Notes on an Orientation to the Obama Presidency
By Linda Burnham The election of Obama, while enthusiastically embraced by most of the left, has also occasioned some disorientation and confusion. Some have become so used to confronting the dismal electoral choice between the lesser of two evils that they couldn’t figure out how to relate to a political figure who held out the possibility of substantive change in a positive direction. Others are so used to all-out, full-throated opposition to every administration that they wonder whether and how to alter their stance. Still others sat out the election, for a variety of political and organizational reasons, and were taken by surprise at how wide and deep ran the current for change. Now there’s an active conversation on the left about what can be expected of an Obama administration and what the orientation of the left should b e towards it. There are two conflicting views on this: First, that Obama represents a substantial, principally positive political shift and that, while the left should criticize and resist policies that pull away from the interests of working people, its main orientation should be to actively engage with the political motion that’s underway. Second, that Obama is, in essence, just another steward of capitalism, more attractive than most, but not an agent of fundamental change. He should be regarded with caution and is bound to disappoint. The basic orientation is to criticize every move the administration makes and to remain disengaged from mainstream politics. Full: http://alainet.org/active/29144&lang=es _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
