November 4, 2008, was an exciting, historic day. Democrats and Independents answered the call of "Yes We Can" in record numbers, with a voter turnout never seen before.
Thousands gathered and cheered in Grant Park--many of whom had tears streaming down their faces, never believing they would ever live to see a black man elected as President of the United States. The Obama family was warmly greeted on that cool evening by that loving crowd, as a waive of optimism spread across our country and across the world for a new direction for America. Film footage of spontaneous celebrations from all around the world startled us all.
There was a great deal of optimism in the promises of Hope and Change. For the first time in a long time, there was a feeling that we were not only going to change directions as a country, but there were many transgressions of the previous 8 years that needed to be rectified.
"Yes We Can" was firmly rooted in Candidate Obama's promises of ending the war in Iraq; re-evaluating the war in Afghanistan; providing universal health care for all Americans and paying for it by ending the tax cuts for the richest 2%; closing Guantanimo Bay and providing real trials for those prisoners in which they would be apprised of the charges and evidence against them and not held indefinitely without knowing the charges against them; ending torture and rendition of political prisoners to black site prisons in other countries known to torture; ending warrantless wiretapping of Americans; ending Presidental "signing statements" and restoring the importance of the rule of law as the foundation of our democracy; regulating the banks and brokerage firms on Wall Street so that reckless investment schemes could not again bring us to the brink of financial collapse; creating green jobs for the future; recognizing the importance of science both in terms of stem cell research and in combating global warming; talking to our enemies and using diplomacy instead of bombs as a first option; advancing civil rights of all Americans regardless of race or sexual preference; practicing bi-partisanship and reducing the influence of lobbyists and special interest groups; ending the politicalization of the Justice Department; providing better care and treatment for our veterans; and improving the quality of our educational system so that we can compete in the world economy. (Just to name a few.)
Never before had a President assumed office with so many serious problems. The task was, and remains, daunting. There are few quick fixes.
I understand that there are severe institutional problems in not being able to control the legislative branch, but there are many things that can be accomplished through executive orders and choosing the right people to work in the exectutive branch. It's those things that the President can control--that he isn't charging quickly enough and aggressively on-- that make me wonder if I'm going to have to "keep the Change"....
For the Progressives and Independents who have been waiting a long time for the above mentioned Changes to occur, the bold assertions that "Change is Coming" and "Yes We Can" have been brushed aside.
It's hard to implement changes on Wall Street when you choose Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers as your agents of change. They were part of creating the problems that led to the financial crisis and they cannot be expected to point the fingers at themselves. "Too big to fail" is not a policy we can allow to continue. Yet, it has and will under the current administration.
In the area of ending warrantless wiretapping, rendition, and providing real trials for the prisoners at Guantanimo Bay, this might as well be the third term of George W. Bush. I see no policy Changes whatsoever.
When Barack Obama was a state senator in Illinois, there is film footage of him saying that he strongly supported a single payer health care system (and recognized it as the only way to provide health care for all and to reduce costs), but in order to accomplish that, he said that "we would first need to control the House, the Senate and the White House..." Well, guess what, that's what the American people voted for, and yet, notwithstanding the mandate provided by the electorate to the Democrats, President Obama promptly set his sights much, much lower.
First of all, the President outsourced the health care bills to Congress, refused to adequately use his bully pulpit and extraordinarily high approval ratings to hammer home real health care reform. To this day, the President refuses to clearly state what it is that he really wants in "his" health care reform.
Single payer could not even be debated? Passing it might not have been possible, but not standing up for the principle and talking about it is unforgiveable. If not now, when? Never even discussing single payer (and taking it off the table from the start) was a huge tactical error and a stab in the back to his base--and a betrayal of his own beliefs.
Despite the promises to end the business as usual with lobbyists and special interest groups, a back room deal was quickly struck with Big Pharma that prevents the ability to reduce drug costs through volume purchasing discounts (another often mentioned idea during the campaign). It didn't take long to sweep that noble idea under the rug in the Oval Office, now did it?
By the way he's acting now, I wonder if the President would sell his soul for one solitary Republican vote on the health care bill? While the ihe idea of bi-partisanship was noble, initially, how long do we have to watch the continuous "dance" with the party of "No" before we want to scream?
Olympia Snowe's one-time vote for a watered down bill that forces more purchasing of higher priced health insurance from the same unregulated companies that have brought us to this untenable place is not exactly the Change I was hoping for when I cast my ballot a year ago.
I recall promises about fixing "Don't ask, don't tell." Couldn't that policy be rendered unenforceable with an Executive Order? Don't ask.
Four years after Katrina, would we finally build a hospital in New Orleans? Perhaps as a useful expenditure of stimulus money? No We Can't. (He even did his own version of the New Orleans fly-over recently. The President would love to stay longer and talk about "rebuilding" New Orleans, but he's off to a fundraiser in San Francisco).
To hear Tea Baggers and some Republicans talk about the President (and how they want their country back, etc.), you'd think he was a raving liberal. Quite the contrary. To date the President has been conservative and slow to push for the Change that he promised in the Campaign. He has in many instances continued the policies of the Bush administration and has catered far more to Republicans than to his base.
Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful to have an intelligent, thoughtful, articulate man as our President. But, measured against the bar that he set in the election, his actions have not lived up to the hype--at least not yet.
And one year later, I'm wondering if real Change will ever come. Until I see some progressive changes, I'm off the Kool-Aid.
What were Pete Townsend's immortal words in The Who's classic song "Won't Get Fooled Again?" "Meet the new boss, just the same as the old boss...."
For the sake of our country, and my sanity, I sure hope not.
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