December 5, 2008
by Paul Kemp

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The Obama-nable Snowjob Man
 
Have you noticed that the Emperor-elect is wearing no clothes?  The faithful are in ecstasy that there has been a major change of some kind in America, but to the objective observer it looks like "Same soup, different bowl".
 
We will soon have an administration staffed by Neo-Libs instead of Neo-Cons.  Is there a difference?  They all seem  to like making war far from our shores (as long as they and their kin aren't fighting it).  Even the old NeoCons are praising the new administration, which is not a good omen of Change. 
 
President-elect Obama is already moving dynamically to affect Change.  Once in office, he has promised to bring some of our troops home from Iraq, while sending others to another losing war in Afghanistan.  That's a change, isn't it?
 
And, of course, like any good lawyer, Obama has inserted enough weasel-clauses into his conditions of for withdrawing those combat troops that - if "conditions on the ground" as judged by his generals don't look auspicious - we may not have a significant troop reduction in 16 months.  Or at all.  Go back and read the fine print. 
 
If anyone still thinks Barrack Obama is the candidate for peace in Iraq, they should read this article

Here's another one from Reuters, describing the reactions of the foreign leaders Obama's new cabinet secretaries will be dealing with

And this is the next war Obama's advisors are plotting

If you wanted peace and voted for Obama, you pulled the wrong lever.
 
A man is judged by the company that he keeps.  The spin doctors say that Obama has assembled a coalition government, but the truth looks more like he has embraced the Neocon point of view to placate the ever-powerful Israeli lobby. 
 
Remember that George W. Bush proclaimed that he wanted a humble foreign policy, with no nation-building, when he ran for President in 2000.  He quickly changed his tune once in office.  Obama is not even in office before he begins to show his true colors.
 
With all the euphoric talk of change and hope, the U.S. voters forgot the bottom-line goal of every politician: to do and say whatever it takes to get elected.  A Democrat-controlled Congress wouldn't even impeach Bush; what do you think they will do for one of their own if he commits an impeachable act?
 
Mr. Obama plans to remove combat troops within 16 months, he says.  Great, but what about the many occupation troops that will be left behind?  And the massive, fortified U.S. Embassy in Baghdad?  Please note that the anti-U.S. resistance will still have a reason to fight us: No country enjoys being occupied by a foreign military power, least of all Afghanistan.

(Article Continues Below)

Obama wants to enlarge the U.S. military forces as well as create a mandatory civil defense service staffed by ALL young people here.  He wants to remove some troops from Iraq and place 7000 more into Afghanistan - a mere drop in the bucket compared to what it would actually take to control that deteriorating situation, if that was even a rational aim.
 
Folks, the bottom line to remember here is that our country is broke: We can't afford any of this warmaking.   We had an accrued debt for Social Security and Medicare for the Boomers who are beginning to retire of over $50 TRILLION, even before Uncle Sam started bailing out the banks, etc.  Where is any of this money going to come from?
 
Between bailing out the scamsters on Wall Street, all the disfunctional businesses that are lined up with their sad stories and tin cups in hand, and the millions of Americans who will soon be jobless and perhaps homeless, we have no money to put into expansions of our military/commercial empire.  It's over.  The sooner we pull out of the many extraneous financial commitments we are ensnared in, the better off we will all be.
 
But, of course, no one drunk on the Kool-Aid of the Obama-nable Snowjob Man, wants to hear this.  I didn't go to Harvard, but Barack did, so what do I know?  For that matter, George W. Bush went to Harvard and what did they teach him?  No common sense or human decency, that's for sure.
 
The American people have spoken and this is what they asked for: More bread and better circuses.  Oh yeah, and different wars - We're tired of that Iraq mess Bush got us into. "And Santa, don't forget to bring me the Universal Healthcare you promised.  And could you re-negotiate this sub-prime mortgage I signed onto?"
 
You asked for Change, but what you got looks a lot like the same bunch of chameleons recycled from the Clinton administration.  They'll promise you whatever you want - as determined by the latest opinion polls - but what they can deliver is determined by the hard, cruel realities of the fact that our county is broke.
 
You'll see, soon enough.

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Paul Kemp awoke to the realities of American politics as a Conscientious Objector and war resister during the Vietnam era.  He is an entrepreneur and writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest. He welcomes feedback through his website, http://defending-your-retirement.blogspot.com/. 

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