My Laundry List of Hopes

The Obama Campaign machine sent me a letter the other day, appealing for a donation. That’s Ok, my name is on a lot of mailing lists, though if I receive even one solicitation from John McCain, I’ll be insulted.

So much hype, hoopla and trivial information has surrounded Barack Obama that it’s hard to get to what the man stands for. Is he a closet Muslim? Does he take policy direction from Jeremiah Wright? Will he find a place in an Obama administration for Hillary Clinton?

The Progressive community, small though it is, holds its breath and hopes that Obama will not drift further toward the bland, safe center, but the closer the general election gets the more Obama will be forced to move in that direction. Obama wants to get elected, so he’s not going to propose anything that might disturb the powers-that-be. He can speak eloquently about improving the lot of American workers, but not to the extent that he upsets Wall Street financiers; he can speak sensibly about talking with leaders from nations who oppose the United States, but in the next breath he’ll rattle the saber to ward off criticism that he’s soft on evil-doers; he can speak about a new brand of politics, but again, he can only go so far.

Obama has tapped into the desire of Americans for something different from the disastrous Bush-Cheney regime. I share that desire but my expectations for meaningful change are low. I hope the concerns of people who struggle every day to feed their families and gain a modicum of economic security will be raised to at least equal status with the aims of investors for maximum profits. I hope for a national realization that our current energy policy is a failure; we can punch holes in the crust of the planet under American control until the cows come home, but we’ll never bring enough oil on line to make a difference, and the sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be. I hope for a sensible policy on immigration, a removal of legal and physical barriers that have no chance of working. Most of all, I hope for a return of respect for law and a balance of power between our three branches of government.

That’s a lot to hope for. Obama claims he can deliver if enough people send his campaign a check. I haven’t taken that step yet, though I probably will. A McCain presidency is inconceivable to me, though I never thought American voters would re-elect George W. Bush in 2004 and won’t be surprised if McCain’s fear-based politics carry the day this November. That’s a depressing thought, not to mention a dark commentary on the American electorate.