Reform

By Ron Beasley

REFORM is the way politicians spell bull shit.  Now we spend a lot of time here talking about how John McCain represents more of the same and won't reform anything but do we honestly think Obama is going to reform Washington?  Many run for office and talk about reform.  Some of them may actually mean it but soon get sucked into the way things are.  To most reform is just a catchy word they use when they campaign.  The word reform has been replaced with the word change this time around but it's really the same thing.  The reality is no matter who gets elected there will be nearly zero reform and very little change.  Politicians start running for re-election the day they are elected.  Eighty percent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track and they are right.  After eight years of the Bush administration, and in fact we could go back 28 years, the country is not only on the wrong track it is going down the track very fast.  Fighting that forward motion and getting the US on the right track again will take years and be very painful.  Politicians who inflict pain on voters are shown the door.  While McCain will change nothing about the best we can expect from Obama are some cosmetic changes that will be too little to late because he knows the American voter will not put up with the pain. 

That said I will still vote and work for Barack Obama because it will mean the neocons and the theocons will at least have less power - the lunatics will no longer be in charge of the asylum.  But I really don't see things changing very much.

Update

I must be right because David Broder said just the opposite.

Comments

[mikkel]

Ron have you seen the Moyers interview with Bacevich? I think he was exactly right that ultimately it's not the politicians that are most at fault, but the American people's addiction to cheap energy and unlimited credit. He pointed out that Carter is the only one that understood this on a fundamental level, and look at what happened to him.

I have reason to be darkly optimistic though. I don't think that Obama will bring reform, but I do think there is a significant chance of systemic financial collapse and we're in the middle of a foreign power one as well. I have faith (perhaps I'm naive) that if this does occur, that Obama has the capacity, will and leadership qualities to help guide a transformational repurposing of the country in a way that is a lot less self destructive and more sustainable.

Obama has alluded to many things where he was personally in favor of immense change but knew that it would be impossible in the current environment. He's not a revolutionary and that's why if he's successful his greatest accomplishment won't be anything he does in office but a generational change in perspective.