Has the “Hope and Change” train jumped the tracks? It appears so. What other explanation is there for President-elect Obama’s apparent move towards the establishment since his election?
Now some might argue that it’s too early to judge Obama, since he hasn’t even been sworn in yet. And in fact I would agree. However I’ve found many on the left and especially in the media fainting over the sheer greatness of Obama’s transition period. Some in the New York Times have called on President Bush to resign, so that Obama could get a head start on handling this financial crisis. Eleanor Clift has credited Obama’s steady hand for last week’s run-up in the stock market. If flowering the man with lavish praise is fair game, then so is comparing his post-election actions with his pre-election campaign rhetoric.
So let’s analyze the state of the great “Change” movement. Not less than two days after the election, CNN.com leads with a story that could be summed up as, “You know… realistically… Obama’s not going to be able to pull troops out of Iraq very quickly.” Oh? Now isn’t that nice to know? Would’ve been nicer to hear that
before the election, but hey. After a few more weeks we learn that a more realistic date for troop withdrawals will come at the end of 2011. So basically Obama is adopting the Bush policy on Iraq.
Then the economic disaster really began to unravel. Obama was front and center to assure America and the world that he is keeping tabs on all the latest developments, and that he fully supported Hank Paulson’s efforts to bail out banks and other Wall Street firms. And so Obama adopts the Bush policy on fiscal matters.
Shortly thereafter we heard that Obama wouldn’t move to raise taxes because of the severity of the economic crisis. Suddenly “repealing the irresponsible Bush tax cuts for the wealthy” wasn’t such a high priority. Finally, Obama adopts the Bush tax policy.
That’s mighty impressive Change indeed.
Maybe when he was talking about Hope and Change, he was referring to his Cabinet? After all, in the Democrat primaries he was sure to contrast himself with the “politics of old” (i.e., the Clintons). Well it wasn’t long after the election when we heard rumors that Hillary Clinton might be nominated for Secretary of State. The same Clinton that he so frequently chided for voting for the war in Iraq is now in line to be the nation’s top foreign policy official. Robert Gates will stay on as Defense Secretary. Susan Rice will be dusted off from the Clinton administration to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations.
Obama’s pick for White House Chief of Staff is no less curious. Rahm Emanuel, previously an advisor to Bill Clinton, supported the war in Iraq and is universally regarded as having a hawkish view on foreign policy. Fortunately, Emanuel should be quite familiar with the current banking and housing crises facing the nation. After all, he served on the Board of Directors at Freddie Mac during its troubled times in 2000 and 2001. He then went on to make a whole ton of cash as an investment banker. Glad to know Obama’s looking out for us.
And remember when Obama hit the campaign trails in Ohio and Michigan to denounce NAFTA, and promised to the manufacturing folks a renegotiated version of the trade agreement? Well what are we to think now, considering that Emanuel was one of the primary players in getting NAFTA passed during Clinton’s administration? Is Obama essentially blowing off the blue collars workers that handed him the presidency?
“Understand where the vision for change comes from, first and foremost,” Obama explained to the media last Wednesday. “It comes from me. That’s my job.” Looking back, I can’t help but think that perhaps the “Change” he promised was just himself.
Hopefully in the coming months the Obamabots won’t be crushed by the realization that, indeed, Obama is just another Washington politician. In all of the important federal matters — foreign policy, trade policy, fiscal policy, government spending, interventionism, monetary policy — the fact is that the Democrats and Republicans are two birds of the same feather. And it seems unlikely that Obama has neither the courage or desire to change that reality.
Referenced from
Despair and Status Quo: Has the "Hope and Change" train jumped the tracks? | RINO Safari
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
He's a superb politician and playin' the game well so far.
