[lbo-talk] Obamauration

[Max B. Sawicky]

James Heartfield wrote:
> This is a bit impressionistic, but rushing through the LBO reaction to Obama's inauguration, the chasm between that and the reactions 
to his election seems huge. Shouldn't we go back over what we all said 
then, and compare it with the hyper-critical reaction to him now?
I feel as though I was too critical then, and a bit distanced from the 
criticisms made of him here, now. Is the disappointment relative to the
great hopes placed in the man? Are the disappointments a bit overdone? 
He is not left wing, clearly that is the case. But then why should
we have thought otherwise?
> 
> I still think that Obama's election represents a sea-change in America's race politics, and one for the good. Is that naive?
> 
> His cabinet choices don't seem to me to say that he is right wing, but rather that he is trying to supercede the left-right political divide, 
a bit like Tony Blair did here in 1997. The danger in that is not right 
wing politics, but the creation of an apolitical technocratic 
administration.
Seeing the popular mobilisation behind the presidency it might seem odd 
to say it, but the outcome of this apolitical administration is a retreat
from democratic contestation, where dissent is marginalised.
> ___________________________________

The question will be, does centrist or pragmatist really mean 
non-ideological, or merely ideology in a different guise.
If truly non-ideological, then the Admin will be driven without 
prejudice to solutions that work, which could mean some
radical stuff with the advantage of being dressed in unradical clothes. 

  For instance, I wouldn't be surprised to see some
nationalized banks (the issue there is one of compensation or lack 
thereof), though they would doubtless be sold back
after reorganization.  The Blair analogy is a good one, though it would 
be like dropping Blair into this new unique
historical moment.

I don't think anybody knows how the race dimension will play out, only 
that something new is in store.

Technocratic does not strike me as so bad, relatively speaking, but 
maybe that's because I'm a technocrat.

As for dissent, from experience I can assure all that there is nobody 
more partisan and intolerant of dissent
from left or right than trade unionists, to which we could minorities 
and today's raging liberal 'netroots.'
It will be hard to criticize BHO for a while (politically, not in terms 
of substance), but at the same time
once he disappoints them (on EFCA, for instance), things will get really 
interesting.