Julio is certainly to be commended for his honesty, but I am still left wondering how so many progressives were able to deceive themselves concerning as to what Obama was likely to do as president.
Personally, I can't say that I am terribly shocked by his performance in office. I expected little from him and have not been disappointed. There was little in his record to lead one to believe that he would prove to be a radical reformer once in office. Furthermore, despite his campaign rhetoric about "change you can believe in," in his detailed statements concerning what would do as president he did not make radical promises. His proposals concerning health care reform are not that much different from what he was talking about in 2008. He said that going into Iraq was a mistake but was purposely vague about any schedules for withdrawal. And he seemed to take the line of most Democrats that the Afghan War was the "good" war.
Frankly, I am less inclined to blame Obama for the illusions that so many progressives had in him as I am to blame the progressives themselves for their self-deceptions.
Jim F.
---------- Original Message ---------- From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Cc: pen-l at lists.csuchico.edu Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Obama's betrayal of hope Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 14:00:47 -0500
On Dec 1, 2009, at 1:14 PM, Julio Huato wrote:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/world/asia/02policy.html
>
> I voted -- and asked people -- to vote for Obama. I made my case on
> the grounds of what would better advance the class struggle. I still
> think that, with the information then known, it was the best decision.
> I didn't think I had high hopes or expectations about him as an
> individual. I did think though that, under the right conditions, his
> personal background made it possible for him to become a decisive
> reformer, even if not an FDR. But I think I was entirely wrong on
> that. He is not one of us. Period. I don't entirely understand his
> motivations, but that matters little now. I am convinced that this
> decision offsets anything historically progressive that Obama may
> accomplish -- if at all.
I admire you for saying this. Thanks.
Doug
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