Shame about Obama

So, after more than a year of not even bothering to think about anything, and writing even less, I am back. This time to write about another thought that's been bouncing around my head for a little while: the annoying direction Obama's heading to as this campaign progresses.

Having played the game perfectly well, Obama had created an almost-insurmountable lead, with his fresh approach to political discourse. He doesn't play by party rules, refusing to give strict Democrat or Republican answers and appealing to the inherent 'truth' of these issues. He was able to look at a problem like racism from not the angle of party rhetorics, but he used a more academic tone to explain the situation as an ambiguous political mess, which is the most unequivocal 'truth' of it (though it is an obvious point to make in some sense). The difference here is that he is a fantastic orator, and so rather than some dour academic, he is more like a populiser of academic thought to a mass audience. However, rather than just analyse the status quo - he brings about the damning verdict: the status quo is wrong, and we must strive to change it.

The problem though is not that he is wrong on any of these issues, because they are very hard to disprove (yes, racism is wrong and the way to eradicate it from the popular consciousness is to make it more about class), but it is the policies that he proposes do not match his high-minded tone. His is still a very centre left (or at least what is deemed centre-left in the US) programme, and please don't tell me that any number of bi-partisan committees on all matter of topics will lead to anything but a Democratic presidency. With his inclusive tone, Obama may unite Washington, but his policies are still Democratic ones (and probably less thought out than Hillary's - but who wants an unscrupulously pragmatic intellectual powerhouse for a leader these days?) and still stuck in the same political mire. You can poach a few rogue Republicans that agree with your world-view on an issue as divisive as Iraq is, but you that doesn't make you a unifier. It makes you someone who's willing to make a PR campaign of picking up people who show no real loyalty to their mother party. Now, I'm not saying that it's a good or bad thing, but it probably is the 'truth' of the matter.

Ok, so I should probably back-track here, and just say that I still do like Obama. I like his raw idealism and a lot of things that he says are refreshing to hear from a politician and I generally agree with them. But then, as above, he is hard to disagree with. What I've come to dislike is the cult of personality that's growing up alongside his campaign.

I suppose it has to do with his superiority with which he now classifies the working class as 'Cling-ons'. I suppose it's the fact that he's put the whole 'me against the Washington hegemony' shtick into overdrive. It's a lot of things, but mainly it's the fact that the idealism of what he's standing for, has morphed into a personal message: rather than being the choice of the independent, he has become the truly independent candidate. No longer the man to represent the views of those that don't feel adequately represented by either party and willing to listen to all, he has become the man who represents that independence himself. His tactics have become sharper, more divisive, and rather than uplifting the campaign and never resorting to anything more than a good defense, he's now the candidate who likes to point to everyone as inadequate as when compared to him. And hence, what started out as a great coalition, has now become a great personal crusade. Whereas I was pretty excited about the former, I am very sceptical of the latter. I suppose I am sceptical of anyone who says that they have those answers on their own, especially when the solution that the candidate proposes is a weak rehashing of old policies.

So, at the moment, I'm for McCain. At least he seems to know his limits, and besides, I tend to agree with his Iraq policy. So unless Obama inspires me with anything besides high-flung rhetorics, I'll probably be staying that way until November. But then I'm not even an American citizen, so I suppose it doesn't really matter. That would be the truth of it anyway.