[Peace-discuss] Why Obama has to do that...

[Stuart Levy]

On Sun, Nov 02, 2008 at 08:49:27PM -0600, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> Am I to understand, Jenifer, that repeating what Obama actually said -- 
> that he intends as president to kill more people in Afghanistan and 
> Pakistan (sc. "finish the job") -- is not an "appropriately nuanced and 
> civilized way of presenting information and opinions"?  --CGE

The frustrating part of reading messages like these, Carl,
is that (a) politicians are not divinely consistent, and
(b) none of us, including you, is an oracle.  

G. W. Bush said in 2000 that he would regulate CO2 as a pollutant.
It's even possible that at the time, he meant it.
Of course, he did nothing of the sort.  He succumbed to what must
have been overwhelming, and *entirely predictable*, pressure from
giant fossil fuel extractors and users.

So should we have simply quoted Bush at his word, and relied on that
as a prediction of what he'd do in office, taking no account of the
political context?  It would have been foolish to do that.


A few months ago you were telling us, with repetition and apparent
confidence, that Hillary Clinton was ready to undermine the Democrats:
that if she lost the nomination she would work to ensure that Obama
lost the election so as to give her a better chance to win in 2012.
It would have been a terrible thing for the Democrats, and a very good
one for the Republicans, if it had happened.  Well... it doesn't seem to have.

I'm not so much criticizing your making a prediction that didn't come true,
as making a *divisive* prediction, one with little basis as far as I can see,
that looked for all the world like a distraction from the issues of peace
that we are here to address.


Naomi Klein's take on Obama was interesting.  She's thoroughly disappointed
with a bunch of his positions and non-positions, and is discouraged
at the cult-figure treatment that Obama has received, but ... she figures
that Obama sees himself as a centrist.  Where the Center moves,
and *has moved*, so moves he.    that is encouraging.

I absolutely agree that we need to be on the streets in force after the
election -- no matter who wins.  If McCain wins, I doubt if he'd listen,
but we should try.  But if Obama wins, he actually might listen.
We need to get enough attention to move the Center.


One continuing concern, as many have pointed out (Durl and others
last night, Klein this week, Tom Hayden at every opportunity) is
how to sustain an organized movement.  Klein was impressed at what's
been mobilized for the Obama campaign -- "getting 35,000 people out
at midnight for a rally in Florida" -- amazed that Americans actually
could organize.  How much of that will remain after tomorrow?