April 20, 2008
Posted by yaman
Barack Obama’s Charisma Will Save The World
When it comes to Iran, Barack Obama says that the US needs to be careful about the use of force and must pursue other avenues, invoking George Bush and Iraq as foils to his “new foreign policy.”
When it comes to Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama says that Americans should not be quick to judge the man, and should make an attempt to understand his statements, sentiments, and beliefs within the context of his experience in a racist America.
But when it comes to the Palestinians, Barack Obama rejects any such nuanced approach. Instead, he, Hillary Clinton, and every other Democrat try to the best of their abilities to sound as much like George Bush as possible. Deviation from the norm here is not called ‘debate’ or an ‘exchange of ideas,’ it’s downright sedition.
For those who would claim that he might be “concealing” his true opinions: I don’t believe in trojan horse politics; I don’t believe a trojan horse democracy is democracy; the only trick trojan horse candidates play are on those who might support them on that premise.
For those who would claim that for so-called pragmatic reasons Barack Obama must deliver a particular message: on every single other issue on which Obama is supposedly “different,” representing a “new politics,” he has departed from those norms that other politicians adhered to for “pragmatic reasons.” That is precisely what has brought him the attention he has. But not on Palestine.
Everybody is taking Obama’s words seriously nowadays, even if they are different from what we are used to–perhaps because they are different from what we are used to. For somebody in that position, the most responsible thing to do regarding Palestine is not necessarily to take a strong stance against the Israeli occupation (though that would be the only principled thing to do), but to open up the field of discourse as much as possible to allow for free and open debate and participation by different parties.
Instead, Obama, with his loose and pitifully cowardly statements, ignorant of all nuance, narrows this field even further and prevents others with different approaches, ideas, solutions, suggestions, criticisms from participating. The “right to exist,” the “renunciation of violence,” the promise to “abide by past agreements”–these are all demands that foreclose the possibility for other perspectives to be heard, let alone considered.
That is, to this day, besides his not-so-stellar voting record, the most disappointing thing about Barack Obama: with every day on the campaign trail that he shifts his discussion about Israel and Palestine, not away from favoring one position to another, but in the direction of trapping himself and the rest of us within a discourse that only privileges and benefits the Israeli government, not the Palestinian or Israeli people, he does more damage than any perceived expediency might do good.
I would much rather have a president who loses while keeping the issues alive than a president who kills the issues in order to survive.
26 Comments
April 20, 2008
It has been a long tradition in this country that to get elected you have to play in some part to the Jews, Isael and the Jewish lobby in DC. Mark my words, if Barack Obama becomes president, he will give all Arab countries and Iran a fair shot. I firmly believe in his ability to negotiate with the Middle East and end much of the enmity.
April 20, 2008
Brilliant and coragous commentary, as usual, Yaman. But your closing sentence :
“I would much rather have a president who loses while keeping the issues alive than a president who kills the issues in order to survive.”
does not really add up, does it?! How are you going to have “a president who loses “…?! Surely, he then would not be a “president”, he would be a Ralph Nader… and we already have one of those…!!
You are not the first to express dismay with Obama’s about-face on the Palestinian, and other, issues http://tonykaron.com/2007/03/14/yes-barack-but-how-much-do-you-hate-the-palestinians/
Your observation on Trojan Horse politics, is apt and one has to assume an actual about-face has occured for expedience. However, your claim about his ignorance of the nuances is completely unfounded… The man was friends with Edward Said, after alll…!!
Thus, one needs to compare him with the available field of actual contenders for the office and believe that, at least. the man has the background, the knowledge, the sensitivity, … to be amenable to change when confronted and aided by the efforts that the rest of us must exert on the next president… something that cannot be said for the other two candidates. We cannot wait for a messiah to save us, we have to make the effort… and in that, it would help if there is someone in the White House who has the intellegence and the other qualities that Obama would bring…!!?
April 20, 2008
Mary, I don’t think it’s fair to say that presidential candidates have to “play to the Jews,” as if candidates don’t have to play to other groups of people, as if ‘the Jews’ are unified on this issue, and as if the candidates are merely putting up a facade and do not actually believe what they are saying.
As for your faith in Barack Obama playing a fair hand to ‘the Arabs and Iran,’ I still don’t know what you base this on, nor do I think that any meaningful vote should be a gamble like this.
April 20, 2008
I don’t think any American president or candidate is ignorant of the conditions that Palestinians live under, or of the illegality of the Israeli occupation, or of the severe inequalities that Palestinians in Israel live under, or of the discriminatory practices of the Israeli army and settlement enterprise within the West Bank and Gaza.
I just don’t think any of them care, and Barack Obama (who most people know is NOT ignorant on this issue, he has alluded to details in some places in his campaign, that “Being pro-Israel does not mean being pro-Likud”) is starting to look that way too, specifically when it comes to Palestine.
April 21, 2008
Great article–
It’s like breaking some sort of law nowadays if you speak out against the occupation. Absurd and unconstitutional, but not surprising.
The US government has to go through a major deconstruction of its blind support of Israeli policies.
People such as yourself are at the forefront of bringing about such a change and I’m very thankful for your posts.
April 25, 2008
I think we can agree, from your last post, that a lot of people are putting too much ill-guided faith into Obama without much evidence. And because of the magical powers that a lot of people think Obama has, we are not putting our efforts and labors into something…that would probably be a bit more constructive that you advocate.
But I think we can agree that we don’t live in a perfect world, and that there isn’t one solution to all these problems that we are surrounded with (though I’m sure if someone who wasn’t a douche bag was in that position a lot of things could be done). Realistically this is not the case and I am inclined to think that it would be a mistake to overlook the potential changes that Obama could instigate on this side of the world, for our brothers and sisters in our cities, I think that’s worth something (especially when a lot of the people I know and admire are saying the same things). And here we will continue the things we need to do to find justice in Palestine and other places.
I agree with your points, and there is always the argument that if you have a perverted sense of justice in one place, how can it not translate to a perverted sense of justice to all other places. I’m not trying to convince you of anything, not trying to say you’re wrong. I’m still confused and debating with myself on whether what I should think or stand for I am just sharing this in the sense of, maybe this discourse that I am having with myself might be valuable to you and maybe give ourselves a different piece of the puzzle that will lead us to a better decision..? maybe?
And I will end with an interesting piece of information that I received awhile ago, which you may or may not have encountered before. That Blacks were supportive of profiling of Muslims, Why? Because it would get the authorities off their backs.)
April 26, 2008
Thank you Mary for providing a quick anti-Semitic comment for Yaman’s blog. Thank you Yaman for trying to pre-empt the comment about your supporters anti-Semitism.
Thank you Yaman for inspiring more anti-Semitism.
April 30, 2008
(is that the nitwit?)
May 21, 2008
Well Hillary is the best choice for Arabs.
As we all know there is no salvation for the Iraqi people dually occupied by the dirty Iran and the U.S except by th ecutting hte hands of Iran off Iraq.
a soft stance towrd Iran as advocated by Obama would actually tranpire into a YET ANOTHER DEAL BETWEEN THE U.S AND IRAN ON SHARING THE RESOURCES AND LANDS OF THE BLEEDING TORN APRT IRAQ WHICH IS BEING DEVOURED BY THE VAMPIRES IN QUM-NAJAD, KHAMEINI AND KHATAMI.
What is really sad here is that some overly FORGETFUL Arabs, tend to turn a blind eye to all the upper hands of Saddam on Counties like Egypt and Syria and Jordan when they rush to oppose any blow against the criminal facist bloody Iran which is tearing Iraq apart along with U.S. Since Iraq was last bastion od arabn nationalism- the logical antidote to the Iranian medieval ideologies.
Arabs must put a solid united front and tear Iran to pieces, or else we will keep on crýing for another thousand years to come like we have pathetically been doing about Andalucia for ages
June 5, 2008
How could you do that to Barack Obama, he is the best person to be president for the election of 2008 and you know it!
June 5, 2008
Nina, Barack Obama is no question the “best” candidate for Americans this election. I don’t doubt that. However, his public pronouncements on Israel and Palestine keep getting worse and worse, and there is a rumor/popular belief that I’ve encountered among the Arab and Muslim communities that he is simply doing that to “get elected,” and once in office he will be “better” on the issue. That very well may be the case, but my point is that there is nothing that (a) can prove that besides a hopeful fantasy and (b) that if it were the case, that would make me less likely to support him because it is deceptive (that is what the part about trojan horse politics is referring to). Now, I disagree with this rumor. I don’t think he is concealing his true opinions. But it is very disappointing that it appears his approach and pronouncements on this issue differ markedly in style from his nuanced approach to issues like Reverend Jeremiah Wright (which I wrote about here), in which he is able to understand people’s situation and experiences as anybody who is trying to resolve conflict and division should. Instead, on Israel, he uses a different approach which I do believe is geared towards getting elected, but which I believe is unforgivable because he has a chance to change the discourse, but is instead re-affirming the old one which protects oppression of the Palestinians.
June 6, 2008
You people are all retarded. You have no idea what real leadership is. Get lives, you bat-shit insane conservative Republicans.
June 6, 2008
Feel free to elaborate Tyler.
June 6, 2008
You have to remember who Obama is. He is a black man, with a middle name called ‘Hussein’.
It wouldn’t be smart for him to say oh well I don’t support the Israeli’s, we need to look at the current climate and he’s playing a smart game, he needs to become president and will say anything to get there. He has a tough job ahead of him, he has always been pro Palestine. He has the Israeli lobby hanging around his neck which is why his latest speech at AIPAC sounded right wing, he needs Republican votes and Israeli vote. This stance isn’t permanent, he knows what he’s doing, he wants to get in that white house so he needs to please to succeed.
Once he is there, things WILL change for the better.
June 6, 2008
jutta, I understand perfectly well what all the obstacles facing Obama are. But let us suppose that after changing himself in order to be more palatable to a system that won’t accept him as he is: can we then actually say, in all honesty, that a black man with a middle name called ‘Hussein’ won the presidency, and wow, America is so progressive? Or should we really be saying, This black man with the middle name Hussein had to change his attitudes, statements, and behaviors in the following way in order to become the first president with black skin, but he is just the latest president with the same attitudes, statements, and behaviors required to become president?
As for what Obama “really” believes: I can’t help but sense that this is exactly the point I was arguing against in my post. This seems to me to be a popular rumor that helps us feel better about the fact that Obama is completely insensitive to the concerns of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities of the United States, and yet, despite all of this, we should still vote for him? If he wants our votes, let him earn them by taking principled stands, not by forcing us to vote on rumors and suspicion.
October 11, 2008
“can we then actually say, in all honesty, that a black man with a middle name called ‘Hussein’ won the presidency, and wow, America is so progressive?”
I’d rather see this country take baby steps to being more progressive, open-minded, and dare I say, more intelligent, than taking no steps at all. It’d be ideal if Obama takes a stand and call a spade a spade, acknowledging the plight of the Palestinians, the pain of Israelis who does want peace, as well as acknowledging the atrocities and human rights abuses being committed by *both* sides. But let’s be realistic: doing so won’t be constructive to the goal of electing a non-Republican president. We will *not* make progress in the Middle East if McCain wins.
Imagine the kind of cache’ and possibly even admiration that this country will gain if we elect a black President with a middle name of “Hussein”. Imagine the kind of progress we can achieve in the world arena if every country comes to see the U.S. as not the jack-booted scareddy-cat bully that we have become, but as an open-minded, progressive, intelligent, and fair minded society.
October 13, 2008
Mark my words if obama becomes president those who voted for him will regret it everyday.
October 13, 2008
If Obama becomes president will there be any justification for keeping affirmitive action around? Or will people say hes not 100% black or that he is the exception to the norm? because in my opinion wanting equality is not supporting a law that endorses people to be given opportunities because they are black……. I mean if a black man can become president where is your argument that blacks are being held back?
October 13, 2008
why would you vote for mccain when his campaign has been so negative? barack is rational, thus he attracts rational people
October 13, 2008
I think there’s no doubt that Obama would be the better president, given the choice between him and McCain. Remember a vote is not only for the president, but for the entire administration. Obama’s administration and office will be filled with people who do the community organizing we all respect so much in various parts of the country. We should also remember other powers he will have like Supreme Court judge nominations. The judges he will appoint are much more likely to be progressive than McCain’s judges.
I am lucky that I live in a state, California, where I do not really have to consider completely the full weight of voting for a third-party candidate, and enabling the Republican nightmare to win the White House for another four years. My vote for Ralph Nader is not simply an ideological one, but also based on practical considerations like the fact that CA is almost certainly firmly within Obama’s fold. Had I been in another state, I would have had to consider my vote in a different way.
My objection is not simply to Obama’s positions, but to the closed nature of political discourse, especially during campaign season, in the United States. We do not have a free flow of ideas, nor do we have engaging debates. Obama during the primaries was much cooler than Obama during the general election. That is the nature of our undemocratic system, and I reject it wholeheartedly.
But I also think cc should be ashamed of the blatant racism that is driving his vote. Are you serious, cc?
October 18, 2008
Barack Obama isn’t black. He’s multi-racial. He has a father from Kenya and a Mid-western white mother, and was born in Hawaii. I’ve heard him speak twice, and both times I did not get the impression he was concealing his politics in a “Trojan Horse” fashion (although that is a clever metaphor). I think his speeches are much more upfront and informative than McCain’s. Watching him talk I never felt the need to pay attention to his charisma or his dashing good looks, he says what he believes, and says things that make sense to me.
I appreciate you being critical of Obama. We need, always, to investigate our presidential candidates, and even though I support him now, he ain’t perfect. The people of this country need to be smart and make sure our government is at least not entirely out of our hands. Ignorance is a huge problem in America. People just don’t know what these guys really believe, we don’t know what other countries think, we don’t know all the little connections and conspiracys that run our government. All we can do is look at what these two dudes are saying and decide who we trust more– Who is telling the truth? Who is not?
But Barack ain’t Black. and who the fuck cares if he was, lets get to the important issues here
October 18, 2008
Hi Paul, I wasn’t accusing him of using trojan horse politics. That was a comment mainly directed at Arab and Muslim Americans who, as wishful thinking, claim that what he says about Israel, is not *really* what he believes, only what he says in order to get in office. The assumption in that belief is that he is engaging in trojan horse politics, and I reject that kind of thinking as being un-democratic and un-transparent.
October 20, 2008
i think you are wrong about barack obama.you don’t know anything about him.ibet he is twice the man you’ll ever be so don’t go talking about stuff you don’t no jack about.and i guess you allready guessed yea i’m voting for obama.
October 29, 2008
You know, I haven’t made up my mind yet… my issues are essentially lower taxes, less government regulation, and national security… if B. Hussein Obama has successfully convinced me by election day that he’s the best guy for these issues, he’s got my vote.
November 5, 2008
Obama WON! WOOHOO
November 6, 2008
hi, im pretty sure this thread is long over, but i just came across it and found it interesting.
first i have to endorse President Elect Obama and his administration. ive been following the American presidential election with much interest and would have voted Democrat if i were American.
secondly i would like to say that while i disagree with Yaman’s criticism of Obama , i agree with your frustration over the seemingly endless political skirting that goes on at a time when the public needs to be more informed than ever. In canada we experience this on an even more exaggerrated scale. although yes, our country’s foreign policy issues are not at all of the extremity of those of the States, we do have our fair share of “current event” i.e the war in Afghanistan–yes we our involved—, the international economic crisis, environmental decay, health care, and even petroleum and energy shortages. all of the above and countless others are nauseatingly generalized and trivialized along the course of our federal elections. so even though your country suffers from ignorance because your candidates and media sheild you from the political realitites that you face you are not alone! we have little more to do than choose from five or more parties that all promise vague and undifferentiated hopes for parliaments future, all of which offer only insignificant variations on each other. the whole thing can leave you dizzy and confused. thats why we have poor voter turn out, a large dependency on exit polling, and inconsequential “trojan horse” politics.
as far as addressing the specifics of the american situation between Isreal and Palestine, give him a chance. of course the democratic party isnt going to try to win over potential voters by going over the course of acton theyll take on the Israeli occupation during a speech or a rally. if the american public werent too stupid to absorb it they would still be frightened and distracted. the elections and campaigns are no more than publicity stunts used to woo the public into picking sides. he said they are against the occupation and hes going to offer aide. the real work starts now.
thx!
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