Re: [Marxism] Obama speaks out on Jeremiah Wright controversy

[Eli Stephens <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

 From Left I on the News:
  http://lefti.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html#5766295227900759185

Obama speaks (and is silent)

Transcript.

     "But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply 
controversial...Instead, they expressed...a view that sees the conflicts in the 
Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel 
instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam."

Really? The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq stems from "the perverse and 
hateful ideologies of radical Islam"? The response of the Palestinian people to 
the Israeli occupation of Palestine and its brutal, arguably genocidal 
repression of the Palestinian people, stems from "the perverse and hateful 
ideologies of radical Islam" and not from the "actions of stalwart allies like 
Israel"? Please.

     "And just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these 
white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle 
class squeeze: a corporate culture rife with inside dealing and questionable 
accounting practices and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists 
and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many."

Sorry, no. A "corporate culture" which lacked all inside dealing or 
questionable 
business practices wouldn't solve our problems. And it isn't just economic 
policies that favor the few over the many, it's the capitalist economy which 
does so, intrinsically. A mistake which is reflected in these words:

     "This time we want to talk about how the lines in the emergency room are 
filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care, who 
don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in 
Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

     "This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a 
decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once 
belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life.

     "This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not 
that 
someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the 
corporation 
you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit."

He was doing fine until that last half sentence. "Nothing more than a profit"? 
That is what corporations do under capitalism. Corporations exist to make a 
profit. Obama is smart enough to understand that. He just doesn't want to go 
there.


_________________________________________________________________
Need to know the score, the latest news, or you need your Hotmail®-get your 
"fix".
http://www.msnmobilefix.com/Default.aspx
________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism