I have to confess that I, among millions of others, was totally mesmerized by Barack Obama during his quest for and election to the Presidency in 2008. I have to; also, confess that it did not take long for the disparity between his words and his actions to become an issue of growing concern to me. At this juncture, like so many others, I am totally disillusioned with the man euphemistically referred to as “Mr. President.” As I reflect on his record during the past two years, the only consistency I can find in his behavior is the glaring dichotomy between his posturing in public and his real persona behind closed doors with the power brokers in our economic and social systems. He is repeating that which he has so often gotten away with in all the current round of appointments to his White House Staff.
Despite the persistent need for many Progressives to view this man through rose-colored glasses, in reality he is no friend of Democrats or the American people. He is the classic caricature of an “Insider,” in every respect. He is far too cozy with some of the most sullied and evil people in the history of the Republic. They are the ones who have co-opted the entire Federal Government by doing the bidding for the oligarchs, the plutocrats, big business and the military/industrial complex.
It has become difficult, but I have come to the conclusion that his rise to power was brilliantly planned and orchestrated by some of the darkest and most powerful forces in our society. He is as ruthless and calculating as anyone who has ever sat in the White House. One only has to look at the cadre of carry-overs from the Clinton Administration and his steadfast and unwavering support of them. Every significant piece of legislation that was, ostensibly, created to serve the Middle Class and the working people of this country, in the end, has only served to further the interests of the super-rich, Wall Street and the elitists in our society. His penchant for “bi-partisanship” is nothing more than a ruse for carrying on the mission of the oligarchs, plutocrats and multi-national corporations.
The complacency among the citizens of this country is so complete that he doesn’t even bother to acknowledge that there may be some valid questions regarding his judgment and the integrity of those he is gathering around him. That, folks, is an indictment of us, not of him.
Permit me to pass on to you a few insights into the major players with whom he has surrounded himself:
GENE SPERLING:
a. Currently serving as a Counselor to TIMOTHY GEITHNER, Secretary of
The Treasury.
b. During the Clinton Administration, Deputy Director of the National
Economic Council while the Council was directed by ROBERT RUBIN,
later to become Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton
Administration.
c. Became National Economic Advisor to President Clinton in 1996.
d. Principal negotiator with then Secretary of the Treasury, LAWRENCE
SUMMERS of the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, also known as
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, that repealed large portions of the
Depression era Glass-Stegall Act which allowed banks, security
firms and insurance companies to merge.
WILLIAM MICHAEL DALEY:
a. Associated with the Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One Corporation in Chicago.
b. In 1993 served as special counsel to the President on issues
relating to the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA).
c. In 1997, Secretary of Commerce in the administration of President
Bill Clinton.
d. Served on the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.
e. Enthusiastically supported by JP Morgan Chairman Jamie Dimon, the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Third Way and Karl Rove.
f. Was an outspoken critic of Health Care Reform, Financial Regulation
and The Consumer Protection Agency.
LAWRENCE H. SUMMERS:
a. Director of the White House National Economic Council for President
Barack Obama.
b. Staff of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan.
c. Served as economic advisor to Michael Dukakis in 1988.
d. Chief Economist for the World Bank 1991-1993.
e. Undersecretary for International Affairs in the Clinton
Administration.
f. Served in the United States Treasury during the Clinton
Administration, and was appointed Secretary of the Treasury in 1999,
succeeding ROBERT RUBIN.
g. Leading voice in the Clinton Administration against greenhouse gas
reductions and against U.S. participation in the Kyoto Protocol.
h. Acting on the advice of Kenneth Lay, Summers urged Governor Davis to
relax California’s environmental standards in order to reassure the markets.
i. In 1999, hailed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which lifted more than
six decades of restrictions against banks offering commercial
banking, insurance and investment services (by repealing key
provisions in the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act).
j. As a member of President Clinton’s Working Group on Financial
Markets, Summers, along with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) Chairman Arthur Levitt, Fed Chairman Greenspan and
Secretary Rubin, torpedoed an effort to regulate the derivatives
that many blame for bringing the financial market down in the Fall
of 2008.
TIMOTHY FRANZ GEITHNER:
a. Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs (1998
-2001) under Treasury Secretaries ROBERT RUBIN and LAWRENCE
SUMMERS in the Clinton Administration.
b. In 1993 named president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
c. Instrumental in the rescue and sale of Bear-Stearns in 2008, and the
subsequent bailouts that followed at the end of the Bush
Administration and the beginning of the Obama Administration.
d. Currently serving as the Secretary of the Treasury under President
Obama.
Early in my career as an executive, I was advised by a young and highly principled attorney that if one is to maintain his character, he must not just avoid anything that would lead to self-serving compromise, but one must judiciously avoid anything that might have the “appearance” of compromise. That is a piece of advice I never forgot, and which I believe to be as poignant today as it was then. Sadly, to use a popular cliché, “we have moved on,” and no longer seem to place much stock in that bit of wisdom. We think nothing of committing infractions against the principles that define our character. We are the poorer for it.
If the characters I have profiled above don’t meet the test of “appearance,’ then I would ask, “What does?“ Moreover, I don’t think it is a stretch to say that their histories rise to the level of outright collusion, compromise and conflicts of interest.
I still hold out faint hope that we can somehow rescue ourselves from the dismal future staring us in the face. However, only by revisiting those principles and standards of character that once guided us in the conduct of our personal, business and public lives can we begin to turn the tide on our looming national demise. But, I don’t think we can find the rubrics upon which to build a better government among the remnants of our major political parties or within the halls of government as they currently exist. That can only come about through a new political party, dedicated to honesty and integrity in our system of government and those who serve us, and that doesn‘t shy away from perseverance and hard work.
We need a real leader that will embody the courage, decency, honesty, and integrity this nation is crying out for, with a cadre of dedicated people to make it happen, from the grass roots all the way to the top. Once those few are identified, then comes the question as to whether they want to take on such a Herculean task and the many personal sacrifices it will require. That is the stuff of heroes.
We have a few gutsy people in public service, some of whom might fit the bill. There are others out in the hinterland who might, also, be viable. That quest is probably better left to younger and better minds. The entrenched old dogs cannot be trusted with such an arduous and noble endeavor. They blew the opportunity a long, long time ago.
Whoever dares to flirt with such a venture must, of necessity, reflect on what it means to be a person of integrity sufficient to transcend being just a politician and a member in good standing with the “Old Boys Club.” His/her aspirations must ascend to a higher level that is characteristic of statesmanship and, yes, that of a real leader.
Before we go anywhere, we need to accept that we, as members of the human race, are inherently flawed. If we are to be guided by our better angels, then we must be mindful of our proclivity to fall from time to time, and not tolerate or rationalize those human frailties that mitigate against our aspirations to be good and decent people in every aspect of our lives. Self-discipline is the first canon of that endeavor. Character is lost when we deny our own foibles. It is regained when we acknowledge our imperfections and set ourselves to the task of righting the wrongs of the past.
Barry’s mantra of “Change We Can Believe In,” rings rather hollow against the backdrop of the social and economic wasteland started by Reagan and continuing unabated up to and including the incumbent resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Somehow, the credo that “Vice Is Nice, But Incest Is Best,” seems more befitting of that unholy alliance.
At the end of the day, as was once so aptly stated by some prominent mind, the name of which escapes me, says it all. “The evil that men do shall proffer so long as good men do nothing.” It is up to the collective “us” to change the direction of this country for the benefit of everyone and not just the select few who have ordained themselves the elite and privileged over the masses among us. A two-class society just isn’t in keeping with our American traditions.
If we remain complacent, quivering like a bunch of dogs passing peach seeds, the bad guys will win and we will lose. Do we really want to go down that road? I don’t think so.
Cowboy Bob
January 8, 2011
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