Mr. Obama Goes to Washington

[Wetzelbill]

I'm posting it here because more people will read it than in the editorial and article section. -Bill


Mr. Obama Goes to Washington

By David Sirota

It's not every day that God calls your cell phone. But that's exactly what happened to me on an overcast afternoon last November. "Is this David?" asked the deep, vaguely familiar voice on the other end. When I told him it was, he said, "This is Barack Obama." Thinking it was a good friend playing a joke, I said I didn't believe him. But no, the voice insisted with a laugh, it was Illinois Senator Barack Obama, otherwise known in cult-of-personality political circles as a deity, a rising Democratic star or, as George W. Bush recently called him, "the pope."

Obama was calling because he was bothered that I had written a few blog posts questioning positions he'd taken that appeared to belie his progressive image, most prominently his vote for a corporate-written "reform" of class-action lawsuits, his refusal to frontally challenge the Iraq War after running as an antiwar candidate and his vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State. One by one, Obama methodically answered each criticism. And when the call ended with his telling me he was committed to working with progressives, I was perplexed. Obama certainly talks a great game--but then, so have many false prophets over the years. I requested a formal interview, and to my surprise, Obama readily agreed. By the end of a day in Washington with him, I had the answers to two key questions: What can progressives expect from Barack Obama, and what does he really aspire to be?

I first met the Illinois senator in his Capitol Hill office, where he introduced me to his staff, all of whom seemed totally at ease with him. Unlike in many Congressional offices, there was no overuse of the words "senator" or "yes, sir." In separate conversations I had with many staffers, he was referred to as just "Barack." I was given a packet documenting Obama's accomplishments since his 2004 election, and it was hard not to be simultaneously impressed and underwhelmed. Given that he's one of the most junior members of the Senate, his successful efforts to secure additional funding for veterans' medical care and energy development in Illinois are no small feats. But considering that he's one of the most famous politicians in America, the accomplishments are fairly mundane.



http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/sirota

[lindisfarne]

1. He stole that title from "Prof. Wellstone goes to Washington".I like Obama

but he's not yet a Wellstone (There are only a few in Congress who I like better than Obama, though - but Wellstone, well, he was Wellstone, an amazing person, a beacon of hope in a country shifting right right right; "center" is now where "right" used to be). Although he has potential. We'll see. I don't see Obama as being quite as left as Wellstone, at least not yet. The difference may be he made it to Congress at a far younger age than Wellstone.

Obama did *not* ride a green bus to Washington ...

[Wetzelbill]

2. and that was stolen from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"

Lots of originality for all!!! :)

[lindisfarne]

3. Yeah, that's true. But Wellstone owned it! I have always wondered

how things would be different in Congress if Wellstone were still alive.

"Obama's deference to these boundaries was hammered home to me when our discussion touched on the late Senator Paul Wellstone. Obama said the progressive champion was "magnificent." He also gently but dismissively labeled Wellstone as merely a "gadfly," in a tone laced with contempt for the senator who, for instance, almost single-handedly prevented passage of the bankruptcy bill for years over the objections of both parties. This clarified Obama's support for the Hamilton Project, an organization formed by Citigroup chair Robert Rubin and other Wall Street Democrats to fight back against growing populist outrage within the party."

Hmmm Labeling Wellstone a "gadfly" hardly seems appropriate. Wellstone held up the bankruptcy bill because it didn't help the small guy at all (and the fact that he could, when both parties were against him, speaks volumes about his power and support).

[Wetzelbill]

4. Wellstone was such a great man

I read his biography "The Conscience of A Liberal." It's fantastic. He was truly a special human being, hardly a gadfly, at least not in a derogatory manner anyway.

[im10ashus]

5. Great article!

Thanks for posting!

:kick: