. We can't build a vibrant progressive movement -- or strengthen a base capable of moving the country in progressive directions for the long haul -- by winking and nodding at Democratic policies that would have drawn our sharp criticism if they were being implemented by a Republican administration.

Another destructive dynamic: A corporatized Democratic administration helps Republicans put on populist costumes and pose as opponents of corporate elites. For instance, when Democratic officials and progressive allies act as though the massive federal giveaways to banks are no cause for outrage, demobilization of the party's progressive base is predictable.

The possibilities for progressive solutions will be bound up in propelling change from the grassroots -- the methodical, often-tedious and essential tasks of talking and listening and organizing in communities across the country. When President Obama takes a progressive step, it has been made possible by progressive activism. When President Obama takes an anti-progressive step, it has been facilitated by progressives muting their criticism. The antidote to political poisons is to intelligently raise our voices.

Please read the complete article at:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/22

[CreekDog]

1. your posts: that of Savior or that of Trickster?

see how it feels? :eyes:

[Better Believe It]

6. How about a disappointed pro-working class person who can handle objective reality?

And doesn't accept political fantasy and fairytales.

[cali]

7. lol.

:rofl:

[CreekDog]

8. okay

but who are you talking about? :rofl:

[Better Believe It]

10. That would be me. Better believe it! And you live in political fantasyland?

[CreekDog]

12. you aren't engaging in fantasy by posting every negative screed against Obama that you can find?

you think that makes you objective? posting thread after thread of broadsides against Obama?

that makes you objective?

in your mind i'm sure it does. :eyes:

[Better Believe It]

13. You have failed to challenge a single progressive criticism of any Obama policy ....

that has ever been posted on DU that I've ever seen.

You just can't present any logical and resonable arguments against the views you disagree with.

And it appears you can find nothing wrong, NOTHING, with anything the Obama administration has done in domestic or foreign policy.

I guess that makes you an apologist or one who simply has blinders on.

Which is it?

[CreekDog]

15. and you don't even use your own words to start a single thread

you simply plaster article after article, rarely even an editorial comment when you start a thread.

so the question is, if you want me to engage with you on substance, why don't you start an original thread with your own ideas and words once in a while?

[NJmaverick]

2. This is the sort of wrong headed thinking that has caused us to be a minority

out of power movement for many decades. Complete and utter nonsense.

[DevonRex]

3. Shit. Just when I thought it was safe to clear out some ignoreds...

[On the Road]

4. Personally,

I think it's awesome to have a trickster as president.

[SpartanDem]

5. this is the key part

We should be hard at work at the grassroots to move that center of political gravity in progressive directions, which requires speaking truth about power -- a far different endeavor than reflexively defending or vilifying Obama.

It should be axiomatic -- for commentators who refuse to be partisan hacks, for activists with progressive commitments, for anyone determined to elude Orwellian doublethink -- that presidential actions and policies should be assessed and supported or opposed on their merits.

Rejecting Obama iconography and demonology is necessary for a healthy progressive movement. We won't get far by trying to leapfrog the actual political conditions of the country. Our task is to change them


I think Solomon points out fairly some of the issues that we've seen here, there is nothing wrong with trying to push the Obama in certain directions or holding feet to fire at times. It's very possible that the recent talk about not prosecuting officials and the ensuing storm caused them to back off. But he also points out that at same time progressive have to take political conditions into consideration to the Obama's actions. Look no further than issue single payers health care that many people here passionately want, but political reality says that this is unlikely. It's not productive to demonize Obama becuase he isn't persuing something that is political untenable. Instead Solomon says and I agree that we should be working to make it politically doable.

[Danger Mouse]

9. Obama prefers his babies grilled, not fried.

[stillcool]

11. I love Norman Soloman...

there have been times when I have disagreed with his analysis but this is not one. The problem is how to best articulate an argument against a particular action. I myself prefer to attack the action, and most importantly understand what I am attacking, rather than going off over a headline in the New York Times, or because someone said someone said.

[MadBadger]

14. This article is Shit.

It says that another approach is that Obama cant do anything right, but then only talks about those who believe he can do no wrong.

[DevonRex]

16. .