Politics as Transcendence
Only once in a very long time does politics become more than politics, that is something more than partisan struggle, vote bartering, or arena of ambition. In ordinary times, ordinary political leaders suffice, more or less.
But on rare occasion, old arrangements and conventional wisdom come unstuck. This happens in periods of rapid if not revolutionary change. We find ourselves now in one of those periods. The forces of globalization, information, eroding sovereignties, and transformation of war ensure that traditional leaders and conventional politics can only muddle through at best and fail badly at worst.
But periods of upheaval also offer opportunities, opportunities to change our methods, our ideas, and our leaders. The rare leader capable of transforming threat to opportunity is one who welcomes transformation and sees it as a chance to abandon tradition and convention, to transcend that which is stale, unprofitable, and ineffective.
Periods of transformation require experimentation, innovation, and daring. America is a nation much more conservative than it thinks itself to be. Thus, its default position is to resist a forward leap even while applauding itself for its creativity. Al Capone said it best: "We don't want no trouble." But transformation is trouble in the best sense of the word, trouble that causes us to adapt to new conditions and circumstances and create new ways of governing.
Through some miracle of timing, luck, and good fortune Barack Obama has seized the moment. His mantra of "change" has been largely co-opted by lesser figures. He is in fact an agent of transformation. He is not operating on the same plane as ordinary politicians, and this makes him seem elusive to the conventional press and the traditional politicians. His instinct for the moment and the times is orders of magnitude more powerful than the experience claimed by others. Experience in the old ways is irrelevant experience.
In an age of great transformation, experience of the past is worthless because it is a barrier to the breakthrough gesture, the instant response in crisis, the instinctive bold decision in the face of totally new circumstances.
Some see Barack Obama as the long awaited champion finally come to slay the awful dragon of race. And they are right. Some see him as a new start for the Democratic Party and national politics. And they are right. Some see him as the walking embodiment of internationalism, ready to restore an honorable and respected place for America in the world. And they are right.
I see Barack Obama as a leader for this transcendent moment, the agent of transformation in an age of revolution, as a figure uniquely qualified to open the door to the 21st century and to convert threat to great new opportunity.
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While Hillary rants on about the so-called "threat" from Iraq as if she were signing from the Bush administration song book, Obama clearly has the vision to see the way forward in international affairs is not to adopt a high profile by the US military in the Middle East, and not the rant and rave in the manner of Bush and Cheney.
Garvagh. Hillary is doing an excellent job of misleading the voters. The mere fact, to which those voters are not privy to is that Hillary has proven herself to be Pro-Establishment and Status Quo. To this day, she has yet to apologise for voting ‘YES’ in supporting the Cheney/BushRegime on the Iraq War. She should, at least, express some remorse to the families and friends of the many thousands who have been killed and wounded as a result of this administration’s despicable act. Apparently, she doesn’t have the backbone to admit she was coerced in making that ‘deadly choice’ and definitely not the kind of person we could trust to lead the country.
It is time for the country to rid itself of the Washington Squatters such as the Clintons and the Bushies and replace it with some fresh blood.
Out with the OLD…..IN with the NEW. OBAMA!!!!
Transformation. Transcendence. Oprah words. Expressions of feelings; denial of reason.
You are just CONVINCED that Obama is nothing more than a cloud of vacuous platitudes. You want a balanced, concrete, objective appraisal of the two candidates? You got it:
http://www
Read it, Raker (if you have the attention span, that is).
Transcendence absorbs reason through the transformative value of intuition. Instinctual behavior is based on repetitions that allow us to act spontaneously. Fear not, raker. Transcendence is more than an expression of feelings. It is an all-encompassing experience derived from apprehension. By the way, Oprah did not invent those words. They come from the ancient Orient and travelled to the West via the Romantics in Nineteenth Century Europe and America. Btw, sometimes a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings causes us to revolt against the accepted values of the times: nothing wrong with Revulsion turning us against authority that would take us down. What we must do is hold Obama, our charismatic leader, to his word. If he fails us, we must revolt.
Not really. Jack Welch, former head of GE,among others, is a big believer in transformational leadership. Read about what he did.
Take a course on leadership methods. You might learn something.
My above comment was addressed to Raker. Sorry!
I see Barack Obama as a nice young man who has yet to grasp the absolute necessity of a Universal Health Care Plan. Perhaps he lacks the Vision necessary to grasp this reality or perhaps he is waiting until he is elected to anounce a better developed and revised plan that is Universal. Hopefully the ladder. In any event, until he is able to "Trancend" his flawed health care plan and embrace a true Universal Plan, he will remain my second choice for President
This is such a common misconcept
I know certain people who (for whatever bizarre reason of their own) choose NOT to have healthcare. Besides, some may say that mandating healthcare reeks of socialism, which can be a dirty word in this country. Semantics. The point is that everyone will be able to AFFORD healthcare, and whether or not they choose to elect it is their own prerogative.
Great clarification.
Curiously, Robert Reich, an economist and former Secretary of labor under Bill Clinton, states that Obama's health care plan is superior to Hillary's and that it will get health care to many more people. Reich states that Hillary's plan "doesn’t indicate how she'd enforce her mandate, and I can’t find enough money in [her] plan to help all those who won’t be able to afford to buy."
Mr. Hart,
I can't believe what I've read in this post. I am amazed that you, too, have jumped into this frenzied movement to promote and support an untested, inexperienced candidate for the most important job in our country.
How can a vague promise outweigh credible experience by a determined, bi-partisan Senator with a clear plan who has been tested on the national stage for the past 17 years? You talk about CHANGE. Change what? our system? our constitution?our underwear? Change WHAT, - and HOW? to what end?
I want my president to be a solid, real person who has made mistakes and learned from them - I want my president to be someone who can withstand attacks and who can stand her ground - someone who won't back down. I want my president to pay attention to the little details - to care about the working class, the poor and the uninsured.
Barack Obama can't do any of this. he couldn't stand up to withering criticism by John McCain on the subject of ethics reform... How is he going to withstand a campaign against a hawk during a time of war? His health care plan does not cover every American and it does not open up the menu to more choices and limitations on how much of our income we Americans pay for healthcare
Shame on you, Mr. Hart .
You want John McCain?
You're get him either way Larry. This country is not going to go back to the Hill and Billary show and it's not going to put a liberal like Obama in the WH. The sooner you Obamabots understand that the better it'll be. If Obamarama doesn't move toward the center God help you. Billary is toast and she should step aside. I will not support Obama any case. Neophytes do not good presidents make
Pylos:
Oh no--you don't understand. You see, we are like sheep, and we are "lost." But St. Barack is the New Messiah--and he shall lead us out of the wilderness, and he shall set us free.
How do we know? Because he, and now Gary Hart as well, have told us so. You need to get with the program.
Pylos, I don't see it that way at all. Its more
WE/US getting together and needing a community organizer, Saul Alinsky style to get us together, to inspire us to go that first mile and the many that will need to follow. The feeling of doom is that like all great agents of change he will be taken down.
I totally agree... I get the same gnawing sense of impending doom in my gut the closer Obama gets to winning the nomination
I stopped reading after "bi-partisan Senator"
Obama's candidacy and appeal gives us the real possibility of huge increases in our majorities in both Houses of Congress come November. His coatails have the potential to be both wide and deep. That will enable progressives to possibly push for legislation that goes even further than either Clinton's or Obama's plans -- single payer, public financing of campaigns, energy independence, etc. Clinton's "cobble together and scratch out 51%" won't allow for that. If you recall, Bill Clinton never garnered any more than than 46% of the popular vote in either '92 0or '96.
Hart is talking about the color of water - the color of Obama.....
http://the
"So you say you want a revolution
Thomas Jefferson estimated there would be significant adjustment to the government every 30 years or so if, if, the Republic stayed healthy.
F.D.R. was accused by the oligarchy of being a Red and by the progressives of tamping down true change. Be wise. People like those who post here are the first to be put up against a wall during a true revolution.
Weird to hear people say, 1. "Obama doesn't say anything substanitive" and 2. "Obama is a light-weight with little experience". Truth is, Obama is talking about a New Deal.
We do not want someone in D.C. with the experience to manipulate the status quo. People who do not hear the profound thinker Obama is, are not listening. Perhaps Obama was the Editor of the Harvard Law Review because he was the only one who could roll a joint, but i doubt it. If we don't get a new deal every couple of generations, we will have an up-ending revolution. Be wise.
FDR and Obama are from two different worlds. FDR was an experienced leader when he took office. Obama IS smoke and mirrors, a media creation, and a light weight. Especially in foreign affairs. Why are you so fired up to put the World's last superpower in the hands of this baby in the woods?
Barack Obama publicly acknowledged Ronald Reagan's skills at getting most of America to sign onto and support the GOP political agenda in the 1980s. And any native speaker of English can google the clip online and check it out for themselves.
Hillary Clinton and her campaign immediately accused Obama as claiming the "Republicans had better ideas" than the Democrats. If she really believes that to be true, then I could not in good conscience vote her in as president. This is the same delusion, misunderstanding, misreckoning and downright incompetence I would expect from George W. Bush.
If, however, Hillary Clinton and her campaign were actually aware of what Obama was really talking about but spread misinformation anyway as a political attack, I could not in good conscience vote her in as president. This is the same unethical, Karl Rove-style smoke-and-mirrors trickery I would expect from George W. Bush.
Forget the glass ceilings and the experience. Obama is a charismatic and effective community organizer and legislator. He is a listener, a mediator, is quick to admit mistakes and is undeniably at ease with himself. And he is bringing those same attributes to his campaign. There is no reason to doubt he will bring them to the presidency as well.
Well said Mr. Hart.
And some tremendous comments below also. Thank you all.
Imagine, what if we actually could change the direction of our Nation to support a far better future for our People and the World?
And what is the alternative to this desperately needed change? Is the current direction acceptable to you, for your future, for your children's future?
No one is perfect, but of our realistic options, Mr. Obama is our best shot at a better future for everyone. The change must come from us, and be demanded by us, from the bottom up. But Mr. Obama has the ability to inspire us to work and succeed in realizing our better ideals, a rare quality.
Change won't be easy, and there are entrenched interests that will do everything they can to maintain the status quo underwhich they have done so well at the expense of the rest of us.
It will require sacrifice, determination, and an absolute rock-solid will to refuse to allow our desire for a better future to be pounded out of us by those that have so successfully used fear and hopelessness against us as a weapon to benefit themselves and their own selfish agendas.
The better World we dream about is possible, and we owe it to ourselves and our children to do all we can to make this dream a reality.
Shalom to all.
Enough of Gary Hart. Why couldn't he recognize the transcendence of it all and forego "Monkey Business" and Donna what's her name when it was his turn to create a change? I had a friend in Detroit who walked from door to door in the heat of summer canvassing for Hart. Hart betrayed so many people with his shennagians and "monkey business" that his endorsement means little.
Gary Hart did give this nation the opportunity of his brilliant mind and we did not take it, all because our distinguished media felt a neccesity of the time to catch him red handed in one of American history most hideous crime ever committed by an individual, having a date with a gorgeous, smart young lady, what a crime indeed it was but not what he did but what WE DID by not electing him president.
Bill Clinton's should mean just as little if you apply the same reasoning.
Oh .. Excuse me. I must be in the wrong place. I thought I was in a presidential election, but apparently I blundered into a new age harmonic convergence religious awakening. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it - because I am looking for a president, not a messiah. Thanks.
If you want politics as usual you are in the wrong place. You need to go to Hillary's web site or John McCain's. Hope that helps you.
Thanks Larry,
Listen, when you grab his glowing white robe as he ascends into a transcendent new political dimension, see if you can get him to swing by here first. I'm thinking maybe if he can just brush by me it'll cure my leprosy or at least get rid of this boil on my butt.
Just so everyone knows, the super delegates gave the nomination to Walter Mondale - that was soooo the right decision. How much did he get beat by?
Hillary 08! at our own peril.
Just so everyone knows, the super delegates were put in place after the inmates took over the asylum and nominated George McGovern - that was soooo the worst defeat in the Democratic Party history.
And it seems to me that Obama is piloting the George McGovern II on her maiden voyage!
Times like these, when a nation once-great but slipping fast, are when demagogues and tyrants, such as Hitler, cult-leaders if you will, come to the fore, so it's not necessarily a good idea to throw ourselves blindly at some leader who's a charismatic speaker. That said, I am an Obama supporter and so I am hopeful he will lead us out of the abyss Bush and the Republicans have shoved us into. But I do find that people on all sides now are throwing too many superlatives at their favorite and perjoratives at their opponents when the truth is nobody really knows whether Obama or Clinton would make the better President. McCain however is a continuation of the Bush policies so I think it's a pretty safe bet he's not the one we need now.
Well all politicians sell out to a degree.
Sitting here reading these posts is just unbelievable. This is the problem with America, division in people is at the highest level these days, and I think need to really come together, and think about the opportunity Barak Obama really brings.
Hart is right, sieze the moment, we may not get it again.
ok, tell me how the right is going to link up with the most liberal of all Senators? This I've gotta see... your candidate talks about uniting America - but he doesn't say how - he doesn't give us a plan or a roadmap.. and he conveniently skates around the fact that he has no record of bipartisanship in his meager three years as a U.S. Senator...
It's all HYPE and folks like you - wow... you're like lemmings - blindly following along without stopping to analyze and give some critical thought to the issues and the situation.
No wonder we are in the shape we're in as a nation.
Seize the moment? great words - but where's the beef to back them up? sorry, Obama comes up waaaaaaay short.
Your post @ 03:34, Pylos, I can sympathize with people who desire specifics from a candidate for such an important position, however, I feel that Mr. Obama holding his cards close to his vest can best be explained by the fact that the Republicans are relentless and ruthless when it comes to the art of lying, stealing, schemming and conniving. Case in point, A bill introduced by Mr. Hart himself, and another colleague, I believe it was Ruddman,(?) the Repubithugs cast it into oblivion, only to be resurrected by the Bush Admn. taking full credit for the work that had been introduced by Hart in the previous Admn. So, I can relate to why anyone who has come in contact with such a pox as the Bush people, his psycopathic minions and other primaates associated therewith, I would be quite cautious with sharing my intentions of bringing a positive change to us all who abide by the laws of our country.
When he served in the IL senate he worked across the isle that is what I heard. As for liberal or conservative these labels mean nothing to me.
I’m so sick and tired of the Democrats who, like lemmings, are following their “inspirational leader” Obama right over the cliff. We always get some Utopian , inspirational dreamer ( McGovern & McCarthy) who doesn’t understand the realities of this Government. Regardless how some of you Kool Aid drinkers want to follow the “pied piper”, voting for Hillary is not a continuation of some regime, like the Bush Regime. Hillary is not Bill, regardless what you may think of him, we didn’t have it too damn bad in the Clinton years. Bill’s infidelity wasn’t a lie that has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people, notwithstanding the almost 4000 troops’ deaths. I fear we will lose this election to McCain and that’s another Bush term and I don’t think this empty suit, Obama, has the gravitas to pull it off. We are so racially sensitive we can’t even challenge what he may or may not know. We’re so damn scared we will be labeled “racist” by some Black leader like Shapton or Jackson, who are the biggest racist in this Country. (Oh yea, by the way African Americans can be racist too). Obama may win at the podium, but he hasn’t won any debate. After the “Rovist” machine gets a hold of him they will have the Voters believing we would be voting for a Muslim Terrorist, they will make the “softy” Democrats cry. If you listen to Hillary ( ignoring the fact she doesn’t have Obama timbre in her voice ) she has every bit as inspirational a message as Obama, more so, because she has the experience and the knowledge of the workings of this Government. She has dealt with the Leaders of Nations and she understands how to work around obstacles of reform. Coating bullshit with sugar and sprinkles doesn’t change the fact that it’s bullshit. A broken Government will take the knowledge and experience a Hillary Clinton has. Bill is well loved in the World arena and we need a big jump start there. Being a “wide eyed” dreamer ain’t gona cut it.
the really sad thing is that we live in a culture of personality - where HYPE trumps TRUTH and frenzied emotions outweigh reason in the minds of most people...
I am mystified at the broad and high-level support for Mr. Obama - and I am disgusted at the hypocrisy of so many Democrats (Kennedy, Kerry, Kaine, etc. etc.) - if they are so gung-ho for change, what are they waiting for? they're there now...
See., ot's all a game of smoke and mirrors and personal vendettas against the Clintons even from within their own party - and it is all at the expense of the American people.
If Mr. Obama is elected, we'll be looking at the left-wing version of the Bush presidency and that is the scariest scenario of all...
well, to borrow a word from Mr. Obama's hype - I have HOPE - I HOPE that the voters in Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania will buck the trend and come out in droves to support Hillary. Then, and only then, will we have a shot at "change" in America - change from deficit to surplus, change from surge to withdrawing troops, change from recession to growth, change from uninsured to insured, change from No Child Left Behind to Public Schools that value teaching over testing... I want CHANGE - and that's why I support Hillary - like you!
It's a great thing that we live in the United States we are all entitled to our opinions I just think yours is wrong.
PYLOS:
Again, I have to thank you for your post. You have expressed so much more clearly and decisively what I would have liked to say.
Sorry, as a leader she can't control her own staff. She has picked all insiders to work for her, which sounds like a Bushy. She also has spent more cash with no concept of a budget for her own campaign than any other candidate in such a short period of time. If I had donated to her, I would want an accounting of where the money went. $500,000 for staff parking, what the hell is that all about? So much for ready to go on day one. This would be funny if she wasn't running for the highest office in the land. More of the same in the White House.
Go Obama 08.
Being in the "right" place, at the "right" time, does not necessarily mean that the candidate has the "right" stuff. Obama's popularity is a sign of our time: Explosion in the growth of multi-ethnic, multi-racial population in our society within a short time, the cult of personalit
Obama speaks beautifully and says he stands for issues important to the American people and our country. But his approach seems pedantic, passionless. We need a fighter, a leader passionately committed to the deep, intrinsic change desperately needed in America, and with the absolute will and strength to fight for that change. I do not see that strength or passion in Obama. Without those qualities, being at the "right" place at the "right" time is meaningless. And if our next President is without them, that "miracle of timing, luck, and good fortune" will have been wasted.
Rebelfriend, I agree with your first part about American society, but do you not see that to be a successful politician you have to, in a way, play the game? As sad as it is, the rhetoric has to be 'beautifully' meaningless or else people will not pay attention.
I mean, if I had it my way, people like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul would be the front runners right now. They are solid and, I think, well intentioned, but hard to digest for the whole and look where it got them.
You are correct about the change in our society it was only forty five years ago I would have called him
n---r because it was acceptable how times have changed. Today I call him a man of inspiration that can lift people up to make the changes they want in this country. Then we have Hillary who I believe wants to be President but if elected I think the investigations will start all over again if the republicans take back both houses. Then there is John McCain a man that has earned our respect but he wants to carry on where Bush leaves off that would be a mistake. If the republicans were running the best person for the job this year I would vote for them as I would if it was the democrats because I'm a true independent.
Well said. I see him also as a venture into the unknown, leaving the unworkable and failed premises of the past to take us to a new era that at least holds promise. No other candidate can see past the shore they live on.
Yes, one other candidate did see past our shores. Why do you think Obama followed him, and is now running on his platform? You do know of whom I speak. The candidate who had the vision, the courage, the ideas; who told the American people the truth, who took no lobbyist money EVER (which Obama cannot say). But in speaking the truth, he threatened corporate America, which controls our media, so they set out to destroy him. He was considered a front-runner, but he received ONE-FOURTH the media coverage of Obama and Clinton, and therefore was simply unable to raise the necessary funds to compete.
He was the first candidate to talk of CHANGE, he was the first with a Universal Health Plan; he presented a brilliant plan for recovery of our Economy before any of the others even mentioned it (which is now topic #One), first to create a plan to address global warming, and the only only one to put poverty on the table and champion the struggles of the middle class. When he gave a strong, wise speech outlining how he would fight Terrorism, and regain our respect, the media never even mentioned it.
If you paid attention, you know who that candidate is, and you know that he had the greatest impact on this campaign by leading both Obama and Clinton, who followed -- followed -- his lead.
That candidate should have been our next President. But he will not because corporate America wanted a corporate-friendly president. And now they will get one. He alone had the courage, the strength, the passion and the will to make the serious changes we desperately need. Whoever gets the Democratic nomination will probably be our next President, and it will be politics as usual. Why? Because corporate America is greedy, because the media has sold out, and because the American people have again allowed themselves to be manipulated. As a nation, we will get what we deserve.
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