For Obama, No Opportunity Too Big To Blow

[ThomCat]

From Naomi Klein at The Nation:

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/copenhagen/508215/for_obama_no_opportunity_too_big_to_blow

I understand all the arguments about not promising what he can't deliver, about the dysfunction of the U.S. Senate, about the art of the possible. But spare me the lecture about how little power poor Obama has. No President since FDR has been handed as many opportunities to transform the U.S. into something that doesn't threaten the stability of life on this planet. He has refused to use each and every one of them. Let's look at the big three.

Blown Opportunity Number 1: The Stimulus Package When Obama came to office he had a free hand and a blank check to design a spending package to stimulate the economy. He could have used that power to fashion what many were calling a "Green New Deal" -- to build the best public transit systems and smart grids in the world. Instead, he experimented disastrously with reaching across the aisle to Republicans, low-balling the size of the stimulus and blowing much of it on tax cuts. Sure, he spent some money on weatherization, but public transit was inexplicably short changed while highways that perpetuate car culture won big.

Blown Opportunity Number 2: The Auto Bailouts Speaking of the car culture, when Obama took office he also found himself in charge of two of the big three automakers, and all of the emissions for which they are responsible. A visionary leader committed to the fight against climate chaos would obviously have used that power to dramatically reengineer the failing industry so that its factories could build the infrastructure of the green economy the world desperately needs. Instead Obama saw his role as uninspiring down-sizer in chief, leaving the fundamentals of the industry unchanged.

Blown Opportunity Number 3: The Bank Bailouts Obama, it's worth remembering, also came to office with the big banks on their knees -- it took real effort not to nationalize them. Once again, if Obama had dared to use the power that was handed to him by history, he could have mandated the banks to provide the loans for factories to be retrofitted and new green infrastructure to be built. Instead he declared that the government shouldn't tell the failed banks how to run their businesses. Green businesses report that it's harder than ever to get a loan.


The entire article is only 10 paragraphs, and it hits hard. It is especially eye-opening about what happened in Copenhagen. :(

The more this president fails to do, the more huge opportunities he fails to grasp, and fails to develop to anyone's advantage except corporate special interests, more and more I'm coming to believe he is absolutely INEPT.

Can you imagine that any other President in the past 50 years, except for maybe President Ford, Wouldn't have seized each of these opportunities and at least Tried to leverage some kind of huge long term impact with each of them?

Instead Obama leaves us with the status quo intact but stronger than ever. He dropped the reins every single time. He gave away the power every single time, and worse, he gave it away to the corporate executives or the conservative politicians standing to his right!

Playing Chess? From all that we've seen I'm not sure he knows how to play Go Fish. :(

[Ken Burch]

1. It's true. Every time this administraton has failed, it failed with it choose a

"centrist"(I.e., conservative)policy instead of a progressive one.

[ThomCat]

3. It definitley seems that our president does not like the left.

:(

It would been nice of him to be a bit more honest with us during the campaign and say so. If he dislikes us so much, and likes to surround himself with staff that so verbally dislikes us so much, she should have let us know this a few months sooner so we could have voted for someone else who would have liked us a bit more.

x(

[ima_sinnic]

2. wish I could rec multiple times

the astroturfers' argument that HCR, for example, was "all Lieberman's fault" and ended up the way it did because "Obama doesn't write the laws" is so genuinely idiotic, transparent, and laughable that it makes my chapped lips hurt.

[ThomCat]

4. Yes. It may be true that he doesn't write the laws

but it is also becoming obvious that he doesn't stand up for them, fight for them, or defend them either.

He is increasingly showing himself to be inept and cowardly whenever he's faced with a challenge from the right. :(

[ima_sinnic]

5. he IS allowed to introduce legislation, so he can "write a bill" to submit to Congress

in addition to the obvious power of "making a case" for particular legislation and fighting for it. Sitting back and pretending he "did everything he could" or that he "had no control" is absurd.
And, yes, he acts as if those on the right are somehow the boss of him.

[eridani]

6. Maybe he should learn to play Clue n/t

[AllentownJake]

7. Note to self

Do not take the President when I'm shopping for a car and negotiation is required.

[chimpymustgo]

8. Great OP and thread. Too late to rec. Could you repost this in GDP? This needs wide exposure.