If giving trillions to Wall Street or assassinating American citizens without due process isn’t extreme enough then what is? The traditional politicians of the United States are bereft of imagination or vision, with the marginal exception of Ron Paul on foreign policy. However, in doing so, we should not be lulled into ignoring the subtler threats of those who are slowly destroying democracy even while singing its praises and pretending to be its greatest defenders. It was clear from the beginning Obama didn’t intend to rock the boat, leading even Karl Rove, boogeyman to Obama’s progressive base, to praise the President for his reassuring commitment to the status quo. It will take more than inspiring speeches to save democracy. Biden is already stepping back from his progressive concessions around health care and fossil fuels. Rather, it is to point out that the modern rise of authoritarian capitalism has been a bipartisan effort in the extreme. The fundamental concern is that it is exactly this inspiring but dangerous speech that will make it difficult if not impossible to hold these "lesser evil" options politically accountable. Box 443Portland, ME 04112-0443USA, Common Dreams is a small nonprofit with a big mission. There are many battles to be won, but we will battle them together—all of us. What do you think? How does Occupy fit into this picture? How can you disprove such a statement? The Occupy movement is important precisely because it grew out of disenchantment with Obama. What’s the tipping point for disillusioned progressives? To remain an independent news source, we do not advertise, sell subscriptions or accept corporate contributions. It is telling, therefore, in this age of supposed "cancel culture" and "political correctness" how Obama and his even more morally troubling predecessor Bill Clinton continue to be not only tolerated but downright celebrated. And the list goes on, so it goes. “I was born Michael LaVaughn Robinson, and changed my name to Michelle when I was only 12-years-old,” said Obama. Dr. Peter Bloom is a lecturer in the Department of People and Organizations at the Open University. Michelle Obama has just revealed a shocking secret – one that the far-right has been hounding her about for years, but in fact, turns out to be true. I mean, that's a story-book, man," Biden said. How Could 70 Million Still Have Voted for Trump? He has published widely on issues of 21st-century democracy, politics, and economics in both scholarly journals and in publications including the Washington Post, The New Statesman, Roar, Open Democracy, The Conversation, and Common Dreams. A political disease. The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad is a 2010 book by British-Pakistani writer, journalist, political activist and historian Tariq Ali. We want the world to be a better place. "I mean, you've got the first sort of mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. But we can't do it alone. It was Obama who authorized putting families in privately profitable cages. Going deeper, this plays into the broader attempt of Democrats to weaponize the threat of domestic fascism in support of global imperialism and militarism. Common Dreams has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. Post Bush and pre-Trump, we were visited with Obama Derangement Syndrome -- although the infection was less widespread. Former US President Barack Obama addresses the virtual Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2020. [1], In The Guardian, Stryker Maguire, editor of LSE Review, wrote "I was prepared to dislike Ali's The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad more than I did in the end", and "stripped of its Gore Vidal-school tendentiousness, the book has some reasonable things to say about the Obama presidency",[2] while in the New York Journal of Books, the reviewer wrote "Ali’s progressive stance confronts the illusions sold to voters in 2008 by a compliant media and capitalist firms". "Obama and Trump are thus each in their own ways inspiring reaction against the prospect of real systemic change that could reinvigorate and truly save our democracy." His most recent book is The Obama Syndrome. The problem arises when we allow the inspiring rhetoric of these "moderates" to trick us into thinking they are part of the democratic solution to our systemic ills. How Do Medical Students Get More Experience in the US than Cuba? Apart From Defeating Trump, Why Did The Democrats Have Such a Bad Election Day? The Democrat's greatest fear, it seems, besides Trump are actual progressives. What’s the cure for the Obama Syndrome? Or that he joked about the need to potentially privatize the post office and even unsuccessfully tried to appoint two officials to the USPS to do so. The book, described as "a merciless dissection of Obama's overseas escalation and domestic retreat", is strongly critical of the Presidency of Barack Obama. Common Dreams is not your normal news site. Living in a hollowed-out democracy where the form is preserved and much else is becoming rotten is depressing. It doesn't work that way. Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. All the issues of racial capitalism are reduced to the flaws and faults of one evil man. No amount of evidence can seemingly convince his most fervent supporters that he and his Democratic establishment colleagues are anything but ethical and righteous. The Democratic convention has been filled with soaring rhetoric about the existential dangers of Trump to US democracy. They blind themselves to the reality. We need you. Hold the Hosannas, Steve Herman, Warrior for Sagebrush and Beauty, A New Record Is Set for Voter Participation, But We Still Need More Democracy, From AIPAC to the Dogs of Istanbul: the 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival, Escalating the Demographic War: The Strategic Goal of Israeli Racism in Palestine, Trump’s Cult of Personality Will be Badly Damaged by Defeat, But His Toxic Politics Marches On, When the Symptom Has Been Removed, But the Disease Remains, The Urgency to Hold Biden Accountable on Foreign Policy. What is it that will finally deliver a deathblow to the logic of lesser evil-ism? How can you compare Obama’s policies to the non-existent policies of some hypothetical Republican Presidency? To inspire.To ignite change for the common good. Maybe we’ll find out in Obama’s second term. The mad toddler rages on, the party he ravaged cowers and colludes, the lawsuits pile up, his grifter goons urge lackeys to "stay at the ready." Here the former President is the epitome of all that is still good in our politics, nation, and world. Very bad. Bad. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do. We could probably compile a whole list of "blame Obama" memes. Every donation—large or small—helps us bring you the news that matters. Things he's been blamed for (yes, really) include the formation of ISIS, North Korea testing nuclear weapons, all of the problems in the Middle East, New Jersey's budget shortfall, and the Syrian refugee crisis—and that doesn't include anything by known conspiracy theorists. The valorization of all things Democrat is the snake oil in place of a real cure. How can a Party who is nominating the architect of the nation's mass incarceration claim to be the last best defense of its democracy? Even scarier, it is the supposed high mindedness and inspiring words that make this Democratic threat to democracy so hard to identify and effectively challenge. In the midst of a global pandemic and anti-racist insurrection, the 2020 Democratic National Convention has captured the nation's imagination. Obama Derangement Syndrome is characterized by feverish delirium. Yet this almost pathological hatred, however legitimate, is now mixed with a worrying case of "Obama Inspiration Syndrome". How can a Party that celebrates its military aggression around the world credibly portray themselves as deliverers of peace? He has stated that he too would deal harshly with left-wing protesters as well as proposing to actually increase funding for the police. We live under the dictatorship of capital. In a piece headlined "Obama Derangement Syndrome… For those who don’t want to wait that long, a brief conversation with one-man political think tank Tariq Ali should do the trick. No alternative to the neo-liberal system are permitted except the State is encouraged to bail-out the very rich and the rich. "In place of an actual shared politics to resist the rapidly increasing creep of fascism at home and abroad, we are offered empty rhetoric and a history of broken progressive promises." Some would argue Obama can actually get away with more than a Republican president because of his savvy PR skills and the middle-class liberal propensity for hypocrisy and self-deception. Obama and Trump are thus each in their own ways inspiring reaction against the prospect of real systemic change that could reinvigorate and truly save our democracy. It’s a useful cop-out. It is hard to imagine how drone bombing and actually presiding over a decrease in black wealth can be considered "woke" or even allowable. Is it much different from what’s needed to restore meaning to the American political system itself? I’ve been arguing that a vital next step must be a Charter for Democratic and Social Rights that can be used to build strong bases against mainstream politics in every city.
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