Mike Davis' Latest Polemic

Read it here:

Can Obama See the Grand Canyon? On Presidential Blindness and Economic Catastrophe

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/15-10

Davis isn't too hopeful and I can't blame him. I am not exactly an Obama cheerleader even though I intend to vote for him. But I was slightly encouraged by this comment on Davis' piece:

One often overlooked personal credential that Barack Obama has is the biographical fact that once upon a time, Barack the law student was editor in chief of the Harvard Law Review.

In the grandiose, hyper competitive, ego-maniacal pecking order of Ivory Tower academe, it is a singularly amazing accomplishment to weather the winnowing process ordeal and ascend to the very pinnacle of that very tall greased pole - to be selected by both one's peers and Harvard Law's own fractious faculty mentors to be the honest broker, called upon to chair the big meeting at the big table in a big room filled with a diverse, mind boggling array of super articulate people often in passionate disagreement with one another - disagreements sometimes fueled by powerful hidden agendas, recognized and unrecognized.

By all accounts, Barack Obama possessed the skill set needed to survive and thrive in that unique role.

Hey, here's hoping that Obama can step up and shock the hell out of everyone. It's precisely what we all need. He's going to have to abandon most of his centrist rhetoric in exchange for the inescapable necessity of rebuilding an American middle-class. We are going to need millions of jobs in the $20-30 USD an hour range to rebuild our sagging economy. The manufacturing that has been outsourced needs to come back home. Our infrastructure needs a major overhaul. Our energy policy has to lean heavily toward nationally secure and renewable sources. The farm must be re-envisioned for the next century. The corporation must be made subordinate to the needs of the people. Etc.

There is so much that I hope for that I fear certain disappointment, just like Davis.

Tense days...