The American Election

Obama : the future of an illusion

 

Photo: ULg - Jean-Louis Wertz

The political scientist, unlike the astrologer, does not pretend to know what lies ahead but can at least clarify the present and thereby anticipate future political trends. In the very concrete case of the American presidential campaign, Mc Cain may very well win the election without having the faintest idea of why, except of course for the common stereotype that Americans will never vote for a young progressive candidate of mixed race.

The problem is the same for both candidates, but Europe's infatuation with Obama is a good reason why we should reflect in particular on the image we have of the Illinois senator and on concrete issues which remain heretofore ignored. Indeed, how can we form a real idea of Obama as long as his philosophical, political and economic views are reduced to a caricatured image situating him somewhere between the Reverend Martin Luther King and the charismatic John Fitzgerald Kennedy ?

Let us examine a few examples.  Little has been said about Obama's staunch opposition to universal health care coverage and especially the fact that his health program is definitely less ambitious than that of Hilary Clinton (no longer political currency following her failure to gain the nomination).  Obama's intensive use of religious references when addressing voters and when articulating what inspires him in his quest for the White House has gone largely unnoticed, while President Bush has been criticized for doing the same thing for the past eight years.  Little mention has been made of the controversy-ridden issues which the new president will have to deal with.  What will happen to the thousands of private contractors in Iraq ? What will be the status of private militia (Black Water for example) currently operative if Obama is elected ?  What will become of the CIA secret prisons and the questionable practices being carried out by the Bush administration ? What will Obama do to prevent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina from happening again? Since 2000, what has his position and that of his counsellors been on high risk loans and their clear consequences for lower-income families once interest rates, and hence their mortgage payments, go up ?  Finally, what does the democratic nominee mean when he says that the "danger from Iran is real and serious and that his objective is to eliminate that threat",  adding that he will do everything in his power to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons : "Everything in my power – everything*".

Our intention is not to discredit Senator Obama but to question this blind infatuation which may find us critically unprepared when the time comes to explain the defeat or narrow victory of the Democratic candidate, or a victory followed by the implementation of policies not fundamentally different from those of the past.

Media coverage of Barack Obama  is operating on a strictly mythical level, i.e. founded on a simplified image of an individual, albeit one which plays a decisive role in how he is perceived. If we put aside the race issue (unfortunately the only one being discussed), what does this myth consist of ? Obama represents a departure from two images widespread in Europe : the image of the "bad but powerful American" (Bush using his bloody wars to dish out juicy contracts to his friends) and that of the "bad but powerless American " (the stupid American asleep in front of his TV set, a M16 rifle at his side). Having only this simplistic analysis to explain reality, we can only be disappointed, whatever the results of the November election.

Two personalities

Europe's (particularly French-speaking Europe's) massive support for Barack Obama is reminiscent of that given John Kerry in October 2004.  Bush's victory starkly elucidated our total inability to situate Kerry  in relation to his opponent; we might be equally surprised if  McCain happened to be elected president.

After an intensive five-week campaign on major television networks; after three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate in October;  after endless debate devoted to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, national security, employment, environmental issues and global warming,  health and education; after countless questions concerning McCain's support for the Iraq war and probing Obama's empty campaign promises; after the two candidates' every word has been thoroughly analysed by the media, their  lies and exaggerations verified, clarified and updated dayly;  after weeks of campaigning, analysis and criticism, there will come to the fore two very different individuals : two ways of being and believing; two ways of  understanding politics and international relations, of conceiving and understanding men and social relations, and two ways of explaining poverty and inequality.

Two men will emerge and the American voter will face a much more complicated choice than Europeans can fathom, attached as they are to their simplified image of Obama.

Jérôme Jamin

Researcher at Cedem

*The AIPAC speech of June 4, 2008.

Article traduit par Francine Haenen