random-ness

While I don’t mean to cast a verdict on the upcoming Barack Obama administration before it even begins, I think I can safely predict that it will be decidedly… moderate. President Obama will not likely be either the socialist devil that frightens Republicans, or the revolutionary figure that the left are hoping for. It’s not that I don’t like Obama or don’t think he can be effective, it’s that I question his wanting to really change things up in any dramatic way, not to mention the unlikelihood that any real change can take occur in the first place.

I just don’t buy that Obama is much of a leftist, frankly, but rather a free market capitalist best exemplified by his hiring of Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff. I’m sort of amazed that anyone would downplay the supposed “most liberal member of congress” hiring as his go-to guy one of the foremost neoliberals on planet earth; that’s not to mention a former investment banker who managed to land a nice gig on wall street despite little financial education, which leads one to believe that a bit of cronyism might have been involved. 

Oh, and did I mention that this guy served in the Bill Clinton administration also? You know the one that also promised middle class tax cuts amongst other changes and failed to deliver? I’m not one to hate on Clinton, but the reality is that he- like virtually all politicians- failed to deliver on some crucial campaign promises. It’s kind of amusing to see the actual first black president now being expected to deliver on what the symbolic first black president failed to accomplish. It’s kind of like déjà vu, yet few can- or perhaps want- to see it.

I have to imagine the actual unionists and socialists out there are simply shaking their heads after this hire, as it virtually guarantees that the “Washington Consensus” will endure and, at least economically, change will not be coming down the political pipeline any time soon. The country successfully ousted the aggressive neoconservatives, who look to enforce their will on the world by force, but now must deal with the softer neoliberalism, which spreads an economic philosophy focused on complete deregulation and free trade, while putting no real emphasis on moral or social imperatives. The ladder is of course perfect for Obama, whose faith precludes him from being too socially liberal (like favoring gay marriage; he doesn’t), but who is also quite rational in also opposing the measure to ban such a union constitutionally, showing a restraint and tolerance I’d like to see more of amongst people of faith towards those with alternative lifestyles.

Neoliberalism is favored not just by Republicans, as one might assume, but also by the New Democrat Coalition starring, you guessed it, one Rahm Emanuel. It is not a new philosophy, of course, and some thought it dead and that perhaps Obama would put a nail in its coffin. They might not be so sure about that now. As far as its economic aspects of free trade and deregulation, no self-respecting socialist favors either, as they shrink government and most local control mechanisms, replacing them with a more decentralized system. This can lead to, some would argue, a more disproportionate distribution of wealth across societies, and even entire regions of the world.

Regardless of where one stands on these issues; whether you are glad Obama might be a capitalist after all or deeply disappointed, it is difficult to see at the moment how he might not be just that. It may in fact be that Obama is neither a neoliberal nor a would-be Marxist, but rather a very rational and ambitious individual who fits comfortably in the grayish area down the center.

As for the hiring of Emanuel, perhaps Obama was simply trying to bring in an aggressive personality to help him play the nice guy, as some have suggested, but I think we have nonetheless learned something of the President-elect’s true personality. I simply can’t imagine a socialist who may have ties to a Palestinian liberation movement- as conservatives have painted Obama as- being comfortable with hiring an overtly pro-Israel, pro-business type like Emanuel for such an intimate professional association.

Although I must ultimately stress that we shouldn’t judge the man too harshly before we at least see him in action, I would caution those on the far left in particular not to hold your breath for Obama to storm in, abandon the free market, and institute a cradle-to-death caretaking plan. You might end up dead for lack of oxygen.

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