The Death of Hope

This is it. I give up. I will never see a president who represents me in my lifetime. I’m back to the hopelessness I felt during my high school/college years at the height of the Reagan revolution. I was a little late hopping on the Obama train because, believe it or not, I bought John Edwards’ populist bullshit about being there for the little guy. Jesus, we dodged a bullet on that one. After the expose in the National Enquirer, the 21st century’s go-to spot for investigative journalism, it looks like the Edwards campaign probably would have imploded well before they got their hour of hope. Nobody in their right mind is going to make excuses for a raging narcissist who’s fucking around on his dying wife, although they will for a sitting president whose wife is a little too capable for some people’s taste.

I was guardedly optimistic when the man from Hope, Arkansas entered the White House but he quickly devolved into just another Democrat in name only after bringing the country such fine legislation as don’t ask, don’t tell, NAFTA, the welfare reform act and the repeal of Glass-Steagall. Obama knows how to speak convincingly because every time I tell myself that I’m through listening, he always seems to reel me back in. But after the health care fiasco, I’m through. If I don’t see some concrete actions to show me that he’s looking out for something besides corporate interests, I’m giving up on both political parties in this country.

We’ve had Ross Perot and now the Tea Party activists are making their bid to be the next third party but what I want to know is when we’re going to have a viable progressive candidate who wants to fight for our citizens, not the corporations who run things now. Okay, I know Ralph Nader ran for president but I think he’s an egotistical asshole who’s only out for himself so that doesn’t really count. A big part of the backlash against Obama is because he promised change and so far it’s pretty much been business as usual with a little feel good rhetoric for the people who actually elected him. The thing that really scares me about this country is how quickly people are willing to endorse the vicious, hate-filled ideas of the radical right just so they can see some kind of change, no matter how hurtful it is to the poor and middle class.