...this is the question that Obama needs to answer to get his campaign and his movement back on track. Yes, Obama can still coast to the Democratic nomination (based on his insurmountable delegate lead) and to a general election victory (based on the realities of the economy and Iraq which would favor any Democrat). But the fact is that the honeymoon seems to be over for Obama. More and more people are seeing him as just another politician. They are seeing his calls for "hope", "change", and "unity" as completely empty campaign sloganeering.
But of course they're not empty words to those that understand where Obama is coming from and the meaning behind those words. Obama has not clearly articulated what he means by those words I think deliberately, with the rationale that he'd rather leave it open-ended so that people could project any meaning that they wanted to onto those words. That strategy has worked for a while but now I think the bubble has burst and if Obama doesn't define himself more clearly than he will let Clinton and McCain define him instead - as the oft-mentioned "empty suit".
(continuation and question after the fold)
So my question for all is this: what meaning do YOU project onto Obama's rhetoric of "hope", "change", and "unity"?
I think Obama's message has to start with this:
There are powerful interests in Washington that are subverting the will of the vast majority of of the population and actively hurting the country.
Obama needs to focus on 3 or 4 bread-and-butter issues where a policy that would be supported by a large majority of the population is thwarted year after year by lobbyists.
For example:
- Health care (large majority favors goverment providing some form of universal health care)
- Energy independence (solid majority is now behind not just energy independence but also environmental protection)
- End to tax breaks, subsidies, and earmarks that benefit the few at the expense of the many
and the following is riskier and requires more political finesse but I would add:
- End of military/foreign policy based on contempt for the American people and the notion that the Military and State Department, and Intelligence Agencies are a separate shadow government not subject to civilian oversight or the "whims" of the American people.
So how will Obama's presidency make a real difference?
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UNITY: He will find a list of issues where a significant majority of the population actually has a pretty good consensus
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CHANGE: He will first push through government reforms (as he has in the Illinois Senate and U.S. Senate) to make the goverment more transparent and reduce or eliminate the influence of the lobbyists.
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HOPE: By making the government more responsive to the will of the people and actually succeeding in passing significant legislation that the public was clamoring for, he will permantly shift the balance of power in Washington. He will shift power back to the people and the result will be a more engaged electorate since they will now feel they have
hope of actually influencing policy in washington.
For progressives, this means that unfortunately Obama will likely NOT be implementing a progressive agenda that is supported by the majority of Kos members. Rather, he will push goverment policies in a progressive direction to reflect where public opinion already stands.