Obama’s High-Water Mark
By Larry Johnson on July 7, 2008 at 9:43 PM in Bamboozling, Barack Obama, Clinton, Current Affairs
Last week marked the 145th anniversary of Pickett’s Charge during the battle at Gettysburg, a watershed moment in the Civil War. It also may be remembered in the future as the week the Barack Obama campaign launched its version of Pickett’s Charge. Like General Pickett, he failed to take the center and ruined his Army in the process. For those of you not familiar with the major engagement of the civil war:
Pickett’s Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade’s Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863. . . . Its futility was predicted by the charge’s commander, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, and it was arguably an avoidable mistake from which the Southern war effort never fully recovered psychologically. The farthest point reached by the attack has been nicknamed the high-water mark of the Confederacy.
Barack’s flip-floppery of the past two weeks–FISA, Partial Birth Abortion, NAFTA, Expanded support for Faith Based initiatives, and Iraq–might not generate much heat for a run-of-the-mill politician who was just doing business as usual. But Barack convinced many in America that he was different. The hagiography that substituted for normal reporting during the last year on Barack simply confirms his status as a mythological religious icon. While Barack is not the first politico to make a mad dash for the center, he is the first to do it so far in advance of a political convention that will be decided by unelected super delegates.
Barack up to now has enjoyed the luxury of being portrayed as a NEW KIND OF POLITICIAN.
He was not like those old guys and gals. He is shiny new and sparkling clean. He means what he says and says what he means. Believe in HIM and there is hope for a new tomorrow.
Well, that was the bullshit line he sold many progressives and Democratic party stalwarts. But in a series of moves that resembled a helicopter rotor spinning before lift off, Barack became just one more old-style, political panderer.
When you preach against whoremongers and adulterers then you better be sure you are not caught in bed with Hollywood Madam, Heidi Fleiss. And you damn sure better not do it during the dog days of July and August when reporters, who are bored and worrying about upcoming (or recently concluded) vacations, are looking for easy stories. (Remember that reporters, by and large, are lazy bastards and reflect a herd mentality that makes lemmings envious.) Well, Barack has given them a Christmas in July holiday–albeit an unsavory, steaming pile of hypocrisy that will keep the media picking thru it for the next month.
Of course this would not be newsworthy if Barack was just some cynical, crusty pol. But when you are the incarnation of a new age Messiah–a chocolate skinned Jesus preaching hope and change–you cannot pretend to walk on water. You better stay on top and not get wet. Because once you jump into the cess pool of politics as usual then you get that stink all over you. This is the week Barack got the stink.
I was going to start linking up all of the articles touching on this transformation, but realized it would more than fill a page. (Here are a couple of representative samples, Obama’s Chicago Boys and The Honeymoon is Over. Obama, for whatever reason, decided to try to take the center. But like General Pickett’s futile, bloody charge 145 years ago, Obama’s effort came up short and he did enormous harm to his army of starry-eyed disciples. Whether of not this will set in motion the forces that re-energizes the candidacy of Hillary remains to be seen, but this much is sure–this is the week Barack became just one more political hack from Chicago.
It is one thing to think you have found the golden calf. But it is a damn rough awakening when you find green tarnish covering your gold. You then realize it ain’t gold, just cheap brass. This is the week Barack lost his shine. So much for the Golden child.
by Ronald Scott
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