Maybe Saint o’rum (could not resist) did not get a bump from his last week victories in the South last week because the power that be have decided it is enough already and the media barely mentioned his sweep. It seems Mitt got almost as much a buzz from the media from winning Puerto Rico yesterday as Santorum got from his sweep last week.

I remember reading George Lakoff lamenting few years ago that when he offered seminars on the use of linguistics in the political process (the use of metaphors for example), only right wingers would sign up. It seems that democrats and most of the left are still ignorant of the concept of the Overton Window and as long as they do and suppress those on their left the country will keep moving to the right. Soon the tea party will seem ‘leftist’ (insert sarcastic smile).

As I said, I agree with your argument. The problem I have is more general. It seems that the politicians in this country have successfully transformed class warfare into race warfare. Both parties have contributed to that effect as both parties gained from it.
As for comparing Obama to Thomas, I like the quote:
We Wanted a Nelson Mandela; We Got a Clarence Thomas (Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez)…http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/02/04-4

True, but I bet Obama will be ‘forced’ by his handpicked commission (or the ‘super congress’ to cut social security, medicare, medicaid, aid to children, (cut to education will be forced on the states). It is a time where the policies of both parties are muddled, where it is about serving the plutocracy and getting re-elected.

I agreed with what you posted…but you lost me when you mentioned skin color. Was that really necessary to your argument?

I am glad you are still optimistic. I am not. I see ‘them’ using the latest crash to justify cutting social programs. Like Europe and the Middle East has shown us this year, it only takes the raw anger of the people to affect change, and even on that the jury is still out.

What has been mostly forgotten in all the politicking (but is still in most of us back of the head) is the opportunity lost. When we elected Obama we welcomed real change, mixed in with hope. The election was a loud repudiation of the politics of the past decades, politics which have resulted in the highest incarceration rate, in the greatest social disparity, in growing hatred for the USA in the world. It was also a repudiation of the failures of capitalism which gave us the S&L scandal in the 80′s and then the collapse of this depression (I call it a depression not a recession).
We expected Obama (and the democratic majority in both the house and the senate) to go forward boldly, to affect change in the way we do politics, instead he did what he predecessors have been doing, govern to the next election. He decided to triangulate instead of be the trans formative president we were told he would be.

“The intent is to make them so stupid that everyone in Congress wants to avoid pulling them.”
No, the intent is to create such a bad crisis (like the debt limit crisis) so they will push cuts in Social Security and Medicare as the lesser of two evils. They will also let some of Bush taxes expire (as they were supposed to) as the carrot for the democrats.

I do not see much change in Obama’s poll numbers. He has been around 50% most of his presidency, give or take a few percent. Check for the numbers since his inauguration.

Obama and the democrats do not need Lieberman anymore to pretend they cannot pass the legislation they promised to pass. Remember that Lieberman was Obama’s mentor in the senate. No more fig leaf needed as democrats barely hold the senate and all the corporate media tell us that “bi-partisanship” is the way.

What is $78B cuts over 5 years in a total military budget of more than a trillion a year…just for show while they cut social programs.

Wall Street will make sure that republicans nominate someone even worse than Palin, and so making sure that THEIR CANDIDATE Obama wins…(‘don’t you want someone worse than Palin as president, do you’ will be the democrats main argument in the 2012 campaign)

Very Orwellian, lets change the words to change history. This book is part of our cultural (and political) history. I love how the professor was clear and to the point.

Here is a good resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmaltz

Thank you very much for this article. It is nice to empower the readers not only with new ways of thinking, but also with new ways of living. Also hello to all the members of this great site, long time reader, new poster.

Not very likely Obama can be challenged. First he has the black vote as a block. While his approval rating is in the 30′s with whites, he still enjoy more than 90% approval with blacks. Second, he can count on the support of the blue dog democrats, another big block. If he governs the next 2 years as we anticipate he will, ‘triangulating’ even with another word for it, he will solidify the blue dog vote even more. And lastly, he can count on the financial support of corporations he has helped so much.