Sirota on Obama : "charisma and deference to the establishment"

[iconoclastNYC]

As Printed in The Nation:

Obama is telling the truth--he's not opposed to structural changes at all. However, he appears to be interested in fighting only for those changes that fit within the existing boundaries of what's considered mainstream in Washington, instead of using his platform to redefine those boundaries. This posture comes even as polls consistently show that Washington's definition of mainstream is divorced from the rest of the country's (for example, politicians' refusal to debate the war even as polls show that Americans want the troops home).

Obama's deference to these boundaries was hammered home to me when our discussion touched on the late Senator Paul Wellstone. Obama said the progressive champion was "magnificent." He also gently but dismissively labeled Wellstone as merely a "gadfly," in a tone laced with contempt for the senator who, for instance, almost single-handedly prevented passage of the bankruptcy bill for years over the objections of both parties. This clarified Obama's support for the Hamilton Project, an organization formed by Citigroup chair Robert Rubin and other Wall Street Democrats to fight back against growing populist outrage within the party. And I understood why Beltway publications and think tanks have heaped praise on Obama and want him to run for President. It's because he has shown a rare ability to mix charisma and deference to the establishment.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/sirota/3

[xchrom]

1. he is a champion of the new arm of our government

the corporate arm.

america now has four branches of government -- and clintonians{i think of obama as one} are supporters of keeping them{corporations} in government.

[iconoclastNYC]

2. It's that Clintonian DLC "centrism".... the 2.0 version

Corporatism camouflaged by progresive rhetoric.

[xchrom]

3. that would be the one.

nice description, btw.

[lindisfarne]

4. There's already a thread on this, if people want to keep the discussion

in one place.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1389074&mesg_id=1389177