[Peace-discuss] Who's he working for?

Thu Nov 11 11:55:13 CST 2010

I think Obama is an opportunist who is out for himself and will work for or on the behalf of anyone who he thinks will further his own personal political career and economic agenda – now and in the future.  If the elites, ruling class, establishment, etc. were composed of the poor unwashed masses, he would be putting forth their cause and interests.  Who he happens to be auditioning for is situational and depends on who is the flavor of the day; whose interests he actually acts on behalf of is not who he necessarily has auditioned for but who has the power, money, and influence to help him in achieving his personal individual goals of career advancement, economic security, and financial interests (either immediate or future).  In Obama’s case, he auditioned for the American public and the progressive community in particular; once he got the job via election, he began to work for those who could secure his personal goals of fame, fortune, and career advancement for himself and his family – namely, the establishment corporate elites (since we are now considering corporations as people) and not necessarily human individuals who may serve as wealthy influential upper echelon cogs in the various corporate organizations that structure the different industries which make up the established engines of our society.

As Andrew Hacker – a  conservative Political Scientist from the late 1950’s and 1960’s – said, corporations as entities have a life of their own and will continue under their own inertia independent of those who serve on their boards of directors and executives or who are their stockholders.  The people who hold those positions are themselves merely well paid transient cogs in the machine, who come and go without having any real substantive or major impact on the operation and direction of the organization, similar to the lesser paid employees or members of the organization or individual stockholders.  At a American Political Science Convention that I attended in the 1960, he chastised his fellow political scientists for being much too responsible and respectable to question and challenge the notion that people were actually in control of corporations and corporate policies and actions and that real human beings governed corporate entities or directed them.  He asserted that, in point of fact contrary to all appearances, it was increasingly becoming the case that no body was in control or charge and that the corporate interests were not tied to the interests of group of human beings when push came to shove but were independent and self-perpetuating.  He held that people were becoming merely automatons (men in gray flannel suits) whose interests were to serve the corporate organizations and the interests of those organizations.  

I continue to remember Hacker’s assertions since they were so striking and different than what everyone else was saying – especially given the fact that he was a suit and tie button-down conservative who was debunking the contemporary establishment myth of capitalist individualism and Horatio Alger.  He also noted that Horatio Alger happened to be assisted in pulling himself up by his own boot straps by the fact that his father-in-law just happened to own the factory.  It was so refreshing that Hacker and his comments stick in my mind and continue to present food for thought.

From: C. G. Estabrook 
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 10:47 AM
To: Laurie Solomon 
Cc: Peace-discuss 
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Who's he working for?

It's the tiny American economic elite, whom he auditioned for. 

"Dominant social groups," if you're feeling sociological, or the "ruling class" if you like the old-time religion.    It's the same folks. 

On 11/11/10 10:43 AM, Laurie Solomon wrote: 
  I think we already know the answer to that one; but a better and more accurate way of stating the question might be “Who isn’t he working for?”  The answer to the newly restated question is “not us”.  I am afraid that Obama is working for Obama first and foremost – opportunistically supporting whatever at the moment looks like it will be best for Obama and his future interests – political and economical.

  From: C. G. Estabrook 
  Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 8:43 AM
  To: Peace-discuss 
  Subject: [Peace-discuss] Who's he working for?

      Obama to Renege on Afghan Drawdown
  "The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to de-emphasize President Barack Obama's pledge that he'd begin withdrawing U.S. forces in July 2011, administration and military officials have told McClatchy." This report indicates not only that the "surge" failed militarily, but that the political policy in which it was embedded - that troops would be withdrawn whether the surge succeeded or not - has also failed...
  <http://www.truth-out.org/mcclatchy-obama-renege-afghan-drawdown64998 <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=57iiPxQLT9k6fMEvHvQpN9eiq389iYMq>

     Obama reportedly agrees to allow rich bigger tax cut than middle class
      By John Byrne
      Thursday, November 11th, 2010
  David Axelrod, the senior adviser to President Barack Obama, says that the White House has conceded to Republicans in giving into tax cuts for the wealthy, a legacy of a Bush-era policy to reduce federal taxes for various income classes. He doesn't, however, say that the rich should enjoy the tax cuts forever, but the decision to agree to a temporary extension of the cuts may be a moot point, because it likely will simply push the issue to a future presidential term...

  <http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/white-house-agree-bush-tax-cuts-rich/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=aee3380bbb-Nov11Newsletter11_11_2010&utm_medium=email>

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