Jim:: > it looks like Obama's giving into pressure from: CB: > That Obama is so weak. He's always giving in to pressure (lol)
Jim:Yes he is. No capitalist politician that I've ever heard of is an independent person who acts solely based on principle. ^^^^ CB: Well, in general elected representatives in a republic are supposed to respond to pressures from the electorate. They are not supposed to just stick to abstract "principles" . That's a main part of representative democracy. They would be undemocratic if they didn't. OF course, they'd be diselected , too. In this case, the other reason this is funny is that several of the pressures listed , though not from voters in the US, are pressures that it is _good_ that Obama "gave in" to. So, Obama "giving in to" popular protests in the Middle East, the Palestinian refugees' protests, protests against Israeli treatment of Gaza, the greater unity between Fatah and Hamas" is not a weakness , but a strength, a good thing. Also, his responding _against_ Israeli intransigence is a strength , to his credit. It's a reason to praise Obama. What I wrote above is sarcastic, mocking the constant portrayals of Obama as weak. Here is something that Obama should be praised for and , of course, it is phrased as a criticism, as a "weakness". (lol) it looks like pressure from Obama's giving into pressure from: * popular protests in the Middle East and the decline and/or fall of autocrats allied to (or living to live with) Israel; * the Palestinian refugees' protests at Israeli borders and Israel's bloody response; * the greater unity between Fatah and Hamas and the possibility that the UN would recognize a Palestinian state; and * protests against Israeli treatment of Gaza; * Turkey; * the obvious intransigence of the Israeli government and the settlers (their unwillingness to seriously talk peace, even by US standards); and * the fact that conservative regimes such as that of Saudi Arabia have been pushing the idea of going back to 1967 boundaries for quite awhile. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
