[WS:] Here is a quote from Reed's piece:
"Obama goes a step further in deviating from Alinskyism to the right, by rejecting its `confrontationalism,' which severs its rhetoric of `empowerment' from political action and contestation entirely and merges the notion into the pop-psychological, big box Protestant, Oprah Winfrey, Reaganite discourse of self-improvement/personal responsibility."
[...]
Such an argument can only be made for someone who believes in charismatic model of social activisism that I mentioned. Only against that standard Obama can be characterized as "moving to the right" (translation: not being Al Sharpton or a self-styled leader of Black identity politics.) Compared to what passed for "mainstream" in the US today, he stands on the left. Given the strong right wing bias of this country, he must scale his rhetoric to have a chance in November.
Criticising him for that suggests oblivion of the political realities on this country.
...........
Sorry, but once again you widely miss the mark.
Reed isn't saying that Sen. Obama should be a Sharpton style, "leader of Black identity politics" (if you knew anything about Reed's POV, you wouldn't waste even a moment suggesting this. In fact, it's somewhat condescending that you'd think he's goofy enough to expect or hope for such a thing).
Rather, he's saying that using the rhetoric of 'self improvement/personal responsibility' -- along with other rightward maneuvers (for example, support for the FISA bill and war lord-y talk about Afghanistan) is taking not only a page from your supposed opponents' book, but practically their entire library while claiming to offer something dramatically different.
Your point -- I think -- is that the US' reactionary 'national character' makes this necessary; that no one can hope to be elected to the White House without pandering to right wing beliefs.
Perhaps. But there's a difference between stroking national myths of exceptionalism and bashing the poor as pathological. It's the latter -- which shows a willingness to go above and beyond the call of candidacy to support the very worst American ideas -- which Reed is addressing.
.d.