I have no doubt that Barack Obama he will win the election . . . I DO have some doubts, however, about whether he will be the one taking the oath in January . . . but that's for another discussion . . .
I must confess to being less than enthusiastic when Obama won the nomination . . . I wondered if he was independent enough, given the large corporate contributions that came his way . . . but the
real reservation I've had involves whether he has both the foresight and the intestinal fortitude to actually do what's right rather than what's politically expedient . . . we shall see . . .
given the current (and rapidly deteriorating) state of affairs, Obama is going to have to be FDR to the third or fourth power . . . because the BIG problem -- the problem underlying ALL other problems -- is the
failure of unregulated market capitalism . . . and the only way to initiate true and lasting change will be to address this problem at its root, which involves corporate influence and control so powerful that it supersedes the combined power of the President, Congress, and the courts . . . in other words, the entire government . . . until this changes, nothing else will change . . . whatever they do in Congress will be mere window dressing until the REAL problem is a) understood, and b) solved . . .
my worry is that Obama may not have the balls to do what needs doing . . . does he have the capacity and the will to bite the many corporate hands that have fed him and his campaign . . . (indeed, both candidates' campaigns) . . . because in order to make any real progress anywhere, he's going to have to call for a complete restructuring of the economic system to a) strictly and thoroughly regulate corporations and their practices, and b) return control over corporations to the American people, via their government . . .
according to
http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org . . .
"Business corporations were intended to serve a specific purpose--performing one designated business activity--
and nothing else. Our country's founders had a healthy fear of corporations and allowed them to form only with strict limits."
(snip)"Initially, the privilege of incorporation was granted selectively to enable activities that benefited the public, such as construction of roads or canals. Enabling shareholders to profit was seen as a means to that end. The states also imposed conditions (some of which remain on the books, though unused) like these:
* Corporate charters (licenses to exist) were granted
for a limited time and could be revoked promptly for violating laws.
* Corporations could engage only in activities
necessary to fulfill their chartered purpose.* Corporations
could not own stock in other corporations nor own any property that was not essential to fulfilling their chartered purpose.
* Corporations were often
terminated if they exceeded their authority or caused public harm.
*
Owners and managers were responsible for criminal acts committed on the job.
* Corporations
could not make any political or charitable contributions nor spend money to influence law-making."
in today's world, these intended restrictions on the power of corporations are pretty much ignored . . . most legislation governing corporations is written by lobbyists for the affected industries --Congress and the president merely their rubber stamps . . .
deregulation has become NO regulation, or regulation so weak as to be meaningless . . . and the results are truly catastrophic . . .
can Obama be a new and improved FDR? . . . and sell REAL solutions to REAL problems to the American people? . . . and make all it work? . . . does he fully understand the depth and breadth of the problem, and is he willing to take on the corporations head-on? . . . can he resist their inevitable threats and coercions, and the pleas of their toadies in Congress? . . . again, we shall see . . .
what gives me some measure of hope is this --
the boldness is there! . . . he did, after all, choose to run at a very young age (and against an ordained party favorite) and, against all odds, he won the nomination . . . what we don't know is whether the will is there . . . or the considerable skill that will be required to essentially save the nation, and probably the planet . . . big, BIG shoes required here, folks . . .
the link above is to a website called
Reclaim Democracy: Restoring Citizen Authority Over Corporations that I've followed, off and on, for about a decade. . . they, more than most anyone else, have a handle on the real problem -- along with some interesting ideas about how to at least attempt to solve it . . . check 'em out at
http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/more than at any time in our history, our next president is going to have to be someone really special . . . I hope and pray that Obama is that someone, and that he has the wisdom and the courage to fundamentally re-shape the way America works -- much like FDR did, but even moreso . . . because the problems FDR faced were nothing compared to what Obama will face (didn't include things like the very real potential extinction of most life on the planet, for example) . . .
we shall see . . .
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