CANDIDATE REALITY CHECK: WHERE OBAMA IS REALLY COMING FROM

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MARC LAMONT HILL, THE ROOT - Within the black faith tradition that Obama
appeals to, hope is the belief that, in spite of all evidence to the
contrary, our circumstances can be transformed into something previously
unimaginable. It is this notion of hope-coupled with organized
resistance from the people catching the most hell-that led to the end of
slavery, Jim Crow, and apartheid. In Obama's corporate-sponsored
universe of meaning, however, hope is not the predicate for radical
social change, but an empty slogan that allows for a slick repackaging
of the status quo. . .

For whites, an Obama victory would serve as the final piece of evidence
that America has reached full racial equality. Such a belief allows them
to sidestep mounds of evidence that shows that, despite Obama's claims
that "we are 90 percent of the way to equality," black people remain
consistently assaulted by the forces by white supremacy. For many black
people, Obama's success would provide symbolic value by showing that the
black man (not woman!) can make it to the top. Although black faces in
high places may provide psychological comfort, they are often
incorporated into a Cosbyesque gospel of personal responsibility ("Obama
did it, so can you!") that allows dangerous public policies to go
unchallenged.

Despite its convoluted racial logic, the election of Obama would still
be acceptable if his policies were properly aligned with a leftist
agenda. Unfortunately, Obama has clung to a rigid centrism that is
incompatible with full-scale social change. Despite his claims of being
a peace candidate, Obama has repeatedly expressed a commitment to
ramping up military and continuing the presidential legacy of using war
as an instrument of foreign policy. Although he opposes the war in Iraq,
Obama refuses to vote against its funding.

While Obama supports health care for all Americans, he does not embrace
a universal single-payer system that would effectively undermine private
corporate interests. At the same time that he bemoans the loss of jobs
and expansion of global poverty, Obama fails to denounce free trade
agreements and extols the virtues economic globalization. In addition,
Obama has been conspicuously silent on topics such as the prison
industrial complex, the Zionist occupation of Palestine, and the
economic underdevelopment of Africa.

In the face of a black electorate that still craves messianic
leadership, Obama has skillfully positioned himself as the Martin Luther
King of his generation. Unlike King, however, Obama does not aim to
disrupt the fundamental structure of society. Rather than dismantling
the triple threat of global racism, poverty, and militarism that King
warned against, Obama has promoted a doctrine of compromise that is
self-serving rather than strategic, milquetoast rather than pragmatic. .
.

Many people, including some of his critics, have come to Obama's defense
by claiming that his progressive half-stepping is an inevitable part of
national politics. Others have argued that, despite his shortcomings,
Obama is still the best choice among the remaining democratic field.
While such claims may be true, they prove that Obama is merely the most
attractive in a group of political siblings rather than the
revolutionary outsider that he's portrayed to be. Unfortunately, Obama
isn't selling himself as the best of the pack, but as an entirely new
breed of candidate.

[Marc Lamont Hill is assistant professor of urban education and American
studies at Temple University]

http://www.theroot.com/id/44630

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CANDIDATE REALITY CHECK: CUBA

CANDIDATE CUBA WATCH - Barack Obama has pledged unrestricted family
travel and remittances, not just "easing" Bush restrictions of one visit
every three years. He also has called for negotiations with Raul Castro
without preconditions.

Hillary Clinton is Bush light on Cuba, seeming to take her cue from Sen.
Bob Menendez and her Miami based Cuban American sister in law.

http://candidatecubawatch.blogspot.com/2008/02/fareed-
zakaria-compares-candidates-on.html

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