A couple of posts down, I said that Barack Obama voted in favor of the bankruptcy reform bill of 2005. Quite a few web sites convey this impression, and quite a few web sites are wrong. He in fact voted against that legislation. The confusion stems from the fact that he initially made some noises in favor of it. I bought into a misperception -- and the fact that the mispereception is a common one does not excuse my error.
Biden, incidentally, voted yea.
A previously-cited Z Magazine article notes that "he opposed an amendment to the Bankruptcy Act that would have capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent."
Other misperceptions: Some bloggers and commentators think that Obama opposed net neutrality. In fact, he has been a strong advocate of keeping the internet a level playing field. He also kind of zigged and zagged in the run-up to the Alito cloture vote, but in the end voted in what progressives would consider the "right" way.
I still say that Obama has leaned to the right rather too frequently to please me. It's the Clinton story all over again: Veer right to get the nomination, veer right to win the general election, veer right during the first term to make sure you have a second one, veer right during the second term to make sure your veep has a decent shot. And all the while, the real right screams that there's a Bolshie in the oval office.
3 comments:
Joseph,
Who was it that said people do not know the power they hold and they give it away so easily?
Some 18 Century scolar or historian, I think.
All the realities of politics and capitalism do not and can not stop the power that people hold.
Capitalism needs people to work for it, and governments need people that obey, without which, there is no nation or economy.
Obama is a politician, by extention a capitalist, political slave.
The color of his skin does not rescue him nor convict him.
The fact that he is a Democrat(a political party) does. He has to behave as a political animal and fight forces as others do. He is not above or below the rank of politician, which by extention means slave of the government who is the biggest slave master of all.
So let's not rescue him nor convict him and let's not above all give him any breaks because he is of color.
I would be curious to know the real inside game. Is Obama in it to take away some of Hill's money? Did someone put him up to running or is it original?
He is certainly " Mr. Feel Good".
And after this miserable experience that is still going AND going just like the energizer bunny, I want to make real sure our next President can read more than My Pet Goat and can manage whatever is left of America in the world.
Not sure it is Obama. Haven't really seen anything that floats my boat yet.
I am not yet a firm supporter of Obama or any other candidate, but definitely leaning toward him. The fact that we both have some things in common about where we spent our lives (Hawaii and Illinois) probably biases my views. Recently I picked up his book Dreams of My Father and am about 1/3-through it so far. My respect and appreciation of his intellect and character has grown, after being initially skeptical of his experience and grasp of realpolitik. I highly recommend the book, both for reading pleasure and insight into Obama and our American society. The book was written more than a dozen years ago when he was a community organizer in Chicago and before he held elective office in the Illinois legislature, and then recently to the US Senate. Obama is indeed very articulate and perceptive. Having grown up in Hawaii's multi-cultural environment, in Indonesia four years as a youth, and having traveled and met his father's family in Kenya, he has a far wider grasp of the world and people than 99.9% of all Americans, IMHO. The book is far more poetically written and insightful than what one would expect from a politician/political candidate.
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