I tuned in late, but the documentary I saw was "The Choice 2008":
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/ The feedback from readers (follow the link) is a mixed bag as can be expected, with only occasional glimmers of intelligence. The interview with David Mendell accords with most of the documentary. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/interviews/mendell.html There are a number of things that can be said about McCain as well from this documentary, but I was more interested in the nuances of those parts of Obama's story that I saw, particularly about his experiences establishing himself in Chicago, his position on the Harvard Law Review, and his early political campaigns in Illinois. I only tuned in at the point where Obama is trying to establish himself in Chicago's South Side. The documentary wasn't entirely clear about pinpointing the motivations that determined his role as a mediator in the racially antagonistic atmosphere of Harvard, particularly his deliberate cultivation of conservatives that would set the tone for his later political maneuvering. The question is: what is this about other than naked personal ambition? Was his behavior pragmatically justified? Ultimately, the question is: what was and what is he aiming for? The Chicago community organizing story is a sad one, first of all, because it shows up the backward provincialism of black political behavior and the social and political ugliness of American cities. But again, how to evaluate Obama as an outsider attempting to do community organizing depends on how one gauges his perspective and motivations. Whatever the motivation, the whole scenario is sad and pathetic. The layers and layers of obstructions one has to deal with, not only the oppressive nature of the larger society and its institutions, but the small-minded provincialism of leaders who don't want anyone peeing on their trees, and saddest of all, the hopeless backwardness of the very people one is trying to help. A large number of people do their best to put as much distance between themselves and their "roots" as possible. The very notion that Obama would want to root himself in the black community of the south side of Chicago is itself depressing. Social consciousness is not about roots; it's about human emancipation, and if the helpers or the helpees lack development of the mental capacity to understand this, they'll spin their wheels forever. This nation is doomed. Have a nice day. At 11:50 PM 10/19/2008, Ralph Dumain wrote: >I'm watching on PBS this Frontline documentary on Obama & McCain's >political trajectories that is absolutely fascinating. > >It's also an unwitting indictment of this society and further >evidence that it's doomed. _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [email protected] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
