Barack Obama and the Left

Analysts put Obama to the left of the left in his stances and his statements in Congress, since he is more liberal and left-wing than most members of the Democratic Party, unparalleled in his leftism and liberalism except for a few, among them dyed-in-the-wool socialists Bernie Sanders from Vermont, Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island, Barbara Boxer of California, and finally Robert Menendez from New Jersey. We have learned that any candidate, after becoming president, begins to veer toward the center in order to meet the needs of the largest number of his voters and of the independent voters who helped in his victory.

Indeed, these independent votes all fall in the center, not to the right or the left, and this is a fact of the independent American electorate’s position, even though some analysts put the majority of the American people slightly to the center-right or moderate right. We noticed before that Bill Clinton began to drift centerward after his election and he revived the American economy and strengthened America’s position in the world economically, militarily, and diplomatically because he did not govern from the left; while we notice that George Bush ruled America from the right without moving to the center and he failed so miserably that historians consider him to be the second worst American president after James Buchanan, who could not prevent the American Civil War due to his inability to lead, and his ineffectiveness in moving to avoid war. McCain’s losing the presidency, and the Republican Party’s losing 24 seats in Congress to the Democrats, is attributable to George Bush. The American electorate wanted to punish the Republican Party because of the blunders of its president and wanted to send a clear message that extremist governance will not succeed in America and that a president’s success in office and the extent of his effectiveness depends on his proximity to the center and his distance from the extremes, whether right or left. And so, George Bush’s failure was considered the failure of the Republican Party.

President-elect Obama made promises to his electoral base and his liberal left-wing bloc (who helped him triumph first over Hillary Clinton and then over John McCain). Financial donations over the internet, as well as other donations and volunteering, were an effective part and a lethal weapon in his election campaign, where they formed a strong army that was an army of hope and change. He promised them that he would:

1. withdraw the troops from Iraq within six months;

2. decrease American dependence on oil, especially Arab oil, by finding alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, and ethanol;

3. improve the economic situation by raising taxes not on the middle class but rather on the rich and those who earn $250,000 or more a year;

4. furnish suitable health insurance to every American; and

5. help preserve the environment by passing a clean air law for reducing automobile carbon dioxide gas emissions.

Indeed each of these points consists of several other subsidiary points. Take the withdrawal from Iraq: Many of us believe that withdrawal will not be accomplished within 6 months as the liberals and left-wingers would like, but will depend on the actual conditions on the ground and on what the generals in the war recommend.

Finding alternate sources of energy is among the most important slogans on which US presidential candidates have depended since Nixon’s term, but which is quickly forgotten or ignored for various reasons, especially due to the power of the oil company lobby and also the difficulties facing the big three American auto manufacturers. They lack sufficient financial liquidity to build new factories with the capability to produce cars with better gas mileage which can compete with the Japanese, who are the most adept at manufacturing smaller and more fuel-efficient cars.

The economic situation will not improve overnight, but rather will depend on the effects of the $770 billion which congress approved to stimulate the economy, and how fast the results of this stimulus appear. I believe that the matter will need about five years at least.

Regarding universal health insurance, this depends chiefly on improving the American economic situation, because this insurance will be paid directly or indirectly from the American treasury, which depends directly on the American economy.

The last point, concerning the environment, is the point which Obama might exploit impressively and effectively in order to show his liberal left-wing base that he has not abandoned them or their demands, otherwise they will scatter from around him and go their own ways. As for the other points, he will soon find out that they are not easy to achieve and that some members of his party will oppose him, depending on their election dates and which districts they represent.

Thus all indications are that Obama will be a president for every American and not for the American left only. To be a president for everyone, he must distance himself from the left-wing liberal base which is the main reason for his victory, and move toward the center in order to be more effective. This is what time will make clear to him