whatever happened to "change"?

nov 21st, 2008

ok, i know that obama is president, and that we all have to deal with him.

but now that the same, tired, old faces are reappearing -- eg hillary to be secstate, says nytimes http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/politics/22obama.html?th&emc=th

so pardon me, where exactly is the "change"?

the truth is, despite all the posturing, obama is the same-old same-old; old wine in new bottles. someone also mentioned 'continuity' in regards to this geithner fellow for treasury. he was one of the architects of the so-far miserable failure bailout plan, right? so why is he so much better than paulson and bernanke? and there is no change.

i hate to say i told you so, but i told you so. let me refresh your memory:

===== quote ======= http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/feb/27rajeev.htm

There is another serious issue with the candidate: That he is all sizzle and no steak. That is, he is full of nice-sounding, high-minded, but impractical rhetoric. After all, he really has no track record, and therefore has not had to make any tough decisions that a president will have to make. His oratory is nice; but, as the little old lady said, "Hey, where's the beef?" Yes, we all want world peace and want to stop global warming, but vague talk, however inspirational, isn't going to get us there.

Obama's watchword is change; he turns necessity into a virtue by suggesting that he, not being beholden to the dreaded vested interests, will run an untainted, virtuous administration that pays attention to the real problems. All very nice, but exactly what is he going to change?

Is Obama going to immediately pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan? That would be disastrous, conceding victory to the fundamentalists. Is Obama going to bring in universal health care? His proposals are impractical: Clinton's plan is much more sensible. Is Obama going to single-handedly rescue the recession-bound American economy? Unlikely, given the structural damage of the housing bubble, the excesses of the banking industry and years of over-consumption and under-saving.

Is Obama going to change American foreign policy so that the US stops supporting dictators like Pakistan's Musharraf? Unlikely, as the status quo ante helps certain American interests. Is Obama going to immediately reverse the decline in American education and competitiveness? It would be very interesting to hear how he will do that, other than through rhetoric. Is Obama going to move away from depending on Saudi petro-dollars? Perhaps he won't be so craven as Bush, but the co-dependency cannot be reversed overnight.

Is Obama going to make the plight of oppressed racial minorities in America much better? He has carefully avoided making his campaign black-centric, and sensibly so; if he were elected, he'd still have to tread carefully to avoid being seen as biased. How is Obama going to rein in rampaging China and resurgent Russia [Images]? It is not clear he has the means, or indeed, much of a clue about the state of global realpolitik. Is Obama going to reduce global warming by America dramatically? It would be miraculous if he manages to do so.

It is, therefore, not entirely clear exactly what Obama is going to change. Creating high expectations without much of a plan behind it may or may not work.