Wednesday, February 27, 2008
'The politics of hope have been a bust'
Now that Just Words is out of the way (for the moment), some are looking at Deval Patrick's record as governor in order to get an idea what might lie ahead for Obama as president. Joan and Mickey have jumped on the topic. Now Fred Siegel weighs in with a piece headlined "Yes, We Can’t - From Ralph Waldo Emerson to Deval Patrick, the politics of hope have been a bust." Siegel flatly states that Patrick's "governorship has been a failure to date." I wouldn't go that far. Patrick has lately scored some impressive legislative victories. He's no Jane Swift. But I do agree with this graf:
Closing tax loopholes, pushing a biotech bill and proposing resort casinos aren't what most of us would consider reform or transformation. ... FYI: The Obama bubble started hissing after JustWords-gate, as much as some would like to dismiss the incident. But the bubble obviously hasn't burst yet -- to Hillary's chagrin. ...
Update -- From Bert:
Now that Just Words is out of the way (for the moment), some are looking at Deval Patrick's record as governor in order to get an idea what might lie ahead for Obama as president. Joan and Mickey have jumped on the topic. Now Fred Siegel weighs in with a piece headlined "Yes, We Can’t - From Ralph Waldo Emerson to Deval Patrick, the politics of hope have been a bust." Siegel flatly states that Patrick's "governorship has been a failure to date." I wouldn't go that far. Patrick has lately scored some impressive legislative victories. He's no Jane Swift. But I do agree with this graf:
Patrick hasn’t delivered reform, much less the transformation that both he and Obama promise. This should come as no surprise. Obama’s utopian vision of transcending the interests that make up the fabric of our democracy is unlikely to fare any better than the “politics of hope” did in Emerson’s time. The key question at hand is whether Obama’s Edenic bubble bursts before or after the election.
Closing tax loopholes, pushing a biotech bill and proposing resort casinos aren't what most of us would consider reform or transformation. ... FYI: The Obama bubble started hissing after JustWords-gate, as much as some would like to dismiss the incident. But the bubble obviously hasn't burst yet -- to Hillary's chagrin. ...
Update -- From Bert:
Siegel’s article seems to indicate only liberal Democrats have hope for systemic change…As if John McCain hasn’t risen to prominence on some of the same sentiment in a different dress...As if George W didn’t tout his Democratic Lieutenant Governor and pledge to change the tone of Washington in 2000…As if Reagan hasn’t been cast by conservatives as the GOPs Kennedy-like hero, albeit without the tragic premature end. (He did get shot!) Wasn’t “It’s Morning in America” all about the politics of hope on a national AND global stage?
Will the 2008 GOP convention have a sing reading “Abandon hope all ye who enter here”?
