tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5052634112244166698.post977490806959829621..comments2023-10-25T09:06:52.457-07:00Comments on Democrats Now: The Next StageAndrew Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872591255507588661noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5052634112244166698.post-48257246413483446252008-05-08T11:05:00.000-07:002008-05-08T11:05:00.000-07:00It is at least possible, though perhaps unlikely, ...It is at least possible, though perhaps unlikely, that Obama is smart enough to play all this centrist crap in order to get elected, but then be willing to move to the left, at least a little bit, once he is elected. He has certainly shown signs of having views that are to the left of the American pseudo-Center. For example, he continues to say, forthrightly, that "if he were starting from scratch," he would propose a Single Payer health care system. That suggests that, underneath the Centrist rhetoric, there are at least a few ideas that are a bit more to the left, and a bit less Clintonite. Will he act on any of those tendencies? Unfortunately, probably not in domestic policy. He doesn't seem to have the will for it (or not as strong a will as his will to get elected). However, when it comes to foreign policy, I am more hopeful. There, I think that his Clintonite rhetoric, which is a bit more tempered, is strictly for political purposes. At least, I think that is possible. I think that in the area of foreign policy, it is more rational to hope that he will depart more significantly from Clintonism. Given the alternatives, I hope we'll get a chance to find out.<BR/><BR/>As for fighting Clintonism in the near future, the cynical side of me continues to wonder if maybe things have to get a lot worse before they will get any better. People just don't pay much attention, or get anywhere close to getting it right, until their own personal interests are threatened in an obvious, undeniable way. I suspect that is why someone like Obama is even in the running this time around at all (the war and the economy), and as you rightly argue, that isn't much of a move from where we've been already.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08527785698207309017noreply@blogger.com