Obama did very well. Everyone or nearly everyone is acknowledging that. But there were a number of things that really got to me and pointed at why pressure from social movements on these candidates (and elected officials) is so critical. The anti-China rhetoric was sickening when you realize that it is the multinational corporations in China, as part of the reorganization of global capitalism, that is oppressing Chinese workers (often with the support of the Chinese state). Rather than attacking China, let’s discuss the multi-national corporations and their impact on Chinese workers and workers in the USA.
Or the discussion about energy. No discussion about climate change and what that means in terms of energy usage and the forms of energy.
There are a host of other issues, of course, but it speaks to the fact that while Obama is better than Romney, he is not one of us and that should Obama win, the level of social movement pressure on his administration must be the opposite of what we saw in the first two years of his first term. In other words, we need to be in the streets and we also need to be thinking about the 2014 midterm elections and pushing for real progressive candidates. No, i do not want Romney but Obama must be pushed, in fact, pushed further than he wants to be pushed.
The discussion of the so-called “middle class”, however, really got to me. Who is the “middle class”? This is a term that is used to describe such a wide section of the population that it is meaningless. Since few people wish to self-identify as “poor” they will claim to be “middle class.”
What about the “working class”? What about “working people”? Those terms make sense and describe real segments of society. They also remind us that there are people who MUST work in order to survive and that there are people who do not work–in any real sense–but command the economy and live off of what working people produce.
No, i did not expect either of the candidates to offer such an analysis, but the rest of us should.
Just a thought.