Independent UK: Obama, the man who would be Roosevelt

[marmar]

David Clark: Obama, the man who would be Roosevelt
The right says he is a socialist and un-American – which is the very thing that appeals to new voters

Sunday, 2 November 2008



The great American historian Arthur Schlesinger often described his country's political history as a movement of cycles in which periods of public purpose and private interest alternated with one another. The former were characterised by a belief in the ability of affirmative government to transform lives for the better, the latter by a faith in the power of individual initiative unfettered by the stifling hand of taxation and state regulation. As Americans prepare to vote on Tuesday, many are wondering whether Schlesinger's law will apply once more as the era of private interest ushered in by the Reagan Revolution 28 years ago gives way to a new era of public purpose under President Obama.

The Republican right certainly fears that it will. The closing speeches of John McCain's faltering campaign for the White House have been full of dire warnings about what will happen to America under "Barack the Redistributor", a nickname coined after the Democratic candidate's unscripted exchange with Joe the Plumber in which he spoke of his wish to "spread the wealth around". For The Wall Street Journal, this heralds nothing less than the "Europeanisation of America", a prospect so frightening that it requires no further explanation. Obama's policies are socialist and un-American.

In any previous election of the past 40 years this would probably have been enough to sink Obama's campaign, but the depth of the financial crisis has shocked American voters to the core and changed the electoral script in the process. At a time when the state has become the last line of defence against the threat of full-scale economic collapse, it is no longer credible to argue, as Ronald Reagan did, that "government is the problem". For Americans contemplating the prospect of home repossession and unemployment – including the loss of coveted health insurance – the idea of affirmative government holds new attractions.

America has been here before. In the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, the explosion of wealth and inequality that accompanied industrialisation was justified by the doctrine of social Darwinism and the belief that unregulated markets were necessary to allow the fittest and most talented to rise to the top. Proposals to modify market outcomes using policies of redistribution and public intervention were dismissed as a misguided attempts to rearrange the natural order of life. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/david-clark-obama-the-man-who-would-be-roosevelt-984308.html

[Mind_your_head]

1. Obama better be "Roosevelt's roosevelt" and obama has to make most of

his moves in the first 100 days! (while he's still riding the wave of popularity)....which won't last for very long.

offering my VERY humble opinion/thoughts .....

Peace,
M_Y_H

[Tiggeroshii]

2. Wonderful piece