George Washington. Abraham Lincoln. Mahatma Gandhi. Martin Luther King Jr. The names of these men are almost universally associated with greatness. All of them have brought true hope and change to their countries in times of strife and struggle.
Does the name Barack Obama deserve to be uttered in the same breath as these men? Can Barack bring about the changes and provide the hope that he has claimed on so many occasions that he can and will do? Is Barack the “new generation of leadership” as Ted Kennedy has claimed? Can he “bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad?” as Bill Richardson has claimed? Can he “Heal our nation and save our souls” as Michelle Obama has asserted? Or is it just politics as usual on the campaign trail?
No one can answer these questions with a definite yes or no. Therefore, we need to take a look at what kind of leader Obama has been in the past and what experiences have shaped him as a human being. We as voters have a duty to ourselves and to our country to see what kind of people the leaders we elect have been in their lives and how they have led.
At first glance, Obama is an impressive man. Obama is a brilliant orator and as any good lawyer should, he possesses a strong and persuasive voice. Obama’s speeches have been known to be touching and inspiring. He has bridged the issue of race. He has vowed fight inflating health care costs. He has vowed to never take any money from political action committees or big corporate lobbyists. He has vowed to take on NAFTA. He has stated that he has the experience to lead. Can we believe him?
Who is Barack Obama?
As we discussed in class, a persons ideologies are formed early in their lives.
Obama was born in 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother and father separated when he was 2. When he was 6, Obama moved with his mother and new step father to Indonesia where he lived until he was 10 years old. At this point in his life, Barack or “Barry” as he was called at the time returned to Hawaii to live with his Methodist, “typical white grand mother” in her high-rise apartment where he lived until his high school graduation in 1979.
Obama attended Occidental College and Columbia University, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983. In 1985, Obama moved to Chicago where he first joined Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ congregation.
In 1988, Barack attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1991. He was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
Obama returned to Chicago and was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, where he served 4 terms.
One fact that is of no importance but is interesting none the less is that on his mothers side Obama has “blood kinship with Winston Churchill, Bertrand Russell, George Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, James Madison, Dick Cheney, Brad Pitt and confederate general Robert E Lee”
Can Barack stand on the issues?
Obama began his political life in the Illinois State Senate where he championed ethics and health care reform; Issues that have persisted in to his U.S. Senate experience and in his Presidential bid.
While it is normal for a presidential candidate who is in the house or the Senate to miss a few votes while running for office, Barack has missed 37.4% in the 110th session of Congress. However, in his first ever term as Senator in the 109th session of Congress Barack only missed 1.7%. Barack’s votes have been fairly consistent with his positions developed in his early career. However, Obama has regularly avoided votes on abortion laws.
In 2004, Barack spoke at the Democratic National Convention giving a speech that inspired many people including Oprah Winfrey. After which, Oprah began throwing around Obama’s name as a man who she would like to see run for president. And if Oprah says it, the people of the world must obey or suffer the wrath of Dr. Phil.
Most of Obama’s national identity has been during his campaign. Unfortunately, Obama has had several recent flaps that have been highly publicized which may impact his presidential bid.
In September of 2007, Obama slammed Hillary Clinton in regards to her comment that it was ok to take money from P.A.C.’s and Lobbyists as they represented the common people. Obama had stated that he would not take campaign contributions from lobbyists. However, while he was serving in Illinois he did take money from health care lobbyists while he was working on healthcare legislation. Seems like politics as usual to me.
In March of 2008, at the Democratic primary debate in Ohio, Obama stated that he would renegotiate NAFTA with Mexico and Canada and stated that he had been consistent about his position on the issue. However, when Barack was questioned about NAFTA in 2004, he stated that he would not repeal NAFTA as he thought that it would cause more harm than good giving to the fact that NAFTA has been entrenched in to America’s economic system for 10 years. Even worse and more “Politics as usual”, Canadian CTV reported the day after the debate an Obama staffer contacted the Canadian Embassy and assured them that Obama’s statements were just “Political rhetoric” and insinuated that no matter what he said, Barack was simply trying to get elected.
Of course no discourse on the recent history of the presidential campaign would be complete without mentioning the shit storm that surrounded Barack’s ties to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. While I will not rehash the comments made by Wright, his “retirement” and Barack’s subsequent inspiring “A More Perfect Union” speech trying to explain the race relations (that he fully experienced in Hawaii and Jakarta.) I will say that if Barack wanted to experience true America, he should have chosen a different congregation.
In Summation, I feel that Obama is simply another Hamiltonian politician who believes the elite know and understand what’s best for the common man. Obama is a Marcus Garvey for our times if you will. He is a man whose own privileged upbringing taints his views and will lead to decisions that are not in the best interest of the rest of the population.
Does the name Barack Obama deserve to be uttered in the same breath as these men? Can Barack bring about the changes and provide the hope that he has claimed on so many occasions that he can and will do? Is Barack the “new generation of leadership” as Ted Kennedy has claimed? Can he “bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad?” as Bill Richardson has claimed? Can he “Heal our nation and save our souls” as Michelle Obama has asserted? Or is it just politics as usual on the campaign trail?
No one can answer these questions with a definite yes or no. Therefore, we need to take a look at what kind of leader Obama has been in the past and what experiences have shaped him as a human being. We as voters have a duty to ourselves and to our country to see what kind of people the leaders we elect have been in their lives and how they have led.
At first glance, Obama is an impressive man. Obama is a brilliant orator and as any good lawyer should, he possesses a strong and persuasive voice. Obama’s speeches have been known to be touching and inspiring. He has bridged the issue of race. He has vowed fight inflating health care costs. He has vowed to never take any money from political action committees or big corporate lobbyists. He has vowed to take on NAFTA. He has stated that he has the experience to lead. Can we believe him?
Who is Barack Obama?
As we discussed in class, a persons ideologies are formed early in their lives.
Obama was born in 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother and father separated when he was 2. When he was 6, Obama moved with his mother and new step father to Indonesia where he lived until he was 10 years old. At this point in his life, Barack or “Barry” as he was called at the time returned to Hawaii to live with his Methodist, “typical white grand mother” in her high-rise apartment where he lived until his high school graduation in 1979.
Obama attended Occidental College and Columbia University, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983. In 1985, Obama moved to Chicago where he first joined Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ congregation.
In 1988, Barack attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1991. He was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
Obama returned to Chicago and was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, where he served 4 terms.
One fact that is of no importance but is interesting none the less is that on his mothers side Obama has “blood kinship with Winston Churchill, Bertrand Russell, George Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, James Madison, Dick Cheney, Brad Pitt and confederate general Robert E Lee”
Can Barack stand on the issues?
Obama began his political life in the Illinois State Senate where he championed ethics and health care reform; Issues that have persisted in to his U.S. Senate experience and in his Presidential bid.
While it is normal for a presidential candidate who is in the house or the Senate to miss a few votes while running for office, Barack has missed 37.4% in the 110th session of Congress. However, in his first ever term as Senator in the 109th session of Congress Barack only missed 1.7%. Barack’s votes have been fairly consistent with his positions developed in his early career. However, Obama has regularly avoided votes on abortion laws.
In 2004, Barack spoke at the Democratic National Convention giving a speech that inspired many people including Oprah Winfrey. After which, Oprah began throwing around Obama’s name as a man who she would like to see run for president. And if Oprah says it, the people of the world must obey or suffer the wrath of Dr. Phil.
Most of Obama’s national identity has been during his campaign. Unfortunately, Obama has had several recent flaps that have been highly publicized which may impact his presidential bid.
In September of 2007, Obama slammed Hillary Clinton in regards to her comment that it was ok to take money from P.A.C.’s and Lobbyists as they represented the common people. Obama had stated that he would not take campaign contributions from lobbyists. However, while he was serving in Illinois he did take money from health care lobbyists while he was working on healthcare legislation. Seems like politics as usual to me.
In March of 2008, at the Democratic primary debate in Ohio, Obama stated that he would renegotiate NAFTA with Mexico and Canada and stated that he had been consistent about his position on the issue. However, when Barack was questioned about NAFTA in 2004, he stated that he would not repeal NAFTA as he thought that it would cause more harm than good giving to the fact that NAFTA has been entrenched in to America’s economic system for 10 years. Even worse and more “Politics as usual”, Canadian CTV reported the day after the debate an Obama staffer contacted the Canadian Embassy and assured them that Obama’s statements were just “Political rhetoric” and insinuated that no matter what he said, Barack was simply trying to get elected.
Of course no discourse on the recent history of the presidential campaign would be complete without mentioning the shit storm that surrounded Barack’s ties to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. While I will not rehash the comments made by Wright, his “retirement” and Barack’s subsequent inspiring “A More Perfect Union” speech trying to explain the race relations (that he fully experienced in Hawaii and Jakarta.) I will say that if Barack wanted to experience true America, he should have chosen a different congregation.
In Summation, I feel that Obama is simply another Hamiltonian politician who believes the elite know and understand what’s best for the common man. Obama is a Marcus Garvey for our times if you will. He is a man whose own privileged upbringing taints his views and will lead to decisions that are not in the best interest of the rest of the population.
3 comments:
The sad thing is that all politicians are usually from privileged upbringings. Senator Clinton too was raised in a middle class family. You will never see a man from the ghetto in the Senate, let alone as president. American politics isn’t made to represent the majority of people, but to allow the few rich and privileged to impose their will and make politics. So just pick the guy who is the most convincing, unless you decide to vote third party.
The point of my article was not to elicit feelings that all “politicians are usually from privileged upbringings.” Nor was it to press for more “Ghetto” inhabitants to run for political office. My point is that Barak Obama is not who he presents himself as. Obama presents himself as a man of the people. He presents himself as an outsider who can bring about change and bring hope to the world because he has lived our pain. I do not agree. I think his upbringing clouds his views on what he thinks the common man needs. He has taken great strides to present himself as the kind of man who would be on par with the founding fathers. He even went so far as to present his “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia.
I would have encouraged anyone responding to my article to debate two major points in my summation as I made two very debatable points.
The first debatable point being that I labeled Obama as a “Hamiltonian politician.” As such, I was saying that Obama ascribed to the views of one of our Nation’s Founding Fathers: Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was a member of the Federalist Party. The Federalist Party, led by Hamilton supported a strong central government that mirrored the British model. Hamilton advocated a “king-like president who would serve “during good behavior” and indefinitely. Hamilton and the Federalists believed that only the “Elite” members in society had the education, the drive and the ability to lead. Hamilton also believed in big business. He openly admired the British banking industry and sought to emulate it here in America.
In this issue, there can no longer be too much debate as shortly after I wrote this article, Obama compared himself to Hamilton. In the speech, Obama reiterated some of Hamilton’s views on the economy and although they were some what distorted to align to the ideals of today’s Democratic Party, endorsed them.
One odd thing of note is that Hamilton had a horrible childhood.
The other debatable, and some-what controversial, point that I made was to compare Obama to Marcus Garvey. Garvey was a black man born in Jamaica who went on to be a great leader in the Pan-African community. However, he held some beliefs that were of great detriment to the people whom he led due do the extremities of those beliefs.
Let me also say, I don’t support any of the candidates in this election. I personally don’t see much good from the current state of politics.
Perhaps you don't check this blog anymore but I wanted to leave a comment for you since you make many reasoned and logical arguments that deserve recognition.
For a while I have been discouraged to participate in politics as I believe that these sorts of factions represent a threat to what government really should be in this nation: A body that protects the human rights of its citizens. We have long since gone far off the path of this interest and instead changed government into a battleground for the economically interested to advance their goals. Politics is about entertainment to the people and about money to corporations and I believe all politicians know this. They balance entertainment with promises to those with power. Obama's health care plan for example is far from reform on a grand scale. It endorses the pharmaceutical companies while ignoring the real issue behind health: that the cause of sickness is not targeted over the result. Of course, the end is profit and such is the way of our economics.
In regards to your arguments about Obama, I'm afraid I can't debate very much. Perhaps on some of your others I'll provide some debate.
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