http://www.wsws. org/articles/
2009/jul2009/ pers-j21. shtml
Six months of the Obama administration
21 July 2009
Six months ago yesterday, Barack Obama was inaugurated as
the 44th president of the United States.
The election of Obama represented a popular repudiation of
the Bush administration and its domestic and foreign policies. The
principal slogan of Obama—“change you can believe in”—struck a chord
with a population fed up with eight years of war and single-minded
focus on the interests of the corporate elite.
Obama’s persona and individual history symbolized, for broad
sections of the working class and youth, this desire for change. The
fact that Obama would be the first African-American president was seen
by many as reason to believe he would instinctively sympathize with the
poor and oppressed. In any case, it was thought, he would be very
different from what had come before.
What evaluation can be made in light of six months’
experience? The facts speak for themselves. On every critical issue,
Obama—presiding over substantial Democratic majorities in both houses
of Congress—has continued the basic policy of his predecessor.
Military policy
The direction of the administration on military policy was
signaled early on. On January 23, three days after his inauguration,
Obama ordered missile strikes by unmanned Predator drones on a location
inside Pakistan, killing 18 people. With this initial blood on his
hands, Obama proceeded apace.
The war in Afghanistan is now definitively “Obama’s war.”
Under his watch, the US has set in motion a doubling of its forces,
from 32,000 to 68,000, and is presently carrying out a major operation
to wipe out popular opposition in the south. At least 30 US soldiers
and 25 NATO troops have died so far this month, making July the
deadliest month to date for occupation forces.
With Obama, however, the operation has become the “AfPak”
war. US missile strikes within Pakistan, often killing dozens of
Pakistani civilians, have become a regular occurrence. The
administration has pressured Pakistan to carry out its own offensive in
its northwestern territories, resulting in hundreds of thousands of
refugees and massive causalities.
The occupation of Iraq continues. The drawback of US forces
from the cities does not herald an end to US military involvement in
the country. Some 130,000 troops remain in what
amounts to permanent military bases outside the cities, and the
administration has begun the process of relabeling troops as
“advisors.” In the event that the fragile political situation breaks
down, the US military will intervene with full force.
Economic and social policy
On domestic policy, Obama’s overriding concern has been to
defend the wealth of the most powerful sections of the corporate and
financial elite. Through cash injections, subsidies and loan programs,
trillions have been handed out to the banks and financial institutions,
with no strings attached. The administration has opposed any real
constraints on executive pay or bonuses.
Utilizing the government handouts, the largest banks
reported massive profits in the second quarter of 2009, including $3.44
billion for Goldman Sachs and $2.7 billion for JPMorgan Chase. The
banks plan on handing out record bonuses this year to their executives
and traders.
The very institutions that precipitated the economic crisis
through their speculation and looting operations are doing better than
ever. This is not an accident. It is the intended outcome of the policy
carried out by the Obama administration.
Many auto workers looked to Obama for positive change.
Instead, the administration has forced through massive cuts in wages
and benefits, along with the destruction of tens of thousands of jobs.
Obama has shepherded General Motors and Chrysler through bankruptcy
court, where the two companies left billions in unwanted liabilities
behind, including health care obligations to tens of thousands of
retirees.
The administration is carrying out a similar policy in
relation to state and local governments, refusing to give them the type
of loans made available to the banks. The largest state in the country,
California, is on the verge of economic meltdown, and the state
government is seizing on the crisis as an opportunity to gut education,
welfare and other social programs. Similar draconian measures are being
implemented throughout the country.
As for the Obama’s principal domestic initiative—health care
“reform”—the administration’s proposals are driven by the desire of
corporations to slash their employee health care costs and are tailored
to the demands of the major players in the health care
industry—particularly the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
Health care “reform” has been shifted from providing decent
care for all to cutting costs. Obama insists that reducing health care
expenditures is imperative for lowering the budget deficit and
restoring the economy, even as he declares he will do “whatever it
takes” to bail out the banks.
If a bill on health care eventually passes, it will require
workers to pay more for inadequate health insurance and rationed care.
This “expanded coverage” will be used as a pretext for slashing federal
health care programs, particularly Medicare.
Like everything else, health care is being restructured as a
more openly class-based system. Workers will have to choose between
their health and their other needs, while the rich are afforded the
best treatment money can buy.
The outcome of the administration’s policies to deal with
the economic crisis is a massive redistribution of wealth from the
bottom to the top.
Democratic rights
On all essentials, the Obama administration has continued
the antidemocratic policies of its predecessor. It has invoked “state
secrets” to block court cases challenging torture and domestic spying.
The administration reversed a promise to release photos showing US
torture of detainees. It has continued the military tribunals and
indicated it plans to adopt a policy of indefinite detention for
prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
Obama has repeatedly insisted that there will be no
prosecution of any of the crimes carried out by the Bush
administration. This means no one will be held accountable and that the
crimes will continue.
* * *
The outcome of the 2008 elections is an object lesson on the
failure of American democracy. These elections produced an outcome that
is diametrically opposed to the aspirations of the voters who cast
ballots for the victor.
It is not possible, through the existing political system,
to effect a change in government policy. The basic reason is that the
political institutions and parties are the unvarnished instruments of
class rule. The financial elite exercises absolute control over every
aspect of political life.
What is perhaps most remarkable is the fact that the Obama
administration barely makes an effort to conceal its class character.
It seems to assume that Obama’s persona by itself is sufficient to
quell opposition. To the extent that the administration’s attention is
focused on the Democratic Party and its periphery—the assorted coterie
of “left” publications and organizations—this evaluation is correct.
However, there has already been a significant fall in
Obama’s poll ratings, including substantial declines on the economy and
health care. According to the most recent Washington Post-ABC
News poll, Obama’s overall approval ratings have dropped below 60
percent for the first time. We suspect that public unease is, in fact,
far broader and deeper than these figures yet indicate.
Here, Lincoln’s famous aphorism is appropriate: “You can
fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of
the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
Public disenchantment and anger are being driven by the
objective impact of the economic crisis, the consequences of Obama’s
wars, and the ever more glaring contradiction between the popular
sentiments to which he appealed to get elected and the social interests
that he serves. To the extent that the American people feel they have
been taken for a ride and played for suckers, the mass opposition will
be that much more intense.
The administration has yet to reckon with the independent
intervention of the American working class. When this class movement
does develop, it will seek new channels independent of and in
opposition to the entire political and social system.
Joe Kishore
--
Linda
http://freedetainees.org/
"If we shadows have offended, Think but this,
and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd
here While these visions did appear..."
- William Shakespeare
