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Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Smith who wrote (53479)	9/15/2013 11:36:21 AM
From: koan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 85487

I just posted this on the liberal threads. Does this sound like I think Obama is a god? Well, at last, after Richard Wolff's article I see what happened to the Obama presidency. Five years I could not sort it out, but his theory makes perfect sense. Everything fits in his equation/paradigm. Obama ran an "outside game in both 08 and 2012, but both times once elected, he ran and inside game. He was a warrior tearing Hillary and Romney apart, but he did not want to do that to the senators and other supporters he felt he needed for his inside game. Look at how he got Obama care and this is why he never considered single payer. And that is also why he appointed Summers and Geithner instead of Stiglitz, et al who worked on his campaign much more than Summers. He wanted inside guys. It was also why he did not prosecute any of the bankers or other insiders, or torturers, etc. He felt he needed them and could get them by cozying up to them. Why he did not fight for Warren and others. But I feel, had he continued to run his outside game he could have achieved great things. FDR things. He could have turned the tide on the plutocrats taking over our country. But he did not want that fight. If he had appointed Stiglitz, Krugman, Volker and Romer (the latter two he did but under Summers thumb) all hell would have broken loose because they would have advised Obama to break up the banks and prosecute Wall street. But the people were with him and he would have won in the end IMO. Instead he disbanded his outside game and restructured for an inside game. And that was exactly when he told the liberals to quit whining. But now all of that momentum is lost. The bankers were weak and scared in 08 and that was the time to hit them. Now they are 30% stronger than in 08 and they deserted him in 2012, so he gained nothing. And 95% of all the money has gone to the top 1% during the last 5 years thanks to Summers and Geithner. And all the dangers of 08 are still present and the plutocrats are much stronger. Some may not like to hear that, but Richard Wolff is pretty smart and pretty honest and he makes perfect sense.

To: Paul Smith who wrote (53479)	9/15/2013 11:53:23 AM
From: koan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 85487

koan: Obama was elected to take on the plutocrats running this country. Look where we are now? They have more power and money than ever. Plus the house and supreme court. Pretty dangerous and inequitable situation for our country. The danger of the plutocrats greatly exceeds the need for Obama care, if one sees the two as mutually exclusive as I do not. Look what has come out about the power of the Koch brothers and very rich. They are putting hundreds of millions into gaining control of the country. And they are winning. The banks and Wall street and corporations have joined them. They are engaged in a full frontal assault on our country. He could have done both. It was really a matter of his running an inside game or outside game. He won on the outside game. He campaigned on the outside game, and the outside game was what we dems needed in 2010 to stave off the pubs who now probably control the house until we are both dead. His real power was with the outside game. The people. And facing a great depression, what would make more sense than appointing the four best economists in the country. But to your point, he could have taken on the plutocrats after he got Obama care, but after he was reelected with another outside game, he went back to his inside game; and now wants to appoint summers to the fed and the liberals have given notice they will fight to stop it. Warren, Wyden, Tester and Brown have publicly rebuked Summers. That is unusual to confront the president of your party. And the plutocrats just keep gaining more hegemony over us.