President-Elect Obama
Barack Obama won the presidential election, tonight. Congratulations to him (he was the best choice of the two corporate mainstream choices), but we should not delude ourselves into thinking that his election signifies some kind of a promised land for the American people.
Obama ran an essentially Bush-lite campaign which was personified by his voting for Bush's surveillance bill; besides taking apart the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, it gave a misguided lawsuit immunity to telecommunication companies that assisted the Bush rule in their lawbreaking. It's unclear to us, at this time, whether the bill provides ongoing immunity for these kinds of companies. The bill, now law, ratifies Bush's illegal eavesdropping on American citizens who were not even suspect in any wrongdoing, let alone there being probable cause for even the least of crimes.
Obama wants to keep American forces in Iraq for at least 16 months, and apparently a large residual force even after that period. The Party of Commons, however, believes that all of the troops should be pulled out in an orderly fashion as soon as possible, that should take about 6 months.
Obama, if his statements are to be believed, wants to enlarge the Afghanistan theater of combat to include Pakistan, unilaterally. That's not a good idea. The future Obama administration should focus on rounding up the 9-11 plotters and enablers, and cooperating with the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan in doing that, as well as in working towards an overall peace plan for the region.
Obama voted for the 700 billion dollar Wall Street bail-out. That was a big mistake, and not a good sign for what Obama's future economic policies will be.
Obama shows no signs of even tempering the imperial agenda that Bush I & II and Clinton reinvigorated and he's ultra-liberal on social-cultural issues. Not good signs.
Tonight was a Democrat Party victory, the other side of the de facto one-party rule, which means there will still be a need for a loyal opposition party.
Post-script:
The Party of Commons also congratulates all the candidates who ran for president and vice president of the United States, including third party and independent candidates like Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear, Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez, Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, James Harris and Alyson Kennedy, Bob Barr and Wayne Root, and several others that we did not mention here.
[This essay was revised on 12/22/08.]
P.P.S. [December 22, 2008]
The Party of Commons has changed its position, and now believes there should be at least a one year interregnum, as part of a treaty with Iraq, after a troop withdrawal, before continuing the business of an embassy or consulates in Iraq. Embassy/consulate personnel should be withdrawn in an orderly fashion before the interregnum.
Copyright 2008, Party of Commons TM
Obama ran an essentially Bush-lite campaign which was personified by his voting for Bush's surveillance bill; besides taking apart the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, it gave a misguided lawsuit immunity to telecommunication companies that assisted the Bush rule in their lawbreaking. It's unclear to us, at this time, whether the bill provides ongoing immunity for these kinds of companies. The bill, now law, ratifies Bush's illegal eavesdropping on American citizens who were not even suspect in any wrongdoing, let alone there being probable cause for even the least of crimes.
Obama wants to keep American forces in Iraq for at least 16 months, and apparently a large residual force even after that period. The Party of Commons, however, believes that all of the troops should be pulled out in an orderly fashion as soon as possible, that should take about 6 months.
Obama, if his statements are to be believed, wants to enlarge the Afghanistan theater of combat to include Pakistan, unilaterally. That's not a good idea. The future Obama administration should focus on rounding up the 9-11 plotters and enablers, and cooperating with the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan in doing that, as well as in working towards an overall peace plan for the region.
Obama voted for the 700 billion dollar Wall Street bail-out. That was a big mistake, and not a good sign for what Obama's future economic policies will be.
Obama shows no signs of even tempering the imperial agenda that Bush I & II and Clinton reinvigorated and he's ultra-liberal on social-cultural issues. Not good signs.
Tonight was a Democrat Party victory, the other side of the de facto one-party rule, which means there will still be a need for a loyal opposition party.
Post-script:
The Party of Commons also congratulates all the candidates who ran for president and vice president of the United States, including third party and independent candidates like Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear, Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez, Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, James Harris and Alyson Kennedy, Bob Barr and Wayne Root, and several others that we did not mention here.
[This essay was revised on 12/22/08.]
P.P.S. [December 22, 2008]
The Party of Commons has changed its position, and now believes there should be at least a one year interregnum, as part of a treaty with Iraq, after a troop withdrawal, before continuing the business of an embassy or consulates in Iraq. Embassy/consulate personnel should be withdrawn in an orderly fashion before the interregnum.
Copyright 2008, Party of Commons TM
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