What to do about President Obama.

July 12, 2010 at 1:01 P.M. New "errors" inserted in my Derrida essay. I cannot say how many other writings have been vandalized overnight as I struggle against obstructions to my writing efforts.

July 11, 2010 at 5:46 P.M. Congratulations to Spain on winning the world cup! Also, the Netherlands team is to be congratulated for a hard fought game. Fewer inserted "errors" than I expected today. Must be the World Cup game.

Please support the Socialist Worker's campaign: (212) 735-2540, 306 W. 37th Street, 10th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10018. Full unemployment insurance is needed for as long as workers are unemployed, especially now that census jobs are ending and the unemployment crisis lingers in America. http://www.newyorkswp@mac.com/ (Sarah Ruth Robinett for U.S. Senate.)

Peter Baker, "Obama Reaffirms Pullout From Iraq is on Schedule," in The New York Times, August 3, 2010, at p. A1. (Iraq is "projected" to be complete in one month. I have no idea what that means.)
Michael Luo, "99 Weeks Later, Jobless Have Only Desperation," in The New York Times, August 3, 2010, at p. A1. (People are hungry, angry, desperate for some "hope," Mr. Obama.)

July 9, 2010 at 5:45 P.M. "Errors" inserted and corrected. Keep 'em coming, New Jersey. "Let us loose the dogs of war!"

July 9, 2010 at 11:59 A.M. The daily war against New Jersey's hackers makes it impossible for me to know how many "errors" will be inserted in this work, whether I will be able to write from one day to the next, or what reprisals (legal and/or illegal) may be coming my way for expressing my views and demanding the truth concerning New Jersey's torture files. When I know, you'll know. ("What is it like to be tortured?" and "What is it like to be censored in America?")

July, 2010:

This essay was written during the election campaign of Barack Obama. Assessing the presidency of Mr. Obama, after only a year or so on the job, is disappointing and sad. Many of our current troubles did not originate with Obama, it must be said, and yet there is a feeling of stagnation and defeat in the White House. I say this as a supporter of Mr. Obama who would vote for him again today -- if less enthusiastically -- faced with the same candidates.

The dismal options offered by the disloyal opposition are not attractive to me. Mr. Obama seems to have lost his way and much of his passion. The Obama administration needs to catch a second wind right about now. Mr. Obama is a third- and fourth-quarter player, in basketball terms, as the next two years will demonstrate -- we hope.

The values that were inspirational after the ominous and gray, sinister and frightening experience of the Bush/Cheney nightmare seem to have faded. We find ourselves adrift on a sea of BP's oil, a collapsing war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq's chaos, an imploding economy, and the abandonment of those values that Mr. Obama promised would "never be sacrificed" to any external threat or "expediency." Evidently, Mr. Obama is willing to sacrifice those core values to achieve election success.

Mr. Obama, our shameful national experience of torture cannot be ignored or allowed to continue. We cannot enslave and torment hundreds or thousands of brown people, many of whom (as you must know) have done nothing criminal and most of whom have not been charged with or convicted of any offense. This hideous episode in our history diminishes all of us.

New Jersey's horror and shameful levels of corruption requires a serious federal response. We expect more from you than this lethargy. We need genuine leadership in this crisis. Is there no way to persuade New Jersey to comply with federal and state sunshine laws or the U.S. Constitution? There must be. Hiring or "persuading" people to say unpleasant things about me (to say nothing of computer crime) will not be a very helpful response from the Garden State. Daily public censorship on-line makes a lie of the U.S. Constitution for which Americans are dying as I type these words. Have you no appreciation of what your state has become, Mr. Rabner? Ms. Dow? Mr. Christie? ("Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" and "New Jersey's Feces-Covered Supreme Court.")

September-October, 2008:

"I don't know about them guys." I am sitting on the A-train, listening attentively to a discussion of current presidential election "issues" involving two gentlemen wearing hard hats who are sprawled directly ahead of me. Even more fascinating are brown-skinned women, also "from the neighborhood," who provide shrewd political analyses punctuated by references to what the new woman in the office "said yesterday" along with the confident assertion that, anyway, "she's a whore"!

Office workers of the female persuasion ("I'm not no secretary, no, uh-uh, hell no!") and the men who wield sledge hammers are still unconvinced by the candidates for either party. This election is "up for grabs." A poll dated September 9, 2008, places McCain ahead of Obama by 50% to 46% among likely voters. The numbers will change several times before election day. Number one reason for the shift in McCain's fortunes: "Sarah Palin is really nice and is great with her kids!"

Three of the crucial swing states reported different poll numbers on September 11, 2008. We are told by CNN: Ohio has McCain ahead 50% to 43%; Pennsylvania and two other states are "too close to call."

"Polls showed that some 15 to 20 percent of white voters in those three states said that 'race' was a factor in their vote, and we are left to wonder just how much of a factor and how many more would have said the same if they had been frank with the interviewer." (Hacker, p. 12.)

28% of white men between 25 and 55 will not vote for any woman for the U.S. presidency. A higher number -- including quite a few Democrats -- will not vote for Hillary Clinton for the presidency. These are the unspoken realities. Obama's comment concerning lip stick and pigs referred to McCain's policies. ("A Commencement Address for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham-Clinton.")

Taking Ms. Palin at her word, we might call her a "pit bull." With or without lip stick, this is hardly a flattering association for any woman. Relax, everybody admits that Palin is a babe. The question is whether this "babe-status" qualifies you for the presidency as opposed to second place in a beauty contest.

Yes, this is called "political irony" as opposed to "insensitivity to women's issues." I can assure you that people on subway trains in this city are much more explicit concerning their opinions about these matters and what they think of the Manhattan language police. "Feministing, forever!" Everybody agrees that political correctness is bullshit. ("Barack Obama and 'The New Yorker'" and "Reinforcements in a Time of Need" then "Skinny People Dressed in Black.")

Update: As of October 15, 2008 -- before assessing the results of the final debate broadcast -- Obama was ahead by 6% to 9% in most polls. It is estimated by several pundits that about 6% of the people claiming to vote for Obama are actually concealing a racial bias that will prevent them from doing so. This may be a conservative estimate. Nevertheless, adjusting for such possibilities, it appears that Obama may be ahead by at least 5%. The crucial question is whether this advantage exists in swing states where Obama needs the electoral votes.

Barring any shocking surprise, Obama should win this election. McCain was frustrated in the debate at being lumped together with President Bush. However, Obama is and should be running against George W. Bush. This is because the failed policies of the Bush Administration in Washington have created what can only be described as a financial, geopolitical, military and even cultural catastrophe for the nation. "More of the same" just ain't gonna do it.

Regrettably, the election of Obama and Biden may get the Jersey Boys new friends in Washington, D.C., who will take the U.S. Attorney off their backs in exchange for some contributions to paying off election debts. I hope not. ("Law and Ethics in The Soprano State" and "Corrupt Law Firms, Senator Bob, and New Jersey Ethics.")

"I like Obama. He's cute." One of the women in her late -- very late -- "forties" says this. This means she's fifty-three, maybe. "Sarah Palin's hot" is the contribution of the hard hats. The men do not like Democrats because they're all about "spending and stealing." This is certainly accurate in New Jersey. The women -- we must not use the word "ladies" as it is deemed "regressive" and "insensitive to women's issues" to do so -- do not like Republicans because "they're all about the war and big oil." The women also have a "point" as The New Yorker explains to those unfashionable persons, like myself, who reside somewhere in "uptown" Manhattan or in the blue collar boroughs -- Queens, Bronx, non-chi-chi Brooklyn, and the much despised de facto borough of New Jersey.

Why isn't Obama popular with these people? He certainly should be. Several factors conspire against the affable young Senator from Illinois, whose log cabin is not too distant from good old Abe Lincoln's homestead in the already emerging national mythology. Democrats should be dominant in this election. The Bush administration is universally (and rightly) reviled for disastrous choices in foreign policy that have increased the dangers to national security, while placing your children's prosperity and America's future economic security in great peril.

The United States is detested everywhere in the world, including nations -- like Britain -- that are friends. The torture policy, economic mistakes affecting others, a shift towards totalitarian surveillance and interrogation methods at home and much more, like public censorship, leads to the unhappy conclusion that the Bush/Cheney Republican Administration is the worst of my adult lifetime. G.W. may be even worse than Richard Nixon -- and that's saying a lot. (Fewer inserted "errors" than I expected -- so far.)

China and Russia have established highly profitable and strategically worrisome new relationships in Latin America. The U.S. has been marginalized in several crucial diplomatic negotiations developing in "hot spots" in the world, such as Georgia and in the Robert Mugabe matter in Africa, also when it comes to Darfur's Holocaust. Al Qaeda is stronger and more dispersed than ever before. The Taliban is poised to sweep back into power. Afghanistan is in danger of being lost. Pakistan has become "Grand Central" for terrorists seeking to kill Americans, who are often financed with our money sent as bribes to Musharaff and the military in that country that winds up in the pockets of the very people we are fighting against. We are financing our own opposition. Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism are growing in a country with nuclear weapons that receives millions in aid from us, Pakistan.

[All of this is even more true in 2010. September 1, 2010 at 1:54 P.M. More "errors" inserted and corrected.]

Obama's answer in the debate ensuring morally responsible investment in Latin America -- specifically referring to Peru and Colombia -- went over very well in the Third World and among Latinos in the U.S. It should. This is the kind of comment the world needs to hear from us, now. ("For America to Lead Again: A Speech for U.S. President Barack Obama.")

Is it true that Taliban forces are using Pakistani equipment? Ossama bin Laden is said to have a Summer home in Pakistan to which he returns periodically for some R&R. You go ahead and "chill," Ossama. Let us know what you think of the U.S. Presidential election. Care for a lemonade supplied by U.S. taxpayers?

If the Democrats cannot win this presidential election, they do not deserve to win any election. David Dinkins said: "When Democrats form a firing squad, they usually do it in a circle." This is precisely what Democrats have done (so far) in this election season. Anti-Republican feeling is so strong that Democrats may win anyway.

[The Republican brigades should do very well in the interim election, except that they offer so little affirmative thinking on the issues. Mere criticisms rarely win over the voters. It may be sufficient this time because of all the disappointment with Mr. Obama's policies. It is too soon to tell what effect the stimulus will have.]

Hillary's "legions of the damned" have taken a shit-fit because the primaries produced someone other than their anointed one as the winner. Obama must continually apologize for winning the party's nomination. The "skinny-people-dressed-in-black" are actively seeking to undermine Barack Obama's efforts, even as they (publicly) pretend to support his candidacy. This feigned loyalty fools no one. (Again: "Barack Obama and 'The New Yorker'" and "Skinny People Dressed in Black.")

Result: If Hillary or any woman gets the nomination next time -- assuming that Obama loses! -- then the Obama brigades will seek to undermine that person's candidacy, thus ensuring the election of another Republican to the White House. Smart? Get it through your skull: if you're any kind of progressive -- male or female -- you want Obama to win this election and to do well as president.

If Obama wins, then the "feministers" will seek a female candidate after Obama's second term or the outcome of an unsuccessful run for a second term by Mr. Obama. The "female persons" are nestling in Obama's bosom, as it were, like vipers waiting to strike. Was Elena Kagan's nomination aimed at appeasing the feministas? You cannot appease dictators, Mr. Obama -- especially, "feministers."

Equally moronic and insulting as well as racist is alluding to bin Laden when referring to Senator Obama, hoping voters will equate the two names, subconsciously. You call yourselves "Democrats"? McCain has helped himself by selecting the equivalent in politics of a young white hope: Palin is attractive, eminently "suburban" and (proudly) "a regular gal," a "hockey mom," a "gun-toting-Republican" more than willing to shoot a moose (or liberals) before lunch.

True, Ms. Palin will not win the Nobel prize for physics any time soon, but this may be a plus with the electorate since few of us are likely to win that prize, even if some of us occasionally read books for pleasure. Ms. Palin, probaly, does not find much time for reading in her busy schedule.

Palin is "tight" with the oil industry and delights in "drilling" -- as it were! -- as well as supporting "get tough on crime" laws. Palin likes harsh determinate sentences for repeat offenders or just for anyone who is liberal on domestic issues. Palin supports "judges who apply the law as opposed to judges who make the law." Palin is a shoe-in, even if we get stuck with McCain in a package deal. Most of these ideas will be stolen by trendy journalists soon, often speaking in dulcet tones. Get 'em while they're hot. ("What is it like to be plagiarized?")

Joe Biden is in a quandary. ("What's that?") Biden has a problem because he cannot beat up Palin in the debates or Biden will be deemed "ungentlemanly" as well as "insensitive to women's emotional needs and life-style issues," as Oprah explains, with touching empathy, to viewers reaching for a cleenex. What's a guy to do, Delaware Joe? Smile, then kick the shit out of her. (He did.)

Biden's task may not be an easy one. Palin is a tough customer. Palin does Kung Fu in the air. She races in that big dog sledding contest in Alaska. Palin must be a character in a story by Jack London. Palin may kick Biden's ass. No one anticipated this difficulty. "Feministas" and man-haters are baffled. Who do they root for? A sister struggling against male oppression? Or Democrats who may get them lucrative jobs, if elected?

Most will opt for Democrats and good old fashioned graft or nepotism, not to mention greed. Maria? However, a tiny number will stand on principle, happily betraying their party loyalties for the sake of the "sisterhood of the travelling pant-suits." (Katha Pollitt?) La Hillary will place a benediction on them -- with her left hand -- even as she forms an exploratory commission for next time around. Hillary has asked Bill to "chair" this all-male exploratory commission. That's not his saxophone, is it? "Drill! Drill! Drill!"

Obama is dealing with the big "R." Racism, xenophobia ("He has a weird name!"), the electorate's anti-intellectualism (Obama sometimes uses big words), plus he is not "black enough" for some others and other factors hurt Obama's popularity. Obama actually has intelligent things to say about the difficulties that we face. The question is what, if anything, he will do after saying intelligent things. Incidentally, Ms. Pollitt, I believe that two "l's" and two "t's" in the spelling of your name smacks of greed. Leave some letters for other people to use.

Obama wishes to end an unwinnable war in Iraq which no one, including McCain, knows how to "win." This is because no one knows what "winning" means in this context. Obama appreciates the serious challenge to America's continuing prosperity in the forthcoming decade. Obama also knows that education and health care are crucial for this society.

We simply will not succeed, whatever we do, without the cooperation of other countries in the War on Terror as well as in many other areas of endeavor. Furthermore, we will not receive that cooperation from any nation unless we treat people with respect by initiating partnerships with "equals and allies." In other words, we gotta be nice to the little brown people in all those funny countries with unpronouncable names -- like France. Being brown himself gives Obama credibility with those weird foreigners who "talk funny."

I am afraid that "kicking somebody's ass" will not solve our problems. Something has to be done about catastrophes, like New Jersey's political nightmare, or we will remain a horror story and joke to the world. Senator Bob will have to bite the bullet and deal with getting indicted. ("Senator Bob, the Babe, and the Big Bucks" and "Does Senator Menendez Have Mafia Friends?" as well as "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State.")

It's about time somebody got indicted in New Jersey. Every six minutes someone is probably stealing a million dollars of your tax money in Trenton, New Jersey. They are very "ethical" in the carcinogenic cranberry fields of the Garden State. Yeah, sure. Where's Jimmy Hoffa?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the U.S. is falling behind most First World nations in educational achievement, our military is overextended and depleted, economic worries threaten your children's future, terrorism is highly likely to strike again soon, within America's borders, probably in the very city where I live. New Orleans is offering everyone a cup of oil. We are fast approaching the day when the entire government of N.J. will be indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office. This universal indictment of N.J. will please Michael Critchley. ("SEC Sues New Jersey for Fraud.")

New Jersey's response is to insert "errors" in my writings or block my Internet access. This essay was posted 7 times, so far, due to criminal blocking of my cable signal, obstruction of images, alterations of the text, along with the usual harassments emanating from N.J. government computers, I believe. So much for the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ethics, Mr. Rabner? ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "Stuart Rabner and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey.")

Paralysis and mixed messages resulting from a lack of cooperation that aggravates all of the problems faced by the country will make things more difficult for your children. Enjoy your visit to the Jersey shore!

Sources:

Now:

Richard A. Oppel, Jr. & Mujib Mashal, "6 U.S. Service Members Are Killed in Afghanistan," in The New York Times, July 11, 2010, at p. A8. (Additional supplies and "assistance" may be reaching India's revolutionaries as "volunteers" from the Middle East and elsewhere are reaching Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and India.)
AP, "Toll in Pakistan Bombings Rises," in The New York Times, July 11, 2010, at p. A8.
Carlotta Gall, "Afghan Companies Say U.S. Middlemen Failed to Pay Big Bills for Work: Fears of Fallout That Could Turn Afghans Against U.S.," in The New York Times, July 8, 2010, at p. A4.
Timothy Williams & Omar Al-Jawonshy, "Baghdad Is Plagued by Deadly Attacks During Shiite Pilgrimage," in The New York Times, July 8, 2010, at p. A8.
Marc Lacey, "Cuban Government Vows to Release 52 Prisoners," in The New York Times, July 8, 2010, at p. A12. (U.S. is still holding hundreds of detainees uncharged and unconvicted in Guantanamo, several have died as a result of torture or been murdered after hunger strikes, and we are ranked by many nations below Cuba on the human rights front. "Is Senator Bob 'For' Human Rights?")
"Obey the Law on the Mentally Ill," (Editorial) in The New York Times, July 8, 2010, at p. A24.
Allison Pries, "Man Suing Hospital Denied Information About Coniglio's Job: Says His Struggles Contrast With Ex-Senator," in The Record, July 8, 2010, at p. L-3. (N.J. senator "was convicted of extortion and four counts of mail fraud for accepting $100,000 in bribes disguised as consulting fees in return for more than $1 MILLION in state grants to the hospital.")
Carol Lawrence, "N.J. Companies Up for Sale Cut Asking Prices," in The Record, July 8, 2010, at p. L-11. (Anybody want a New Jersey corporation?)
"Obama and Netanyahu: All Smiles Over Gritted Teeth," (Editorial) in The Guardian, July 8, 2010, at p. 26. (Obama deemed "irrelevant" in the Middle East; David Cameron sets up commission of inquiry on British complicity in U.S. tortures.)

Then:

Anemona Hartocolis, "Maimed on 9/11, and Trying to Be Whole Again," in The New York Times, September 10, 2008, at p. A1. ("Stay the course?")
Andrew Hacker, "Prejudice Against Obama," in The New York Review of Books, September 25, 2008, at p. 12. (A great review of "Brideshead Revisited" appeared in this publication by an amazing writer: "What is it like to be plagiarized?")
Anthony Lewis, "America's Official Sadism," in The New York Review of Books, September 25, 2008, at p. 45. ("What is it like to be tortured?")
Colin Toibin, "James Baldwin and Barack Obama," in The New York Review of Books, October 23, 2008, at p. 18. ("America's Holocaust.")
Alan Ryan, "The Post-American World," in The New York Review of Books, October 23, 2008, at p. 59. (We are in decline in 21 categories as compared with other First World countries.)
Vikas Bajaj, "After Big Rally, Grim Outlook Still Looms on Profits and Jobs," in The New York Times, October 15, 2008, at p. A1. (Recession or Depression?)
Michael Cooper & Megan Thee, "Poll Says McCain is Hurting His Bid by Using Attacks," in The New York Times, October 15, 2008, at p. A1. (Don't stay the course?)