Obama richly deserves the rebuke from Massachusetts. Armed with a nation's fervent hopes a year ago, he spurned the unrivalled opportunity offered by economic crisis to do what he pledged: usher in substantive change. He's done exactly the opposite. Wall Street has been given the green light to continue with business as usual. The stimulus package was far too weak. The opportunity for financial reform has passed. Trillions will be wasted in Afghanistan.
When will so called radical politicians get it? People want them to be radical.
In which context it's good to see my Green New Deal colleague Ann Pettifor is seeking a safe Labour seat. I can't see Ann losing her radical edge if elected.
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I agree – the wave of hope for change which brought Obama to power has been largely dissipated and people see him (fairly or unfairly) as just another tool of Wall Street and big business interests.
It’s starting to feel more and more like the Carter administration to me. Both Obama and Jimmy Carter are well-meaning guys but that’s not enough to succeed as a Democrat President. Obama has spent far too much time angling for a “bipartisan” approach which is never going to happen (the Republicans are, almost to a person, right-wing extremists) and too little time trying to outline a vision which takes the US government away from being a tool of big business interests and towards an organisation which acts more in the interests of the ordinary person on the street. In that way he mirrors the failings of Gordon Brown, another man who I believe wants to do the right thing but is also scared to do so.
Unlike Brown, Obama still has plenty of time to turn things around but the question is whether he really wants to or not. I think we’ll find that out over the next year or so.