Obama, Change ‘08…and today?

Posted on | November 6, 2010 | No Comments

What hasn’t been said and written about this campaign in the two years that have passed? And yet – of course, there’s hope for change..

So, I just came across this video on Youtube:

What’s really interesting here is what this fine lady says at the beginning of the clip:

The president alone cannot affect the changes that he had promised in the 2008 elections…

Let me rephrase:

The president alone cannot affect the changes that he had promised in the 2008 elections…

This is, in fact, quite revolutionary; it’s both acknowledging the relative powerlessness of politicians and getting citizens to support them in order to “get the job done.”

In other words: if there’s one thing this campaign did do, it was 1. to identify one of the major elements of today’s political landscape – “politicians have lost all real power” – and 2. using just this “fact” to turn it into something positive, something stimulating and engaging. That really is quite astonishing.

Now: what’s left after the midterm elections? I’m not quite sure, actually, but let’s look at what he said on Wednesday:

I think we have to take direct responsibility for the fact that we haven’t made as much progress as we need to make.

He’s assuming leadership, integrity and honesty, fair enough – and, for all “we” could mean here, I think it’s fairly obvious that he’s taking on personal responsibility for the election outcome. In other words: he’s just another powerless politician..which is, in fact, probably not as bad as it sounds – because, God forbid, the last thing you’d want is to believe that the “people” are powerless too…

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