As an Obama supporter since before he entered the race, I can tell you that with most people I talked to, their biggest obstacle to supporting Barack was whether or not he could actually do it. With his win in Iowa, he has opened the flood gates of all those people.There has been a sleuth of excited stories about Obama since his Iowa win, and I think the comment above from a TPM reader nails the real reason for all the excitement - the Iowa win was huge because it shows the USA has changed enough for a black man to become President.
That is probably in large part a reaction to the never-ending misery inflicted by the Texan redneck, and maybe even the Bubba from Hope before him.
As with Rudd in Australia, there is a palpable desire for change across the USA. I think Obama will go all the way, and I'm not sure that is a bad thing. Sure, he has sucked up to the pro-Israeli lobby and he is being very careful what he says about a whole host of issues including withdrawal from Iraq. But as with Rudd, there is a sense that nobody really knows for sure what an Obama Administration might be like. Hillary Clinton said voting for Obama was like crossing your fingers and rolling the dice - but I think that's exactly what the people of the USA want to do right now. What have they got to lose, right?
I'm also hopeful that Obama might - once in power - get the USA out of Iraq. On the first day after he declared his candidacy, Obama called for US troops to be withdrawn by March this year. That led to some outrageous criticism from John Howard and his goons, which Obama duly bitch-slapped into touch. If that's a sign of things to come, great!
I'm not convinced that any other US Presidential hopefuls (bar Ron Paul, who hasn't got a snowflake's hope in hell or being elected) will really get the USA out of Iraq. Even Edwards. So maybe Obama is the best chance we in the anti-war camp have got.
And even if he doesn't get the USA out of Iraq, his election would be good in so many other ways that it could have a knock-on effect and lead to a substantially more positive US foreign policy in other areas. We live in hope.
5 comments:
We have a lot to lose. Like civil liberties, our bank accounts, our freedom to choose how we want to live and more. Basically everything that America was built on.
Obama is a good guy, but I disagree with your statement that Obama will end the war. He wants to increase the size of the Military and vows to keep troops in the Middle East to 'fight terrorism'. He wants the American military to "stay on the offense, from Djibouti to Kandahar," and he believes that "the ability to put boots on the ground will be critical in eliminating the shadowy terrorist networks we now face."
"America's larger purpose in the world is to promote the spread of freedom." I agree with that. But not with the military intervention that has caused us so much pain and war. Obama is no peace candidate.
Obama also wants to increase the size of government with all kinds of spending that we DO NOT have. There is absolutely no way we can afford all the things he wants to do. The monetary issue that Ron Paul talks about (and has studied for over 30 years), along with his understanding of foreign policy (all based on CIA intel releases), and his libertarian, personal freedom message, make him the best candidate to lead this country around a recession and out of wars. Please take a look at some more videos of Ron Paul and hear what he has to say with an open ear. Thank you. Let's make America great again!
Caldera,
Thanks for that, and I do appreciate EXACTLY where you are coming from! But:
(a) Like I said, I dont think Paul can win the nomination, let alone the White House. He seems to have some serious baggage on racial issues, although that could just be the Establishment slap-down (anyone got a link on that?). Anyway, I don't think anyone in the GOP can win this year.
(b) I know Obama is SAYING all those things, but I don't believe him. Remember, GWB said he would be a "uniter" who pursued a "humble" foreign policy! I think Obama is just saying what he has to say... of course, that's just a gut feeling. But I don't see anybody better worth voting for at the moment, not even Paul.
Gandhi, I've noticed that good-hearted Australians have an innate desire to believe that black Americans are shining examples of noble, oppressed humanity. People have talked about Condi Rice -- a lizard cloaked in human skin -- to me that way. Ditto Colin Powell. Aussies project their dreams onto these folks.
Obama's a nice guy. He'd make a great vice president now, maybe a sterling Prez someday. But he's too lightweight, and too easily rolled over by the forces of the right. As your Paul-lite commenter notes, (do these people have a squad that constantly searches the 'Net for mentions of RoPaul, and jump in for a defence?) Obama wouldn't pull the troops. He'd be co-opted by the corporatists. Do you read Paul Krugman in the New York Times? He's done some good dissection of Obama and health care, for instance.
I first-preference Kucinich, but of all the candidates who have stature, money and organisation, I'll go with Edwards. He's adopted the populist imprimateur, and I don't think it's just fakery. Time for some good political class warfare in the U.S. before it gets down to anarchic warfare over the crapheap of a failing nation. If Edwards wins, we'd even move back!
Bukko, I'll admit I gave Condi and Powell some slack early on, but not too much given they were part of the Bush camp. Obama is different, IMHO.
I'm not saying he is a great candidate, but I think he will win anyway. I don't think Edwards has a chance, any more than Paul.
The Gandhi Endorsement counts for ZIP, of course, otherwise I might give it to someone like Kucinich. But I think even Dennis knows his candidacy is mired in the doldrums: if he could push his impeachement agenda through to fulfillment it might be a different story, but he cannot even do that.
Americans don't like Losers. That's why I'm tipping an Obama victory. And I'm just seeing some silver lining in that cloud, that's all - I know Obama remains very much an Establishment candidate at this stage. All I'm saying is that there is a CHANCE he might not be what the Establishment thinks he is - we shall have to see, as with Rudd.
That's it! "Obama, the black Rudd"...!
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