Obamelot?
So, the Seattle Times has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. Big deal. Next week they'll also endorse Sen. John McCain on the Republican side. If the Times really embraces the kind of change they believe Obama represents, they wouldn't endorse anybody for the Republican nomination, least of all a warmonger whose idea of straight talk is promising crowds "there will be other wars."
Personally, I doubt many Washington state Democrats are looking to the op-ed pages for advice on who to caucus for on February 9, but if they are, I'm guessing the most influential endorsement of the primary season may have come today in the New York Times, and I'm not talking about an unsigned editorial. No, the big news following Obama's impressive 29-point rout of Hillary Clinton in yesterday's South Carolina primary was the moving op-ed column written by Caroline Kennedy, "A President Like My Father":
Over the years, I've been deeply moved by the people who've told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.
My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
[...] I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president -- not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.
I suppose I might have a reputation for being a hard-edged cynic, but my eyes actually teared up a bit when I first read Kennedy's words. I so desperately want to believe what she believes, that Obama really does have that "special ability" to inspire and to lead and to bring us back together as a nation. I fully understand her father was just a man, as flawed as any, but that doesn't diminish President Kennedy's impact as a leader, however symbolic, and I too long for a president who can inspire me the way so many of my parent's generation were inspired by him.
As both a liberal and an American, I have long felt cheated by history... robbed of a promising future by a handful of assassins' bullets. Had President Kennedy lived to complete his terms, might we have avoided the mistakes that led to an all out involvement in Vietnam, a war that divided our nation and drained us of precious blood and treasure? Had Bobby Kennedy survived to win the White House, would American liberalism have survived to finally achieve the vision of economic justice and security first enunciated by FDR, and wouldn't Americans have retained the faith in government that carried us through the Great Depression and World War II, rather than seeing that faith shattered by the betrayal that was Watergate? Had Martin Luther King Jr. lived to guide our nation to the Promised Land, rather than just glimpsing it from some far-off mountain top, would the Republican Party have been free to so ruthlessly exploit Nixon's "Southern Strategy" to advance their selfish, conservative agenda?
My critics like to characterize me as some wide-eyed, lefty moonbat, but I'm nothing more or less than a 1970's-era centrist who has been radicalized in style if not in substance by a decades-long, right-wing campaign to defile the proud legacy of American liberalism, and to brand its adherents as idiots, ideologues, traitors and worse. The radicalized middle from which I come did not lightly seize on unbridled partisanship as our political weapon of choice, but that is the weapon that has been used to cudgel us into submission for far too long. That the fierceness of the netroots and the new progressive movement to which it belongs frightens the political and media establishment, is understandable, but there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that our aggressive rhetoric and tactics have not played a significant role in our recent electoral victories. Only now that a netroots-powered Democratic majority is on the verge of seizing unchallenged control of the federal government, do we hear a renewed call for bipartisanship... and that is why I wince every time I hear Obama echoing their frame.
When Obama talks about reaching his hand across the aisle, the cynic in me envisions the other side leaping at the opportunity to lop it off. When Obama talks about bipartisanship, I fear it means willingly sacrificing the very political advantages we have fought so hard to achieve. It's not that I don't trust Obama, it's just that I don't trust the Republican leadership to reciprocate in kind... not these Republicans... not the party that so joyously swiftboated a war hero, and took a man who left three limbs on the battlefield and morphed him into Osama bin Laden. Hardened by decades of partisan, political war, I admit to finding a certain degree of solace in the more calculating nature of Hillary Clinton -- the very same quality that appears to turn off so many other voters. Better to be calculating than naive.
That said, I want to believe, like Caroline Kennedy, in the promise of Obama. I want a president who I don't simply admire, but one who I find truly inspirational. I want my eyes to fill with tears, not at the thought of what might have been, but what can be. And not since Mario Cuomo ended his flirtation with a White House bid back in 1991 have I found a presidential candidate who offers me this hope.
Tomorrow, Sen. Ted Kennedy will appear with his niece at a rally in Washington D.C., to announce his endorsement of Barack Obama, and to personally pass the torch of Camelot on to a new generation. No doubt the right will take the opportunity to vilify Sen. Kennedy in the hope that some of their ridicule might rub off on the man he supports, but in doing so they perilously dismiss the power of symbolism, for even Ronald Reagan's "shining city on a hill" was a reference to Camelot, and an attempt to co-opt the aura of the Kennedy era as his own.
Perhaps Camelot was always only a dream, but that doesn't mean it can't someday come true. Tomorrow, Barack Obama, surrounded by his beautiful wife and young children, standing beside the daughter and brother of the fallen king, has an unprecedented opportunity to rekindle this dream in the hearts of Americans. It is an opportunity to restore the faith of even hardened cynics like me.
David Goldstein blogs on WA state politics at HorsesAss.org
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Obama, to me, appears to be an articulate, educated George W. Bush. Handlers telling him what to say and do. Who remembers the scandal about JFK that the Chicago ballots were compromised. Give me a fighter, Hillary, for change not hands across the aisle for hope. Give me and the country a break.
What do you mean when you say: "the very political advantages we have fought so hard to achieve."
Would you be referring to the political advantage of having our elections taken out of our control? Or might you be referring to the unwarranted wiretapping on our private telephone conversations? You could be referring to the advantages of having the media decide our next leader - or you might be referring to the advantages of being over-taxed for no true representation.
You see, cynicism is a party disease.
Obama would be a disaster & make America forget the Bu--sh-- horror. He would extend the nation's division. Even worse, he is the sole hope of the Ratpublicans to win the White House again, and I suspect that their rooting for Obama has given him added crossover votes in the primaries so far.
As an ancient civil rights worker, I feel badly about my thoughts, but this is not yet a country that has eliminated bigotry.
I don't understand the support for Clinton. She has spent her time in congress supporting most of the presidents agenda. Not only the war, but, as an example, the bankruptcy bill that by the way, did pass. She said she voted for it, but hoped it wouldn't pass? Why vote for it, because you owed somebody maybe? Also, the Clinton years were full of deregulations that gave a lot of the power to the big corporations. Ownership of most of the media by 5 major corporations is one example. The Clinton administration pushed through the deregulation of the FCC. Don't see NAFTA being a wonderful help for this country either. I hope that if she gets the nomination, someone can convince me to go with her, otherwise.
I wish I could feel the starry-eyed wonder and
hopefulness with Obama. He is an un-known but
youthful approach to running the country. He
seems to reach out to a diverse portion of the
country. But. We really need a hard-assed,
stubborn, take no prisoners, I will get this
done person. The country has enormous problems
that will take the next President a full four
years to make a dent in. It will take a person
who will not let big money buy and sell them on
policy. It will take a person who can shake hands as well as fire rockets.
I just see Obama taking the oath of office and
after that nothing. I have to listen to my
inner voice, and try to find someone I can
believe in. I just don't believe it's Obama.
Let's cut the crap about inspiration. I lived through the 60s as a young person. Fine and dandy, but you know how far that got us (after the bullets). That time is not now. As someone mentioned above, we need a tough person such as Hillary to deal with reality. Pretty words are not enough. Just what the hell has Obama done? Really. I have had it with all this idolization. That is a very dangerous practice. Are the American people so stupid as to prefer celebrity to proof of hard work? I recognize that Hillary brings some baggage. But she is a workhorse, not a showhorse. None of these candidates on either side are perfect. But I'll vote for brains AND EXPERIENCE. As for the Kennedy endorsements, I'm afraid they are interested in preserving their own family myth (I loved John and Bobby, but they were men after all).
Dear David -- You don't have to give up your cynicism, in fact, I demand you keep it.
However, if you put your money on the Obama's superior intellect, judgment and good intentions, how can you go wrong?
I just watched Ted Kennedy on TV turn Camelot into Spamalot!
After the Monday endorsment:
Wow. Ted Kennedy, old tho he may be, is a damn hard act to follow, but the young Obama did follow with a rousing speech of grace and style. And hey...? Didn't Rep. Patrick Kennedy look great standing next to Obama? What a great ticket that would be!
I always knew i would be old (so many young people do not), but saw the sense of not trusting "anyone over 30" in the 1960s. It was because the young spent a bigger percentage of their lives in the modern world. We knew, at that time, what the world needed.
Such a time is here again and i gladly, gratfully, step up the beach and welcome the next wave.
I believe OBAMELOT could win the general election.
I also believe BILLARY could do the same.
As a centrist, I cannot vote for anyone who illegally invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.
Obama is two faced. He accepted $$ contributions from so called “Washington lobbyists” when he ran for the Senate just a few years ago! Now he says they are horrible people and he won't take their money! But he will take $$ from STATE Lobbyists! Give me a break!
Obama voted over 100 times "present" in the Illinois Senate and says those votes were just to position him so he could get better legislation! Oh really or was it to duck certain votes that might make people believe he is a Democrat. Oh yes and he thinks Ronald Regan was an outstanding President!
What has he done to make anyone believe he could be a good President! Not a Darn Thing! This is one person from Illinois that will not vote for Obama in the primary. Thank God for Senator Clinton.
dear mrg. listen to obama's south carolina speech 10 and 1/2 minutes in. he is talking to you. get out the tissues. it's o.k. to cry. it's real. believe.
JFK is a combination of man and myth, and he continues to represent hope despite his flaws. The clean-up of Bush's trainwreck will require more of our people than to just leave it all to the new president and watch it unfold from our recliners. This country will need someone who can inspire them to get off their apathetic backsides and participate in the recovery. It's hard to imagine one divisive smart person getting more done than one unifying smart person.
I suggest reading Obama's book, "The Audacity of Hope." I wonder if those who portray him as an "empty suit" have read this book. He demonstrates a keen understanding of the ways that our nation's history of culture and thought have brought us to this precipice. It MIGHT be that he will be like JFK and MLK, bigger in legend than in life.
I'm saddened by the cynicism that I see around me, but I understand it. We are a nation that has been in a dysfunctional relationship with our president for almost 8 years. It's always difficult to regain trust and step out of our anger, but it's the way forward, and it can be a sad and bitter life living in the wound. The first step is to chose hope over angst and action over apathy, regardless of one's choice in candidate. I fight that struggle every day.
JFK may have inspired but what did he actually accomplish? Not much. It took LBJ and the sentimental backlash to get JFK's and his legislation passed. LBJ was willing to confront people, to push them.
Obama may inspire the young who see him more as a rock star. He may inspire a few others but, if he got into a ranting embarrassment with Clinton, I don't see any skills that will get needed changes.
In fact, both Obama and Clinton are bought and paid for by the corporations. Any change will be limited to their speeches.
cognito ergo populistae
THE TRAIN.
We missed it once... not again.
Are you in your 50s, or older?
Do you remember where you were...
The day John was shot?
The day Bobby was shot?
The day Martin was shot?
Those days closed a chapter of opportunity that has not opened again... until now.
Whatever your age, it is not too late or too soon to be a maker of - not only a witness to - history.
The thing that made so many of us so sad then was that we KNEW that we were watching something great fade away, like a mighty train into the mist, and we had no idea that we would ever see it again.
Well... now we are on the other end of that tortured cycle.
That train is coming again...
Not to give us a ride... that would be too easy.
But to roar into the future on tracks that WE help to lay.
That train is not Obama - he is only a conductor, and not even the only one, though he is now in front.
The train is US.
Young and old... black and white and red and brown and yellow... all of us.
US
North and South... East and West... city and country... all of us.
US
Tired of the foolishnes
US
And not just US.
The United States of US.
Go... Be... US.
Obama.
www.gobe.u
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