[Peace-discuss] Uncle Noam on the BBC

[C. G. Estabrook]

This is to buy Obama's own "framing." He's insisted from the beginning of his 
career that he was a "centrist" who could "bring us together."  But that means 
to get the majority to accept that their interests are those of the dominant 
social groups, when in fact they're opposed.

Take any issue -- the war, the Wall St. bailout, health care, Israel, AfPak, 
Venezuela, etc., etc. -- and find what Obama's position is in the "center" of. 
In fact, it's at the center of the media-defined limits of allowable debate -- 
and substantially to the right of the views of the populace.  --CGE


Barbara kessel wrote:
> I think the Chomsky point is that it is a great opening moment for the 
> People and for organizers of people, a point also made by Naomi Klein 
> (on October 29) who said, "Obama is a Centrist. It is up to us to move 
> the Center."  Even were he to be better than our fears, he cannot fail 
> to disappoint because the size of the mess he steps into. 
>       We need now to "stretch the map" of anti-war protestors. Just 
> because 64% of the voters said that their top issue was the economy and 
> 10% said it was the war does not mean that these issues remain unrelated 
> in all the minds of that 64%. True Anecdote: 84 year old father of a 
> friend of mine, who is a veteran of WWII, a stone racist, always voted 
> Republican, cast his first Democratic vote for Obama saying to his grown 
> children, "I am sick and tired of seeing the government throwing our 
> money away on useless and unnecessary wars."  Barbara Kessel
> 
> On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 11:12 AM, Karen Medina <kmedina at illinois.edu 
> <mailto:kmedina at illinois.edu>> wrote:
> 
>      >The Prophet [Noam] says: what matters is what people do with their
>     disappointment when Obama fails to meet their expectations.
> 
>     I think the best thing Obama can do is hire the best cabinet
>     possible to do the real
>     work and he be the negotiator between the groups. He's smart enough
>     and there is
>     some evidence that he just might find the humility to do this.
> 
>     He should take on one thing himself: universal healthcare would be a
>     good choice.
> 
>     My worst fear is that he appoints only centrists and the right to
>     his cabinet. He has
>     a mandate to move left, but he may not be able to recognize it. He
>     has a tendency
>     to overcompensate to the right.
> 
>     -karen medina
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