[lbo-talk] Obama and His Discontents

[// ravi]

On Jul 28, 2011, at 5:27 PM, Julio Huato wrote:
> Doug wrote:
> 
>> Coates and Gary Younge gave me a hard time for not understanding
>> how Obama had mobilized the youth of color. I argued that that
>> didn't amount to a hill of beans - the "mobilization" was little more than a
>> fan club, and Obama was just another DLC type, not much different in substance
>> from Hillary Clinton. But to them, I was just a cranky old white intellectual
>> elitist and such. I wish we could reconvene so I could say "I told you so."
> 
> It seems to me that *they told you so*.
> 
> <…> But, with due respect, I do think that you have been wrong
> on this.  I don't think our job was or is to apologize for Obama, and
> here comrade Charles Brown may be crossing the line at times.  But
> there is a profound misconception involved in regarding Obama as the
> main target of our opposition. <…>
> I am telling you so.

But who regards Obama as the main target of opposition? Doug doesn’t say so above. And IIRC youth turnout was the segment to take the greatest hit in 2010. It’s not about apologising for Obama or targeting him. It’s about stating the facts as clearly as we can. No?

BTW, I would love to see the data on Obama mobilisation of black youth vs white youth in 2008. I will not be surprised if it turns out that the differential is higher among whites.


> And I think Charles has been making
> very good points that some mental blinders may be keeping people from
> noting.

Mental blinders for sure. What they are hiding is the debate! :-)

	—ravi