Demonizing Obama
By Akhila Raman
04 March, 2009
Countercurrents.org
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up... live out the true meaning of its creed:" We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal". " Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech, Aug. 28, 1963
Only 45 years since Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the rousing speech "I have a dream", Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and Kansas mother who used foodstamps at times to feed her family, has become the first Black President of the United States of America, beating all odds. While he has been vilified and subjected to a barrage of criticism and ridicule from both ends of the political spectrum, he has been largely supported and praised by most of the African Americans who mobilized massively in tens of millions to vote for him, who feel immensely proud of the first Black Family in the "White" House. How do we reconcile such violently opposing reactions and could we judge him by his record so far, as opposed to judging him by sound bites?
Judging Obama by Sound bites During his presidential campaign, Obama used carefully scripted sound bites such as "I am not a Muslim"(Don't worry), "I will bomb Al-qaeda in Pakistan"(I am a Strong Leader), "Israel's security is sacrosanct"(I feel Israel in my kishkas) which infuriated progressive liberals around the world who denounced him vociferously as a vacuous hope and change peddler and a "corporate candidate". [1] Similarly Obama's lines "I will raise the payroll taxes and capital gains taxes on the wealthy making above 250,000 dollars a year" infuriated those on the Right who denounced him likewise. [2] In the six weeks following his inauguration, similar sounding lines from Obama and his delayed remarks on Gaza and continuing policy on Afghanistan and North West Pakistan have drawn sharp criticism from the Left. In the meanwhile, most of the African Americans, right from ordinary women like Henrietta Hughes and Harlem children to renowned scholars like John Hope Franklin , Henry Louis Gates Jr. and poet Maya Angelou rejoiced in his victory and consider him as one of their own though he has no slave ancestry.
Can we step back and examine Obama's record so far from a neutral perspective, rather than through a puritanical ideological prism?
Man of action or Hope and Change Peddler?
Positive actions
In the first six weeks following his inauguration on January 20, President Obama has managed to sign a number of important bills so far and outline foreign policy directions.
Domestic Policy
[1] The first legislation he signed into law was Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which will help workers and other victims of past pay discrimination.
[2] He signed into law expansion of children's health insurance - SCHIP, which will provide health insurance for 4 million additional children.
[3] Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill signed on Feb 17, 2009 contains progressive social investments creating/saving 2-3 million jobs. [ foodstamps, medicaid, welfare, housing and Unemployment: $208b ; Education: $91b ; Infrastructure: $81b ; Energy incl. Renewable: $50b ]
[4] Obama administration has withdrawn oil and natural gas leases on 130,000 acres of public land in Utah RedRock Wilderness area, granted in haste during last weeks of Bush administration, indicating that it intends to restore the right balance between development of resources and protection of environment.
[5] Obama's proposed budget for 2010 allocates more than half the budget for social security, medicare, medicaid, housing, education, health and human services. It proposes to create a $634 billion health care reserve fund over 10 years towards downpayment for healthcare reform. It also proposes reversing tax cuts for the wealthy, raise capital gains tax on those making over $250k; increases corporate taxes with an overall tax increase of $600b over 10 years for the wealthy and corporates. The Republicans are expected to fight him tooth and nail on this budget with a possible Senate filibuster, but Obama can hardly be denounced as a "corporate candidate" any more, nor can his "hope" and "change" message be denounced as "vacuous", given his stimulus bill and proposed budget.
Foreign Policy
[1] Iraq troop withdrawal : On Feb 27,2009 Obama outlined his plans for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, in keeping with his campaign pledge for "responsible phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq". A minimum of 90,000 troops out of current 140,000 troops will be withdrawn with end of combat mission by August 2010 and he remains committed to removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 under the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government.[3] Many anti-war activists would like faster total withdrawal of troops. Anti-war journalist Nir Rosen's revealing on-the-ground report from Iraq makes it quite clear that sectarian tension between Shias and Sunnis remains suppressed under the surge and is very real. Former Sunni "Resistance" is today's "Sahwa" working with the US troops Working on a regional pact with Iran and other neighbours will be crucial for Iraq's long-term stability. Which might explain Obama's policy "We need to be as careful to get out as we were careless to get in".
[2] Mid-east: Obama's Al-Arabiya interview shortly after his inauguration was conciliatory towards the Muslim world. Especially his remarks such as "I have muslim relatives" and reiteration of willingness to talk to Iran( which Ahmedinejad has responded warmly to lately.) and also subtle admission of "mistakes in the past" [ "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes . We have not been perfect..."]
Negative actions
Unfortunately, there has been little change in the foreign policy of Obama administration towards Afghanistan and North-West Pakistan with continued drone attacks which kill many innocent civilians. None of his positive actions outlined in the previous section are any comfort for the Afghan and Pakistani civilians who bear the brunt of these attacks. But there are indications of possible policy changes in future.
[1] Afghanistan: In his 02/17/09 interview to CBC, Obama admitted failure of military policy in afghanistan and mentioned the need for "comprehensive strategy using diplomacy and development to counter the growing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan". [towards which he has ordered a policy review]. [2] Mid-east: Obama's initial silence on Israel's recent brutal assault on Gaza was disturbing. Israel appears to have done a strategic unilateral ceasefire just before Obama's inauguration, presumably so as not to get in his bad books, following Obama's delayed remarks of his "concern for palestinian civilian casualty". Which could mean at the very minimum, during Obama's term(s), Israel may not dare another blatant carnage on the scale of gaza war and 2006 lebanon war [for which it had unconditional backing from the Bush administration.] Notwithstanding his pre-election capitulation in front of AIPAC, Obama has recently made veiled remarks that a future without hope for the Palestinians is unacceptable (along with obligatory reaffirmation of commitment to Israel's security). He has appointed George Mitchell as the envoy for mid-east, who has former successful negotiating experience in Northern Ireland Peace Process. US has also recently donated $900m to the Palestinian Authority for Gaza reconstruction.
Walk The Walk and Talk The Talk
It is clear that Obama's record has been mixed. There has been intense criticism over his speech in front of AIPAC in June 2008. Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian American Professor at Columbia University, who knew Obama well has described Obama's support for Israel as a "requirement to win a national election in the U.S" and does not begrudge his friend for being out of touch and remains hopeful that Obama will do better towards Palestinians.
Clearly Obama is prepared to "Walk The Walk and Talk The Talk" as he himself described as what is required to run for US Presidency. As a mainstream politician, he cannot expect to win if he speaks like a puritanical Ralph Nader. He appears to have formulated cleverly crafted stump speech lines which will appeal to the masses and has stayed away from controversial stances. All this can be justified if he manages to effect policies which help people at the margins of the society, which he certainly has done with his stimulus bill outlined in the previous section, which will surely help millions of workers and people at the margins. Not all his cabinet choices are corporate idealogues, his main economic advisor Lawrence summers himself has evolved from deregulation enthusiast towards pro-regulation of financial sector and even writes now in favour of income equality, higher taxes for rich and lower for the poor and is one of the main driving forces in Obama's stimulus bill and proposed budget. Besides his cabinet has diversity with many women and minorities. [4]
Engaging Obama Vs Demonizing Obama
People on the Left who are disenchanted with Obama have two options: Hold a very puritanical ideological banner, view everything that Obama says or does through an ideological prism and continue to whip the latest President in Washington on perceived moral high grounds. Alternatively, they could choose to give him credit where it is due- such as progressive measures outlined in the previous section- and engage him on grounds of mutual respect with progressive issues of interest to them where he is lagging behind.
Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot of Center for Economic Policy research(CEPR) have chosen the latter approach and have consistently written articles with helpful and constructive criticism . And Obama administration has taken care to invite them recently to a White House fiscal summit, as they have invited other progressive groups such as moveon.org(anti-war) and Planned Parenthood recently who choose to engage with them based on mutual respect. [5] It may be worthwhile remembering the words of Hugo Chavez before being unduly harsh on Obama:
" I believe it's better to die in battle, rather than hold aloft a very revolutionary and very pure banner, and do nothing ... Try and make your revolution, go into combat, advance a little, even if it's only a millimetre, in the right direction, instead of dreaming about utopias. " Hugo Chavez in an interview with Tariq Ali
[ The author is a researcher based in California. Full Text of the article with detailed references can be found in: Demonizing Obama ]
References:
[1] John Pilger: From Kennedy to Obama: Liberalism's last fling.
[2] Obama Tax Plan
Capital Gains: Families with incomes below $250,000 will continue to pay the capital gains rates that they pay today. For those in the top two income tax brackets – likewise adjusted to affect only families over $250,000 – Obama will create a new top capital gains rate of 20 percent. Obama’s 20% rate is equal is the lowest rate that existed in the 1990s and the rate that President Bush proposed in 2001. It is almost a third lower than the rate that President Reagan signed into law in 1986. Average Tax Rates Below the 1990s: Overall, the top 1 percent of households – people with an average income of $1.6 million per year – would see their average federal income and payroll tax rate increase from 21 percent today to 24 percent, less than the 25 percent these households would have paid under the tax laws of the late 1990s.
[3] Responsibly Ending the War in Iraq
"..by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end...And under the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government, I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011..."
[4] Pendulum swings towards regulation: Lawrence Summers
[5] Obama and Nader
Obama has always resented the notion that if two parties disagree with each other on a specific issue, that should necessarily mean that one of them is not substantive enough.
