I am still too much in shock from what the Republicans have done to America and to the world to blindly jump on another bandwagon and espouse the Democrats' philosophy so completely. I may never recover from what George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice and others have done; I have lost all faith and "hope" in any government, in any politician. I am totally disillusioned with the world of politics.
I am now considering wild ideas to reform everything, take a huge step back and think how we could change the whole political system overnight. I find it so hard to support any politician these days, if I could vote to get them all thrown out to start anew, believe me, I would.
So, when they presented me this new politician called Barack Hussein Obama II, branding him as the new modern and young President of tomorrow who will save us all, you bet I had my doubts. So I decided to read his book "The Audacity of Hope". I thought, he will most probably be the next American President, I might as well find out what he is about.
Then after reading the prologue and the first chapter, and yawning out of control, I realized that it was a lot of talk and wind, just like many other politicians' rhetoric, with no firm commitment. So I did a bit of research and read instead his blueprint for change, his plan for America, which you can find on his website. I thought, this is where I will see if there is substance behind the great speeches.
I understand why most people don't bother reading anything of substance about who they will vote for, and then, I understand how people like George W. Bush become President. I will read all of this even if it kills me in the end; after all, it is my duty as an ordinary citizen; it is all our duty to know who we vote for.
It is 64 pages long and it took me one afternoon to read. Well, it was worth reading, even though I'm still wondering if this is just political propaganda in order to get elected, or if this will seriously become an elaborate strategy for the next presidency.
It is clear indeed that the man identifies many problems in American politics and society, it suggests he might actually do something about it, since it is part of his big political plan. He does not talk about religion, I suppose it means it is not one of his priorities, thank God! He does not mention gay issues either, hopefully it does not mean that secretly he is very much against the idea of gay marriages or even gay relationships.
Reading his blueprint, I have to say, I am impressed by what Obama says he intends to do once he's in the oval office. He used to be a political blogger, and he speaks like one. He gives the impression of having read most of them, it must have helped him no end to develop his blueprint, as it seems to me that he says everything we want to hear, almost. Is it too good to be true or should we be wary?
You know, I wonder if all Presidents who enter their office start with such idealism and conviction, and then ultimately the system fails them and nothing they intended to do gets done.
Obama does infer in his book that no Democratic administration would be able to achieve these grand schemes unless Republicans also wish to see America get out of the mud and sort itself out.
If Obama will truly go out of his way to end the corporate culture's control over everything in Washington with the power of money. If he will truly bring about transparency, end the abuses of the last administration, and invest so much on all sorts of social securities, maybe he could restore my faith in the Democrats. Well, if they are all mostly asleep, at least I know the President will not be.
Is this what people supporting Obama have been reading, his blueprint for change? No wonder Hillary Clinton was beaten. Sounds like a utopia, but that's what we need right now, any kind of crazy idea, anything but Bush and the Republicans.
There are so many "Obama will do this", and "Obama will do that", that one wonders where he will find the money for all his reforms and social securities.
Silly me, if we were able to stop spending so many billions on those wars in the Middle East, Obama would have enough money for all his reforms, and more. I suppose also that the end of tax breaks to large corporations alone would bring enough billions to build the new health care program and educational reforms he is hoping for, that we are all hoping for.
About his new energy policy though, vowing to renewable fuels and ethanol, I would think he should be aware by now that the food crisis is due mostly to that, the use of land for fuel instead of growing food, which highlights his serious omission of anything about the worldwide food crisis in his plan.
It is true that people in America are not starving that much compared to the rest of the world, and maybe it is not such a burning issue for Obama and the Americans. Still, it is a bit shortsighted if Obama's politics will not be as self-centered toward Americans as Bush's policies have been. And what about investing heavily in nuclear energy? Is this still part of the plan?
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
