REAL ART GUEST BLOGGER
OBAMARAMA

My old pal Matt, who attended both high school and college with me, and is probably much smarter than me, takes me to the woodshed:

Open Letter to Real Art: You're ducking Obama

Hi, Ron - great to see you blogging again. But I notice that you seem to be avoiding a certain subject. I know you can't stand the Democrats (you and I both) and Ralph Nader seems to once again be the only acceptable option for your vote. But, in the Democratic Party primary process, one upstart progressive is giving one sell-out corporate shill Democratic-establishment-lifer, the fight of her career.

Now, it's not over by any stretch - but I have not heard a word from you about candidate Obama. Since you rarely force anyone to guess at your opinion, I'm kind of out on a limb. But here is some conjecture.

First, my observations about Obama - whom I currently support (we'll see how he does down the road):

- Obama is more liberal-progressive than Clinton and in fact, may be more so than about any Democrat out there (based on voting record while in the Senate). One could even say he's the most liberal person in our lifetimes to get this close to the White House.

- Obama is actually a lot like McCain - he's a real threat to his party's established leadership - in a good way for the rest of us.

- Obama claims to not want to do politics as usual and there is some evidence for this so far, including legislation designed to curb lobbyists and a fairly high road campaign so far, despite Bill and Hillary's best efforts to drag it down.

- Obama has energized independents, moderates (liberal and conservative), and non-baby-boomers. By the way, do you realize that if Obama gets the nod, we will have no baby-boomers in the race? McCain was born in '41 and Obama was born in '61 (making him part of the intergenerational '60-'65 group that was once referred to as Generation X before it got slapped on our generation). It only took Clinton I and Bush Jr. for the country to tire of this egotistical, loudmouthed, pretentious, whiny generation and to move on. Good riddance.

- Obama, if elected, immediately challenges the current world-view of the United States by 1. African-Americans, 2. The rest of the world.

So, why would Ron not have something to say, good, ill or both, about such an interesting character?

- Theory: Ron, baby-boomer lover that he is, isn't ready to see them pushed aside
- Response: I don't see it - most people only hate one of our baby boomer presidents - Ron can't stand either

- Theory: Ron actually likes Obama but he's afraid we're all getting out hopes up just to have them crushed by the Clinton machine
- Response: I believe this could happen - but Ron's a fighter - if he was for Obama, he'd be fighting for him

- Theory: Ron is terrified/confused at the prospect of supporting a candidate that is actually electable
- Response: Well, I sure am! (Perot '92, Nader '00)

- Theory: I'm missing something big/important about Obama and Ron will soon point it out
- Response: Very likely, based on the depth that Ron looks at these issues - but I can't help but think that if he had a point no one had hit on, he'd have put it out there

- Theory: Ron is busy with other things and has not had time to really dig in on OB so please get the hell off his back, you big jerk!
- Response: Uh, sorry.

- Theory: Ron actually kind of likes Obama - but man he hates him some Democrats and he hasn't reconciled that yet
- Response: This one might have legs...

What say you?

Actually, the second to the last theory hits closest. A few week back via email, after I had written something to the effect of my not knowing what the man is about, Matt challenged me to check out Obama's platform on his website. Obviously, I haven't done that yet, which is why I've just kept my mouth shut about him. I figured that I'd wait until the general election if it came to that. But now, of course, he's looking unstoppable, for which I am grateful because I really do have contempt for Hillary, although I understand that her healthcare plan covers more Americans than her opponent's. Maybe it's time for me to learn about all things Obama. So in the next few days I'm planning on reading up on his issue stances--maybe I'll like what's there. I certainly hope so.

However, I'll say this for the time being. His rhetoric has been, in my opinion, extraordinarily vague: even though no less than Ralph Nader himself has asserted that Obama fully understands how corporations have both undermined and dominated our political system, it has been John Edwards making noise about it on the campaign trail, not Obama. Further, Obama talks about "change" and "unity" a great deal, and people just fucking love it, me too, but once he's in the Oval Office, uplifting speeches will only go so far. That is, in order to truly change the nation, Obama will have to take the gloves off and get his hands dirty. Really dirty. These corporate interests will not go gently into that good night; they'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming. Unity will only work for so long.

Does Barack Obama have the gumption to ruthlessly attack the forces which have made American democracy a joke? Keeping his policy positions seemingly below the radar does not give me confidence in this area.

More to come.

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