"The time for change has come," declared charismatic presidential candidate Barack Obama as he spoke to our hearts and made profound promises he vowed to keep.
Mr. Obama promised to end the Iraq War in 16 months, close Guantanamo within 12 months, end our dependence on foreign oil, end "Don't ask, don't tell" for gays in the military and make affordable health care available to all.
He promised "transparency," so that we would know what is really going on with our government and he promised to end the grip lobbyists had on Washington and to get rid of "earmarks," pork barrel money Congress uses to pay off its supporters.
Now a year into his presidency, not one of these things has happened and many of Mr. Obama's supporters are disillusioned. Instead, we have the continuation of the Iraq War and the escalation of the Afghan War, costing lives and money and what is left of America's moral fiber in support of a government that fixed the election to keep itself in power.
Wall Street is doing all the horrific things it did before and there is no new oversight nor tougher rules, nor has anyone been held accountable for anything. And the staggering sized bonuses Wall Street is paying itself are "in your face." They don't care what the American people think.
We have record setting deficits, bailouts, the Fed printing money out of thin air and the U.S.'s major creditors seriously concerned about loaning us more money.
It was time to have a hypothetical talk with Mr. Obama to understand what has gone wrong. "President Obama, why have things gone so badly?"
"Because I was naive. I'd only been briefly in the Senate before I began running for president. I had no idea how entrenched the lobbyists actually were and how little they cared about my promises or even the rights of the American people.
"The big banks and insurance companies, the pharmaceutical giants, the huge oil firms and the military-industrial complex, among others, very much run the show. They own both major political parties. To them, I'm just a figure head and aside from taking their tax money the American people don't count.
"Even I got caught in their grip. When I ran for office, I took more lobbyist money than any other presidential candidate in history. I too am indebted to them."
Struck by his candor, I asked, "Why did you turn leadership over to Congress? As you pointed out, they are owned by the lobbyists and when they turned your proposed health care reform into a joke and forget most of your other ideas, it makes you look like an ineffective leader. The President is supposed to lead, not follow."
"You're right," he replied with a sigh. "I had no leadership experience when I took this office. It's one thing to be a Senator or a community organizer or a university instructor and quite another to lead people and implement a vision."
"What are you going to do about it," I asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "What I do know is I'm desperate for help. It's hard for me to admit it publicly but you could see it in my State of the Union speech and in my meeting a day or so later with the Republicans. In frustration, I actually became combative and that won't accomplish anything.
"I know if the American people don't get involved, what you see is what you'll get. Endless wars and their treasury looted. No accountability and an economy that in a few years will complete its collapse and throw us into a Depression and potential chaos."
Stunned by the severity of the situation, I asked "What do you want us to do?"
"Raise your voice," Mr. Obama answered, as he raised his. "Overwhelm the media with calls, emails and letters because they are asleep. With few exceptions, they ignore the wars and give superficial coverage to the dire financial situation.
"Most are corporate and government mouthpieces, avoiding controversy and largely reporting what they're told to report. The founders of our nation expected much more from them when they created the First Amendment, Freedom of the Press.
"And take to the streets," Mr. Obama continued. In the 1960's, Americans brought in Civil Rights through marches and demonstrations and they did it again in the late 60's and 1970's bringing the Vietnam War to an end. Despite my promises, real initiative always comes from the people who compel their government to act.
"Things are so bad, the American people must fight to take back their government or they will lose their democracy. They nearly lost it to the last president, who ruled by fiat claiming 9/11 and his "War on Terror" gave him special powers beyond those in the Constitution.
"I need the help of the American people! Together, we must succeed for the future of our country and the well-being of people all over the world depends on it. They have no reason to believe anything I say but please don't give-up on me yet."
Dick [last updated, 2/1/10]
2 comments:
Your hypothetical conversation gives President Obama quite a conscious. If he actually has this AND will take some risks AND LEAD WITH HIS VISION (I'm frankly not sure what this is) instead of punting to Reid and Pelosi, perhaps he might remind those who study history of Presidents who accomplished great things. Right now the book isn't being written this way...
As a past supporter of Obama I was waiting for the "call to arms" from Obama after he was elected. I was waiting for him to turn that great grass-roots political machine into a true force that could be mobilized to fight the entrenched interests.
I waited. And waited. Instead of confronting entrenched interests, I saw him surround himself with the same old Washington power players - Bernanke, Geithner, Rahm, Biden, etc. And then I saw him throw a great party for the special interests - military, healthcare, Wall Street, the list goes on and on.
At this point, if Obama does issue a "call to arms" I will not answer it. As the old saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me".
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