THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CLARION CALL

More Political Theater: Obama’s Tax Cut Deal

A NOTE TO OBAMA: YOU’VE LOST OLBERMANN

The night Obama got elected to the presidency, Keith Olbermann literally fought for the honor of announcing his triumph with tears in his eyes and his voice breaking. For Olbermann and many others, this was an historic night and one to remember. It was only little over twenty four months ago, but it seems like ages ago now.
There was a time when LBJ concluded that if he lost Walter Cronkite, he lost America. Obama now has his moment with Keith Olbermann. He’s lost Olbermann and along with him most of his base and the straw that broke the camel’s back was his capitulation on the tax cut fight. Basically, he’s lost his base by constantly trying to accommodate the same people committed to the failure of his presidency. Perhaps he’s been just worn down by the battle with these people and I can’t imagine a worst way to lose one’s political base than to basically lay down and surrender.
I watched Obama’s historic election with my kids two years ago and while I was happy to see Obama get elected, I’m also a pragmatist and I knew that expectations were far in excess of what this man could deliver even under the best of circumstances. The main limitation is a political system that’s been purchased lock, stock and barrel by the monied elite and that alone serves to limit any real change unless one is able to change the entire system. Changing the entire system requires that this monied elite be displaced and Obama had the chance to engage that battle on several fronts—with the banks, on health care and with the Bush tax cuts to name a few. He failed on all accounts, but the one that was the most critical failure was that revolving around the Wall Street oligarchs and the failure to break their power. To be sure, he was saddled with Bush’s precedent on the TARP, but there was nothing to prevent him from pursuing prosecutions for the criminal elements among the banksters and there was nothing to prevent him from bringing in a reformist minded group of economic advisors, but he lacked the courage to really bring change and that failure is not just his alone but extends to the nation as we will all pay for that. It was never the expectation that things would be fixed in a mere twenty four months, but people did expect at least a general movement in the right direction. Instead, what we wound up with was Bush II.
I never like to count anyone totally out, so all is not lost at this point. But to avoid going down in flames, Obama needs to get a backbone in a hurry and get about truly doing the people’s business. That means he has to get some convictions first, and then show the courage of those convictions rather than constantly compromising and bending over backwards to accommodate the very people committed to seeing he’s a one termer. And above all, set aside concerns about getting re-elected. Now is time more than ever when we need people to simply put the country first as that’s far more important than his re-election. He has to do the right thing and uncompromisingly so.