Dear Obama supporters who are mystified as to why people mistrust his "hope, change, unity" talk [View All]

[jpgray]

Obama is very intelligent and charismatic, and is an excellent orator. I can understand why smart, reasonable people believe he represents the above values. I would never dismiss your judgment of Obama as silly, stupid or unreasonable. I just disagree. Here's why:

His platform is moderate, not indicative of transformative change. It does not represent such a change any more than do the platforms of the other candidates. Based on what I've heard from him and what I've read from his site:

-He does not commit to a withdrawal from Iraq within the presumptive two presidential terms.

-He does not support gay marriage

-He does not propose a universal health care plan.

-He does not directly engage corporate interests in his rhetoric or his platform.

His call for "unity" is unrealistic, if he wishes to enact any of his more progressive policies. Consider the vote to restore Habeas Corpus. It failed, along a mostly party-line vote. This is one of the most treasured and respected pillars of law in history. What "unity" can you find in that vote? What "bipartisan" compromise is desirable to you? I don't believe Obama will freely compromise away his values under GOP pressure, but if he truly wanted to be bipartisan, that's exactly what he would have to do. Therefore I dismiss these calls as a marketing tactic, not as an accurate representation of how he will behave in office. We don't want a president who constantly compromises with the GOP on the issues--on almost all important policy they need to be confronted and defeated. Again, I don't believe Obama will wilt under GOP pressure, I believe his "bipartisan" talk is solely for marketing purposes.

Hope. This one he can fulfill, if he defeats the GOP nominee. But then, hope will return to this country if -any- of our candidates succeed.

In other words: Obama is not a bad candidate. He doesn't have a bad platform. He has been very successful with his rhetoric, and he -has- convinced people who disagree with him on policy to cut him slack based on his rhetoric. That's a useful and powerful ability. However, speaking for myself, it's hard to see "hope, change, unity" as anything other than platitudes, which all politicians more or less attempt to lay claim to. The reality of our situation makes "unity" impossible if you desire "hope" and "change" in progressive terms--the GOP will fight him tooth and nail on every last progressive plank. As a marketing approach, it can be successful, but don't ask me to pretend I believe such platitudes reflect either his platform or the current political reality.