Now that Obama conquered the moderate and progressive vote, he seems to be making the odd choice of turning to those who went McCain’s way. He named Clinton to the Cabinet (yay!), but as Sec of State (huh?). Clinton’s biggest about-face came when she suddenly turned against her earlier strong support of a Palestinian state to the more politically savvy position of unflinching support of Israel. Naming a vehemently pro-Israel Sec of State right now seems like taking a note from the George W. Bush school of diplomacy.
And why, pray tell, is Obama wavering on his earlier pledge to reverse the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy before their 2011 deadline? I’m hardly Paul Krugman here, but it seems as though we’re in desperate need of extra funds in this country and this is an obvious way to raise cash. Despite the hand-wringing over redistribution of wealth, this country has grown quite comfy with redistributing the wealth to the already wealthy. Step up, Obama, and make the wealthy pay what they should have been paying over the past eight years.
Following a decisive national victory from voters who demanded big change seems an odd time for Obama to shift right. He needs to be the president we elected him to be: one who values diplomacy over fightin’ words, who returns to the middle- and lower-classes what is theirs. Perhaps he’s wavering, perhaps he’s managing expectations, or perhaps he’s putting unity over conviction. We can’t know yet. As I read Frank Rich’s editorial on President Bush yesterday, I felt guilty for finding fault with Obama. We’ve spent eight years with an administration that defends legalized torture and logging in national parks with a straight face, and I’m finding qualms in a tax strategy? Yet it’s time to take our old standards of decency from that high shelf and dust them off. That isn’t to say Obama will be the messiah some make him out to be. Expectations for a second coming of FDR are rampant, and that scares me. We shouldn’t want FDR, but many of us do want that guy who gave the acceptance speech in Grant Park last November.
So, Mr. President-Elect Obama, I’ll still be psyched to watch you sworn in on the 20th. I’m sure I’ll smile all day, and knowing me, probably cry a little as well. But along with the giant foam “Obama’s #1” finger I’ll raise will be a raised eyebrow, as I wait with healthy skepticism to see that promised change.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I have a feeling Hillary will be more hawkish towards Israel than we all might initially think.
First off, Israel's decision to gear up it's war machine in response to the latest round of Palestinian rocket attacks isn't being well received by anyone.
Secondly, as the fantastic analysis in the latest issue Newsweek suggests, the U.S. being tough on Israel is going to be critical to making any peace deal work.
As far as the tax cuts go, I think that's a battle Obama will wait to fight until after he gets something done on the U.S. economy. He needs to start off with some solid "victories" or else that change we all want is just going to get harder to make happen.
Post a Comment