Barack Obama has created his legacy of becoming the first black President of the United States. Becoming the first black President is a monumental and historic feat. But for the legions of supporters who bought into the rhetoric and ideology of ‘change,’ there is a growing sense that they’ve already got all they’re going to get- rhetoric and ideology. And the ideology part is becoming evermore suspect as the days toil on.
A quick overview of any president will yield plenty of rhetoric and ideology. In this regard Obama has succeeded in creating no separation, save for eloquence- no doubt a tremendous attribute. Of course his first term has just begun, and in all fairness cannot be judged on less than one year of service. But he has accrued 10 months of activity, and in this time much has occurred under his direction that warrants critique and scrutiny. He is, after all, the leader of the free world.
Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better and maybe that’s what’s happening for Obama. We’ll try to be objective and give Obama credit where due, but this is an admittedly critical piece because there are many issues demanding critique. So far we’ve credited Obama with becoming the first black President. How did he do it?
There are many accounts of the successful campaign. Most point to overwhelming support for change, exploitation of the web, and of course money. Where did he get all that money to win the election? It appears as though that’s what we’re finding out now, and probably will continue to find out for the duration of this term. The campaign contribution debt that Obama owes eventually comes due, and it’s more than reasonable to assume it will be repaid in the form of favorable corporate policies. So far the ‘change’ that was the cornerstone of the campaign has been skin deep. For by all other accounts, it’s business as usual on Capitol Hill.
While the legacy of the first black President is cemented, so builds another kind of legacy-one all too familiar with the American people. This is a legacy of empty and broken promises- the true cornerstone of any political campaign. Obama played the game well, luring his followers with a religious zealot-like campaign for change and hope. His followers congregated and largely voted based on these abstract concepts or simply against the other guy, but not based on issues and their specifics. Although abstract, hope and change are strong concepts and as shown in the campaign for president, powerful enough to sway a nation. Well, maybe not quite powerful enough on their own, but add about $1 billion or so in campaign funds and that ought to do it. Of course a lot of abstract concepts get a lot stronger when $1 billion gets added to them.
But back to the issues and their specifics. This is the area where America badly needs help, and Obama is mostly mums the word on these. Sure we need hope and change, I guess, but how? Where? Why? And the big one: When? These are the questions everyone, citizens and government officials alike, have been asking. For ten months. And we’re not getting any answers.
Well, that not entirely true. Obama gave us quite a few answers right off the bat, when he selected his cabinet members.
Like for instance when he selected Mary Schapiro as SEC Chair. She was first selected by Reagan and later by Bush 1. Yes, this is the Schapiro who appointed Bernie Madoff’s son to the National Adjudicatory Council while she was chief of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Is this the type of change that Obama’s stirring rhetoric alluded to during the campaign?
Most of us have heard of billionaire Warren Buffet. Some of us know that Obama appointed him as an economic advisor. But many may not know that Warren Buffet is a director of the Washington Post (influencing media content) and CEO of a corporation whose subsidiary, General RE, sells health insurance policies. So here’s a mega-billionaire who among other things sells health insurance policies and is also an advisor to Barack Obama. Which brings us to the healthcare issue.
Those with power and influence and a genuine vested financial interest in healthcare, like Buffet, are the ones who will dictate the fate of this issue. Big media coverage and flawed debates highlight nothing but distractions, and will continue to be the norm. It is in fact the insurers themselves who regulate their industry, and they do it by charging the absolute highest rates they possibly can. The Senate Finance Committee recently released their version of a healthcare reform bill, crafted by the aptly named “Gang of Six” senators. FAIR duly notes on Sept. 1 that these six senators represent less than 3% of the US population, and the health insurance industry is steadily funneling cash into the senators’ coffers. Any notion that these rates will go down is an exercise in naivete, for the corporate agenda is to gain, not lose, money. The corporate agenda, the Gang of Six’ agenda, and President Obama’s agenda are one and the same.
The Obama climate change bill passed the House and is mired in the Senate. Among the current controversy are proposed trade provisions that could tax imports. Certain industry imports which have a bigger carbon footprint than similar US goods would be imposed tariffs to level the playing field. The bill already states that these energy-intensive industries get a 2-year waiver to comply, and another provision allows them government rebates until 2035. So it seems we’ll maybe get going on that in about 25 years.
The provisions would appear to be aimed at China, who wants to cut emissions 40% from 1990 levels by 2020. The Obama Climate Change bill shoots for 4%. The UN Secretary General says these climate policies are “not sufficient.” That point may be moot as it remains to be seen how much more this bill will be mangled, and when and if it will emerge from the Senate.
As far as the economy goes and the mortgage meltdown, well, we’ve heard plenty on this. Obama’s mortgage relief plan, or ‘clear guidelines’ for lending institutions, has played out thus far like clear fraud. It states that lenders must reduce monthly payments to 31% of the borrowers income. This sounds like a pretty good idea for the borrower, but remember the key here is that it is a guideline. Which means it doesn’t exist, except in the President’s world of press conferences and media hype.
Any would-be homeowner who has struggled with his mortgage in the meltdown knows that guidelines and outsourced customer “service” can’t lower the monthlies to 31% or save their home. (Curiously, the only entities capable of creating and lending funny money for homes are the Fed and Wall Street.) Some reports show as few as 3% of those seeking loan restructure are able to modify their mortgages. It’s been more than 6 months since Obama unveiled this relief plan amidst a whirlwind of hoopla. More than 300,000 homes were foreclosed on in July alone, and the blood continues to spill.
Finance industry analysts see more of the same on the horizon, as there are no penalties or incentives of any kind to do anything different. Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy Research in Washington, DC, asks, “How could you have messed up more than Ben Bernanke?“ But Bernanke inexplicably remains current chair of the Fed bank. University of Maryland Professor of Finance Albert Kyle says the Feds are “pretending undercapitalized banks are not undercapitalized.” In layman’s terms that means issuing funny money, if they issue any money at all- and the Fed is looking the other way. (Don’t forget all banks get new money from the Fed. The Fed makes the money.) The entire substance of this relief plan exists only in the press conference.
The American people are too familiar with undone plans and empty rhetoric, and these have the effect of eroding credibility. Robert Wenzel of the BBC states that “it makes little sense to listen to the President speak” as he only uses wide generalities and avoids all specifics. This inevitably becomes tiresome and incredible, and the people demand action to go along with all the words. The US is suffering from many troubles, and one is low morale. Endless wars aren’t helping.
War, war and more war. Such is the history of the world. But alas we can’t cover that in its entirety here. The AP reports that Osama bin Laden released a message to the US around 9-11-09 , as is his yearly custom. How can it be that this is from a man who allegedly perpetrated 9-11, killing nearly 3,000 in the US? A man who has been sought by the US for over 8 years? It is appalling that he remains free.
US casualties of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are now over 5,000, at 5130 and counting. What have these men and women given their lives for? Osama says that this administration is merely following the Bush strategy, to “promote the previous policies of fear to market the interests of big companies.” Which is a correct assertion of exactly how the US government operates with regard to war and all other policy.
This is a fact we must acknowledge before we can even address the issues, much less improve them. Democracy is not in effect, and its prospect of future practice and existence in the US is getting dimmer every day. It should sadden us all that (if the perpetrator) Osama bin Laden is alive and commenting on the erosion of democracy in the US.
We like big companies. We want to buy big, cheap stuff like everyone else. We just don’t want big companies running the government for their profits instead of for the benefit of the people. A democracy is a government for the people, not for the big companies. So either we have to change the name of our government in effect, or stop allowing the big companies to control the government and start the people controlling it.
How do we do that? Get rid of the lobby system. The lobby system serves special interests, and ‘special’ means those who have a ton of money to lobby their agenda. This by definition excludes the people because only those with lobby-size bank accounts can lobby an issue. This, also by definition, is unconstitutional because all men are created equal regardless of their ability to hire effective lobbyists. Yes, the lobby system is bogus and while this article may seem like an Obama-bash, it’s really an existing government practice-bash, and a call to the people to step up. We need to wake up and understand that in this system, the presidency is a revolving-door public relations position. It doesn’t matter who holds the office until the office represents the people.
Obama may or may not save the world and may or may not even want to, but the fact is in this system there can’t be any good guys. It’s impossible to participate in politics, even at a relatively low level, without succumbing to corruption. It’s like trying to play hockey without touching the ice. It simply can’t be escaped, because this is the system we live and operate in, and one guy can’t fix it. It’s going to take a whole lot of guys and girls to fix this one, and they can’t be in the government because they’d already be corrupt. Our government is at the mercy of the corporations and there is no separation between the two. If Obama really wanted to make a change, he’d move to eliminate the lobby system and expose true government transparency in an effort to restore democracy in the US.
Right now Obama just seems to be doing damage control; always one step behind the press and his critics. To be effective he must be one step ahead. His appearance and actions appear to be those of someone totally overwhelmed, which is more than understandable. But as President and with the press monitoring his every move, it is imperative he does not appear overwhelmed or one step behind. He is a victim of trying to do too much and please everybody, while the result is pleasing nobody and increasing enemy ranks. Such are the consequences of making a deal with the devil, and the subsequent catapult into the Presidency. It has been said the devil is in the details, and it manifests not only in detail but on the blatant face of government process today.
We want Obama to be our savior as much as his supporters and maybe more. But it is unrealistic and unwise to blindly follow a leader based on abstract campaign slogans and moving rhetoric. Even if Obama believed everything he said and wanted to make good on his promises, that in itself would only be a sad display of profound naivete or worse- a mass deception to the people. It is much more likely that Obama is a businessman who has ascended the ranks to President of the United States and will be enjoying the fruits of his labor now and for years to come, regardless of the condition of we the people.
It is long overdue that we the people recognize this and start taking control of this so-called democracy, before it slips out of our hands for good. We need to take a step back, repair the system that is failing us, and take out the garbage. The history of the world indicates it won’t be an easy task.