Just when I thought Obama could be any better he goes and does this.
Obama:
"As a student of history, I am saddened to say that I see the following pattern of behavior in our political leaders: a group of politicians comes to power through questionable, if not corrupt, means and sets up a corrupt administration. Then verifiably go on to serve their own interest and leave the American people behind.
"My point is not to assassinate the character of this or that person. I intend to expose the fact that these corrupt ways do not expire of their own accord; in fact, they stay in the minds of some and remain there like a cancer waiting to reach a critical mass and killing the patient. It is these 'some' who I am particularly concerned with also and definitely want to influence."
It gets better below the fold!
"Let me be more specific now. I can find names in the recent history of the United States that recur. I am speaking particularly of one of the most corrupt eras of the US: the years of the Nixon administration. Nixon resigned because he was sure to be impeached and most certainly would have faced criminal charges.
"Again my point is not to remind us of Nixon, but instead to remind us of Ford who faced the politically suicidal decision of pardoning Nixon. Ford did, in fact, pardon him and was voted out of office. And what message does this send to the American people and future politicians? It essentially says a high-level politician can break the law and effectively, get away with it. For Nixon never served any jail time nor did he confess to any wrongdoing.
"Now, who are these Future Politicians? Generally when a person decides to become a politician, he or she makes a career of it and seeks internships with politicians locally or nationally. During the Nixon administration, there were obviously interns and other similar positions and the young men and women in these positions saw this all unfold. They saw first hand how these powerful men broke the law and then were not punished and I think some of them received a bad message, that message to which I've already alluded.
"The Current Administration has again neared the height of corruption in American political history and again has many underlings who are observing them and learning from them. It is these people to whom I must send NOT the message Ford did but the message every American citizen knows to be the rule in every day life: if you break the law, you must face the consequences.
"Therefore I will ask my Justice Department, the CIA, the FBI, all relevant Congressional committees to investigate with a zeal, that I certainly have rarely observed, any and all wrongdoings by the current administration because we MUST NOT let history repeat itself. We have to send a message to all the future leaders of America that they have to serve the interests of the people, not the their own nor their friends.
"I will, right here and now, make the commitment to NOT pardon any politician found guilty of questionable conduct because the poison of corruption can only be stamped out with diligence, patience and knowledge."
This speech is NOT Obama's. Sorry to get your hopes up. Its my own and my point in writing it is to highlight the question of just how far in the 'progressive' way can Obama go? This is a serious question to consider because I just don't want to be disappointed by Obama. And I certainly don't want him to become an even bigger target of the corporate interests. Conspiracy theorist that I am, I believe the corporatists in Washington have been behind all the major assassinations of the 20th century because they felt threatened. I'm sure Obama gives them the same fears.
I think really that Obama can't really go that far in our direction because when he goes in their he'll be surrounded by them. He'll be cornered. At most he can take baby steps in our direction. For me its important to not set the bar too high for him. Would this be a shocking speech? You bet your ass it would. He would never say anything like this.
Don't get me wrong, I love that man. He's remarkable. When I listen to him I always get the feeling he is a radical liberal not because of what he says but because of how he criticizes Cheney and the monkey. He sees exactly what we see but doesn't have the emotional reaction we do. He's very measured and patient.
So, there it is. Take it for what its worth, hope to have much discussion about this with all Kossax.