What authority got Obama elected, pluralist or power elite?

[graywarrior]

There is such controversy on the net, I cannot come to an exact conclusion. Obviously, he had big money backing him to get him nominated, but according to some of the articles I have read online, he has been bought and owned by the power elite. However, most of his votes came from people under the age of 30.

Was he really a marketing dream that the power elite jumped on knowing he'd do their bidding, or was he the real thing?

Regardless of how he got elected, personally I am glad he did. I viewed McCain and Hillary Clinton as more of the power elite and Obama being closer to my humble existence as he was a community organizer and was raised by a single mom, etc.

I tell ya, taking Govt courses messes up your head.

[graywarrior]

1. Thanks for the recommend

Does that mean I get an A?

[mopinko]

2. bought and paid for how? the vast majority

of his contributions were nickels and dimes from widows and orphans.
seriously, tho, imho, he was and is the real deal. the guy i see up there is the same guy who was a state senator from a shitty part of town. he is the guy who got the cops to agree to videotape interrogations in a city and state where police tortured many suspects into confessing to things they could not even spell, let alone do. it took him 2 years. but he did it.
and i know the people who really got him on the ballot, for the senate anyway- his colleagues in the ill. senate. good progressives who took time to go to coffees to talk people into supporting him with time and money, sometimes only a couple people at a time. really, the awe with which some of these people spoke of him, i expected him to enter the room on a chariot or something.

you know, does he talk to rich people, listen to them, even? yes. he is not an 'eat the rich' guy. but does he do what he thinks is right when he can? yes. time will tell, i guess. but i remain a hope dope.

[William Z. Foster]

3. both

The massive and historic shift in the electorate, a thorough rejection of Reaganomics and the Religious Right, is the real thing. That is what put the Democrats into office.

At the same time, the same big money power brokers are for the most part still in total control. It is very difficult if not impossible for any politician to buck the power brokers, particularly if there is no mass public pressure for the needs and aspirations of the working class to counterbalance the immense pressure and influence of Wall Street and the various corporations. Too many people see politics as a matter of identifying with the right team, pulling the appropriate lever, and then defending whatever their favorite politician does, no matter what it is. This leaves that politician out there alone to wrestle with the power brokers who own Washington, and cripples the ability of that politician to do anything for the working people.

[DebJ]

4. I can't see Obama as someone who does anyone's bidding..

right from the start I saw him, and still do see him, as someone who simply believes in democracy....meaning we all must give and take, because we all live in this democracy. That means you don't always get what you want. I never saw him as a far left liberal....which I am....but I share his belief in democracy, so overall, I have supported almost all of his decisions....except the ocean drilling ... I think he does the 'bidding' of his intelligent, active mind after it has perused all feasible choices. What else could I want in a President who wasn't born on Krypton?

[Union Yes]

5. K&R

I posted a related OP.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8256392

[Scuba]

6. False choice

There were many other factors, including the failures of the previous administration.

The real question is how do we continue to swing OUR government further to the left, where the majority of Americans want it, instead of toward their so-called "middle" which is actually to the right.

[old mark]

7. The "corporatist" label is bullshit. Obama is playing a dirty game because that is the reality

of US politics. I HATE the GOP but I grudgingly understand-intellectually-the need to have just a few of them cooperate with us and the need to try to siphon off a few more of the GOP's "moderate" voters and even candidates. It is just very frustrating to me that there is not a crumb thrown to the left - I am hoping there will be SOME leftish policies well before the election so that a lot of us vote...I NEVER want to see any republicans elected to anything, ever again, period.

mark

Didn't get an A but did get a Rec...

[graywarrior]

8. I knew you guys would clear this up

I've been reading everything I can on the web to try and find different opinions. Most of the stuff out there is right wing BS. According to a lot that I read, Obama is either a Marxist or a fork-tongued snake. No wonder I stay within DU.