It would be easy to succumb to the euphoria of the hour, easy, too easy. Despite this effluvia of euphoria, blown higher by a media that has learned its role of servitude to power all too well, we’ve seen reasons to be concerned. Media reportage and cheers of purported cabinet choices from a media that claimed to have learned its lesson about cheerleading after the Iraq debacle should give pause, for they seem designed more for reassurance than to change.
The heavy concentration of Clintonites evokes Back to the Future more than a new day, and while it’s true that after the madcap governance of Bush, almost anything looks preferable, it’s also true that many of the problems facing the U.S. had their beginning during the William Clinton presidency. This may be seen in the promotion and passage of NAFTA under Clinton, advocating free trade and globalization, which hollowed out much of manufacturing, as businesses fled abroad in search of cheaper labor and more profit. For while labor gave Clinton their votes, he gave his loyalty to the bankers and served their interests first and foremost.
Similarly, while labor swarmed to Obama’s side, if initial reports are correct, Friedmanites are dominating his economic team. These are economists and pro-business types who fundamentally believe that economies are self-regulating, and thus their emergence as economic advisers are the continuation of the same policies that led to the present market meltdown. Economies without regulation is bedlam. On foreign policy, a Clinton has arisen. Change, not so much. So distasteful has been the Bush era that the 90s look nice by comparison. Yet these are not so much policy moves as they are political moves meant to placate and soothe party rivalries rubbed raw during an intense political season. It’s meant to communicate to allies and enemies alike: not change but continuity. It is meant to show that although the face at the top is changed, its essence remains the same. From death row, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are produced by Noelle Hanrahan for Prison Radio
