It’s pretty obvious the past 30 years of economic policy are not working at this point, U.S. middle class, wages support this, so why we cannot simply get policy that will work, well, I think we know we we cannot get policy that will work.

Remember that FDR, upon hearing the Left’s agenda, said something to the effect, ‘Sounds good. Now make me do it.’

Perhaps Obama’s message is about the same.

Bob in HI

I might be very wrong, and you may be right. Obama may indeed be nothing but a slick hustler who knows nothing, is easily conned by Establishment interests — the Clintons, the Neocons, the Chicago School, the Reaganites, the Christian Fundamentalists — yes, all these folks look like they have their hooks deep, deep into this ignorant, corrupt, vacuous cheat. I guess it’s entirely possible that he’s utterly beholden somehow to every single enemy of the Progressive cause and will be completely controlled by the political agendas of the people he’s chosen to be in his Cabinet.

Or maybe he’s too cautious and way more covetous of political power for its own sake than I could imagine, trying to triangulate his way to a wishy-washy middle ground so he can, I don’t know, live in the White House for eight years. I suppose that’s possible.

But I can’t make either of those pictures in my head gibe with what I know of his work record, his work with the disenfranchised, with voting rights — very real things he’s done for a long time before getting into politics to help just the kind of very real working people that are continuously preached about on this very site. He and his wife have been in the trenches, yet many of you seem to dismiss that history as completely as those who sneered at his ‘community organizing’.

And I can’t buy the picture of ‘Obambi’ after seeing the tactics he employed in winning the nomination. Sorry, but he was there. He won that race and I clearly remember folks shrieking for him to hit McCain over the head with an ideological bludgeon, just the way people are clamoring for him to begin hanging investment bankers from lampposts now. (And believe me, I’d love the be the one holding one of THOSE fucking ropes.)

So I’ve thought about it quite a bit. I just can’t make your picture of him or his actions gibe with other things I’ve seen. The audaicity or hope? Maybe. Or I might be wrong. But neither of us knows yet.

There’s a need for clear, rational, passionate informed critique and analysis of Obama’s plans, as opposed to the lemming-think of the past eight years.

plenty of comment space – if you’ve got a different analysis, please share.

And btw, what’s wrong with not being tied down to believing in ‘anything’ if it means legitimately searching for something new?

So what’s new? Where do you see any change we can believe in? His choice of Biden? Rick Warren? His cabinet? Hillary Clinton? Keeping Robert Gates on at Defense? His choice of Holder for AG? His economic team who did so much to create the meltdown? Summers, Geithner, and Rubin? His support for domestic spying and telecom immunity in the FISA Amendments Act? His backing of the brainless Paulson $700 billion ripoff? His lack of a coherent economic strategy? His making up to Lieberman? I can only think you have not been paying attention.