[News] Mumia Abu-Jamal on President Obama
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Thu Nov 13 18:20:17 EST 2008
November 13, 2008
The Meanings of Victory
[col. writ. 11/04/08] (c) '08 Mumia Abu-Jamal
The count has been called and Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. has
become the 44th President of the United States of America.
But, in truth, history will record him as #1 - the first
African-American president.
It is undeniable that this is a singular political achievement,
a work of impressive political skill, and (we must admit) a gift of
the political gods.
Among friends, in the privacy of a prison visiting room I've
often made the following half-joke. Obama wins handsomely, and in
his acceptance speech, flush with victory, loaded with 'political
capital', he would open by saying, "My fellow Americans -- first and
foremost, I want to thank the one person who made my election
possible (if not inevitable): George W. Bush!"
I always got a laugh, for like all good jokes the truth makes it happen.
And the truth is, without the blunders of Bush, Obama would've
been an also-ran. His fundamental issue, which set him apart from
the rest of the Democratic pack, was his early opposition to the Iraq
War. That gave him a wind that carried him far and long beyond his
competitors, who were, for the most part, half-hearted war supporters
-- or worse, people who supported the war only because to not do so,
would've harmed their political careers (or so they thought).
That wind carried him to the Oval Office, the grandest prize in
U.S. politics.
But what does it mean?
We cannot deny its symbolic value. In millions of Black homes,
his picture will be placed on walls, beside Martin, John F. Kennedy,
and a pale painting of Jesus. I'd be that quite a few African homes
(especially in Kenya) will also boast his smiling visage.
But beyond symbol is substance, and substantively, some scholars
have defined Obama as little different from his predecessors.
Political scientist Clarence Lusane, writing in a recent issue of The
Black Scholar pointed to the money men behind both Obama and the
Democratic Party, and noted the following:
The promotion of U.S. hegemony, expansion of markets for U.S.
corporations, security-based multilateral relations, protectionist
trade policies, and a focus on terrorism will likely be key
priorities demanded by the major political and financial backers of
the Democratic Party. In other words, in a number of key areas, an
Obama administration would echo the policies of both George H.W. Bush
and Bill Clinton." *
Yet, symbols are powerful things. Sometimes, they have a life
all their own. They may come to mean something more than first intended.
History has been made.
We shall see exactly what kind of history it will be.
--(c) '08 maj
{Source: Lusane, C., " 'We Must Lead the World' : The Obama Doctrine
and the Rebranding of U.S. Hegemony, " The Black Scholar, [v.38: n.1]
(Spr. '08), p.3.}
The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!
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