Imagine Obama's grin and chuckle with Putin and Assad. On Oct 17, 1:35 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A political farce, not a debate > By Patrick Martin > 17 October 2008 > > Wednesday’s nationally televised encounter between Barack Obama and > John McCain was less a debate than a ritualized episode of a > peculiarly American form of political theater. > > The two candidates, both multi-millionaire representatives of the > upper crust of American society, shared the stage with another multi- > millionaire, an aging TV anchorman who confined the subjects and > questions to the banal and predictable, excluding anything that would > call into question the overarching right-wing framework of the > discussion. (Where in this debate, for instance, was there a question > on the latest figures showing that 28 countries have a lower infant > mortality rate than the US, or on the growth in the number of working > poor, or on the plunge towards bankruptcy of state and local > governments?) > > The debate was broadcast simultaneously on all four television > networks and three cable news networks, each with its own set of > millionaire anchormen and pundits, who formed a media chorus > proclaiming the significance of the event as the last and potentially > defining contest of the presidential campaign. > > This was bolstered by an elaborate apparatus of “expert” panels, focus > groups and instant polls, all designed to give the impression that > something of enormous historical significance was taking place. When > the event was over, however, nothing but a few sound bites remained, > and nothing at all of genuine political content. > > The reason for the emptiness and hollowness of the exercise is not > difficult to discern, although it remains an unmentionable in the mass > media. The two parties, despite their feverish competition for > political office, dominated by mudslinging and character > assassination, represent the same class interests. > > The Democrats and the Republicans comprise rival factions of the > financial aristocracy that dominates American society and is > responsible for the economic catastrophe that has erupted over the > past month. Accordingly, neither party wants a serious or critical > examination of the causes of the financial collapse or of the > consequences that will inevitably befall the vast majority of the > people—lost jobs, lost homes, lost incomes, lost futures for their > children. In a word, economic and social ruin. > > Thus the disorienting spectacle on Wednesday night, where the > candidates devoted a grand total of nine minutes (out of 90) to what > Obama conceded was “the worst financial crisis since the Great > Depression.” Neither candidate went beyond previous comments on the > crisis, and both took the identical position—they had voted in the > Senate for the initial $700 billion bailout for Wall Street, and they > now supported the second and even more massive handover of public > funds in the form of capital injections into the major banks, > announced by the Bush administration the day before the debate. > > It seems to be a mathematical law of American bourgeois politics that > the differences between the candidates are inversely proportional to > the significance of the issue. The candidates placidly agreed that the > federal treasury should be placed at the disposal of the same > financial criminals who caused the crisis, and then turned to a bitter > exchange over campaign tactics, followed by a restatement of familiar > (and largely minor) differences over a range of domestic subjects from > taxes to education. > > The third Obama-McCain debate will be remembered mainly for McCain’s > insistence on insulting the intelligence of his audience with no less > than 24 references to a Toledo, Ohio plumber, Joseph Wurzelbacher, > whom he presented as the personification of the American small > businessman about to bankrupted by Obama’s alleged addiction to high > taxes. Within 24 hours of the debate, nearly every fact McCain > asserted about “Joe the plumber” has been called into question. > > The main concern for Obama, with a wide lead in the polls and in state- > by-state electoral vote projections, was to demonstrate again to the > American ruling elite that he can be trusted to defend their > interests. As in the previous debates, he refrained from any verbal > lashing of the wealthy speculators whose parasitic operations brought > about the market crash. It was left to McCain, the Republican, to > declare the American people “innocent victims of greed and excess on > Wall Street.” Obama, by contrast, cited his billionaire supporter > Warren Buffett, the richest man in America, as a key adviser on > economic policy. > > McCain’s performance was incoherent and self-contradictory. He began > with the reference to “greed and excess on Wall Street,” then followed > by denouncing Obama for allegedly advocating “class warfare” in his > tax policy. He reiterated his support for the gargantuan federal > bailout of the banks, then spent the rest of the debate accusing his > opponent of advocating “big government” and “throwing money at the > problem” when it came to such issues as health care, education, energy > policy and job creation. > > The most revealing episode in the 90-minute session was Obama’s > conclusion to the lengthy exchange on negative campaigning, and his > relationship with former 1960s radical Bill Ayers. The Democratic > candidate said, “The allegation that Senator McCain has continually > made is that somehow my associations are troubling. Let me tell you > who I associate with. On economic policy, I associate with Warren > Buffett and former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. If I’m interested in > figuring out my foreign policy, I associate myself with my running > mate, Joe Biden, or with Dick Lugar, the Republican ranking member on > the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, or General Jim Jones, the > former supreme allied commander of NATO. Those are the people, > Democrats and Republicans, who have shaped my ideas and who will be > surrounding me in the White House.” > > Republicans, billionaires, bankers, senators, generals—that sums up > the “change we can believe in” that Obama represents. The Democratic > candidate cites these pillars of the US political and corporate > establishment as proof of his non-radicalism, as a guarantee that he > will do nothing to challenge the wealth and power of the ruling elite. > > There is a logic to politics. If, as appears likely, Obama takes > office as US president on January 20, 2009, his administration will be > committed from the very first day to imposing the burden of the global > financial crisis on the backs of the American working class. > > There was one further episode of importance. In the course of the > discussion of negative campaigning, Obama made a reference to the > fascistic tenor of elements attracted to Republican campaign rallies > in recent weeks, particularly those for vice presidential candidate > Sarah Palin, noting that some people “were shouting, when my name came > up, things like ‘terrorist’ and ‘kill him,’ and that your running mate > didn’t mention, didn’t stop, didn’t say, ‘Hold on a second, that’s > kind of out of line’.” > > McCain, chillingly, did not condemn the death threats against Obama, > declaring instead, “Let me just say categorically I’m proud of the > people that come to our rallies.” > > Neither Obama nor moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS sought to press the > issue. And when Schieffer gave Obama the opportunity to comment on > Palin directly, asking him whether she was qualified for the > presidency, Obama chose to avoid the issue entirely, and made no > reference to Palin’s connections to extreme-right groups like the > Alaskan Independence Party. In this too, Obama toes the line of the > right-wing consensus—the growth of fascist tendencies within the > Republican Party is not to be criticized, even when these elements > directly threaten violence. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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