Deconstructing Obama

[Antid Oto]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/deconstructing-obama/

Comments on selections from Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

Thank you, thank you.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the
trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as
well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this
transition.

[Ariel Gonzalez wrote an article on Huffington Post about whether
Obama should thank Bush or not. He concluded, "If Obama thanks this
miserable incompetent, I won't be angry. I've decided not to criticize
our new president for a year." Well, that's the reasons that ingrates
like me and Dennis Perrin exist, I suppose.]

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation
is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our
economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility
on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard
choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost;
jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our
schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the
ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

[Hard choices... Our health care is too costly... Guess what comes
next. If you said "Medicare benefits reduction", you win the prize-you
crafty extremist.]

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of
purpose over conflict and discord.

[No thanks. I vote for conflict and discord, the more the merrier.]

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and
false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far
too long have strangled our politics.

[Worn out dogmas? Like this? "In one word, you reproach us with
intending to do away with your property. Precisely so; that is just
what we intend."]

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has
come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our
enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that
precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to
generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free,
and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

[Who ever wrote this gob of overblown, purple prose should be taken
out and horsewhipped.]

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that
greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never
been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path
for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or
seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the
risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but
more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us
up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

[Yes, they wrote books about that. They are called Horatio Alger
stories and they are bullshit. Bill Gates got where he is by being
born into one of Seattle's richest families and by exploiting
technology that had hitherto been common property.]

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled
across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the
lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg;
Normandy and Khe Sahn.

[You'll note the inclusion of Khe Sahn here, clearly an attempt to
co-opt even further the right wing of the Republican Party. Poor Abe
Lincoln would be rolling over in his grave to see Gettysburg and the
imperialist nightmare of Vietnam linked together.]

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the
economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only
to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will
build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that
feed our commerce and bind us together.

[Really? Today's NY Times reports on the meager infrastructure
spending that we can expect from your administration:

When President-elect Barack Obama announced last month that he would
revive the economy with the largest public works program since the
dawn of the Interstate System of highways, advocates for the nation's
long-neglected infrastructure were euphoric.

Some hoped that the time had finally come to bring high-speed rail to
the United States, or to wean the nation from its dependence on
foreign oil with new or transformed public transit systems, or to take
bold action to solve the problems of rising populations and falling
reservoir levels across the Southwest.

But those hopes are fading. As the details of the plan come into
focus, big transformative building projects seem unlikely. And the
plan does not begin to provide the kind of money that civil engineers
believe is needed to bring the nation's aging bridges and water
systems and roads and transit systems to a state of good repair.

Less than one-third of the $825 billion plan that was introduced
Thursday in the House would go to infrastructure, and much of that
would go to high-tech projects, rather than traditional
concrete-and-steel building and repair work. The rest would go to tax
cuts and aid to help states pay for health care and education. At a
time when the American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated that
$1.6 trillion is needed to improve the nation's crumbling
infrastructure, the proposal calls for spending $30 billion on roads
and, to the consternation of transit advocates, only $10 billion on
transit and rail.]

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not
just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring
convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us,
nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our
power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the
justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering
qualities of humility and restraint.

[What was the force of our example that convinced the people of
Nicaragua to vote for the U.S. backed candidate in 1990? I always had
the impression that killing peasants, burning their crops and bombing
their tractors had more to do with the outcome than the writings of
Thomas Jefferson. As far as "humility and restraint" are concerned, I
would advise you to eliminate these words from your vocabulary after
the spectacle of a 150 million dollar inauguration, which is 3 times
what George W. Bush spent.]

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once
more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -
even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will
begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned
peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work
tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of
a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will
we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims
by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that
our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us,
and we will defeat you.

[Inducing terror and slaughtering innocents? You wouldn't be referring
to the Israeli Defense Force, would you? Oh, I see. You were referring
to the filthy Hamas that was trying to wipe Israel off the face of the
earth.]

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual
interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who
seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know
that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you
destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and
the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of
history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench
your fist.

[Well, now. Can we interpret this as a signal that Egypt will no
longer be the beneficiary of 10 billion dollars a year in American
aid? What's that you're saying? You only were speaking of the
corruption of our enemies, not our friends. Gosh, I should have known
better.]

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make
your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved
bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that
enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to
suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s
resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we
must change with it.

[You have certainly picked the right person to carry out such a
mission. Larry Summers was infamous for suggesting that the U.S.
export its pollution to Africa since the desperate continent was
likely to accept poisons for cash payments.]

[6 paragraphs of concluding blather was clipped.]

**********
Dit bericht is verzonden via de informele D66 discussielijst (D66 at nic.surfnet.nl).
Aanmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SUBSCRIBE D66 uwvoornaam uwachternaam
Afmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SIGNOFF D66
Het on-line archief is te vinden op: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/d66.html
**********