Whatever happened to "change"?

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.

Permalink Reply by Ali on December 11, 2008 at 12:05pm: Ok, so I'm afraid I'm currently snowed under with essays so I don't have the time or energy to answer you point by point right now. So I'll just sum it all up with this. It's part of Obama's acceptance speech on the 4th November 2008:

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

My point? Is that I think you might have misconstrued things a little here. Obama never said he was going to wave a magic wand and make things go away overnight. I know that the GOP like to portray him as this great speechmaker who is always making ridiculous claims about what he can do, and his supporters as gullible idiots who are taken in by all this. But let me assure you that the vast majority of us are not, and that the president-elect has frequently acknowledged that these changes will be difficult to implement. He really is not claiming to be some miraculous saviour, no matter what his critics say.

Now I'll refer you to your own point:

Perhaps he won't be so craven as Bush, but the co-dependency cannot be reversed overnight.

Why do you think we support him so much? I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's better than Bush by far, and I truly believe that he was a better choice than McCain too.

And if you have any more problems you may want to submit them to change.gov (here's one of our YAforObama authors talking about it, if you're interested), which was created for that exact purpose.

Permalink Reply by JenDeng on December 15, 2008 at 1:32pm: The point is he promised these things as his major platforms in the election. His opponents kept repeating how they would not work. Now, after getting our votes and winning the election, he is saying that the things he promised are not a good idea. Did he know that they were not a good idea when he was running and just wanted to say whatever he needed to get out vote?

Also, as soon as he mentioned that "change" might need more than one term, I felt that he was immediatly running for 2012 already by giving himself a cop out.

Permalink Reply by Adam Philpott on December 15, 2008 at 8:25pm: Well thats a dumb position(and I dont normally say that, I dont like disrespecting people). Of course its gonna take a while to fix everything. Or even just one thing. We are so screwed up right now, that it will take years and years to fix it. I think most of us who supported our President-elect knew that. We werent expecting miracles. We were expecting hard work and dedication. And we cannot wait to see our new president exemplify those qualities in his new office.

Permalink Reply by JenDeng on December 16, 2008 at 11:36am: I love how you try to ignor everything I said in my post and try to reduse my post to one sentence by taking one small statement and refering to my entire post as a "dumb position". Why don't you take the time and respond to the rest of it instead of entering the conversation with an insult. (Especially since you don't like disrespecting people)

Permalink Reply by PoliticalChickTayler on December 31, 2008 at 3:02am: JenDeng I can see where your coming from as an American citizen.

And I respect your opinion. Yet, I feel at this point the man hasn't even been inaugerated! Bush is still the President [until Mr. Obama is sworn into office] and I wouldn't want to get my hands dirty with Bush's foulishness until I'm inaugerated (If I was Barack Obama). It's gonna be a long road and not once has Mr. Obama denied that. Now, I don't know who you wanted or what you wanted when it comes to a president. Now, he was announced as the president elect in November he has to move in The White House and then analyze what his plans are. It's only been a few months and you already expect change?

I know this wasn't you specifically but we were discussing issues and Abortion, Education, and The Recession came up. Now, this man has to come up with a plan to make the country a little better in 4 years! Those were three issues out of millions we have to resolve! As the "John Q" public we don't know what Bush has done behind closed doors that can screw us up later! Give the man a chance! Change will take awhile to come, it won't come right away. It'll take up to 8 YEARS! No offense Jen but your complaining (no disrespect) about whats not done yet! WAKE UP SWEETHEART and Deal With IT! We're in a war, a recession, etc..

Also, don't post something like this and not expect criticism! I mean your pointing fingers and all this stuff and your thing on how Obama said this and that Ali has proof he said it'll be a long road! Don't get all offensive when someone tells you how they feel on this post. I mean we should all expect someone to disagree. I respect where your coming from because you have a say in this to but umm... Darling I have news for you! OBAMA IS GOING TO BE THE PRESIDENT AND YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT AND INSTEAD OF posting stuff like this and complaining just embrace it and get used to it because he is going to be the president for 4 YEARS! Sorry Jen but the peers above me that commented are right or well I agree with them.

We ALL have out points and well this is mine. Now, don't get all defensive like you did with Adam because I just don't want to hear it quite frankly! I simply agree to disagree! Jen whatever happened to common sense?
Sincerely,

Tayler!

Never Fear Obama is Here! [lol] Change Will Come!

Permalink Reply by PoliticalChickTayler on December 31, 2008 at 3:45am: Wait let me be nice I'm scared of Maureen's Magical Powers teehee!
~Tayler

Permalink Reply by JenDeng on January 6, 2009 at 10:32am: Hello Taylor. Did you even read the posts above before commenting? I didn't get offensive with anyone. Someone called my concerns a "dumb position" and I called them on it. How is that getting offensive?

"Also, don't post something like this and not expect criticism!" - I didn't expect people to agree with what I posted. I was just expecting more than someone calling it "dumb". I am not afraid of criticism. I thought this was a forum for discussion?

"WAKE UP SWEETHEART and Deal With IT! We're in a war, a recession, etc.."
"OBAMA IS GOING TO BE THE PRESIDENT AND YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT..."

I am fine with Obama being President. I just hope he does a good job. I am a citizen of this country and I am fully allowed to voice my concerns. I won't just keep quiet and "DEAL WITH IT" when I see something that I disagree with.

So why don't you read and understand all the posts first before you jump on the person who doesn't agree with you. If you read all the posts, you are the one who is being offensive. So much that you needed to post a follow up:
"Wait let me be nice I'm scared of Maureen's Magical Powers teehee!" -Enough said.