OBAMA!!!

OBAMA!!! is a new greeting here in France. Seriously, every time somebody thinks I am an American or finds out I am an American in the street, they yell OBAMA!!! At the aptly named Paradise, my favorite crepe stand(or stand de crepe in french) the guys respond "Obama approves" or "If it's ok with Obama" to any question asked. Generally, French people tell me Obama could never be elected in France and that they are amazed he was elected in America. Minorities often tell me they want to move to America because of the racism in France. I have to say, after so many years of routinely being embarrassed or less than proud by what my country had done or how it had represented itself, I have really been enjoying the praise heaped on America over the last few weeks.

I love that America elected Obama and I love what that means about how far we have come in 40 years time. I have been happier than ever to be an American (with the notable exception of my adolescent love and pride about the Dream Team's dominance at the Olympics in 1992). Usually, I just feel fortunate to have been born here and happy to take advantage of all the privileges and riches the country provides. In the last two weeks, however, it's been different. I am proud of the fact that so many people got past not just racism but the fear mongering that has characterized the past two presidential campaigns to elect Obama. I have been feeling like Obama's election is a repudiation of everything the Bush administration stands for: disregard for or cynical manipulation of the law, division of the people, and overt privileging of wealthy interests.

As such, I have taken a two week moratorium on any critical words about our country. Well, two weeks are over and I am going to ask the question I have heard a lot on Democracy Now recently: "How do you criticize a leader you supported?"

Now that I have finally voted for a winner, how am I going to hold him accountable without losing my enthusiasm for him. I am afraid he is going to disappoint me as president the same way he disappointed me as a candidate for the job. Let's not forget that he voted for immunity for the telecoms who cooperated with the government and spied on us. Let's not forget that he supports the death penalty. Most of all, let's not forget that he sort of endorsed the very policy the Bush administration is carrying out right now with respect to Pakistan, a policy that I totally disagree with. Don't forget that Biden voted for the Patriot Act and Obama voted to reauthorize it. The candidate for change is problematic, too.

What can we infer about his policy as president from his transition team? I hope nothing because what I see is the same group of former Clinton administration officials reassembling. As Amy Goodman points out Obama has picked John Brennan and Jami Miscik to help with intelligence. I don't know how to reconcile this pick with Obama's recent Bush like proclamation that "The U.S. does not torture and I will make sure it doesn't it." John Brennan supports extraordinary rendition and Jami Miscik was there when George Tenet was making the faulty case for war.

I am not saying that everyone who served in the past administration should be fired. However, what does it say to those people who resisted the Bush administration's perversion of the law if people like Brennan and Miscik are part of the new Obama administration? I don't get it. To me, this isn't change.

I just read this morning that Eric Holder is being strongly considered for Attorney General. Not only is he a former Clinton team member but also now representing Chiquita International in a lawsuit about Chiquita paying off Colombian paramilitaries. In fact, according to Dan Kovalik, Holder helped negotiate with the Justice Department on behalf of Chiquita in regards to the criminal charges. In any case, Eric Holder as AG seems to signal a continuation of privileging business interests over human rights, not change.

Now, I don't really know how or whether Obama will represent policy change, but I am trying to figure that out. What I do know is that he is more amenable to the kinds of changes I believe in than would have been McCain.

I have heard great things recently that convince me it is possible: 1)Abraham Lincoln wasn't an abolitionist when he took office, the abolition movement made him so; 2) LBJ wasn't for civil rights until MLK made him so.

Who's going to move president Obama? Maybe Obama said it best when asked in the democratic primary debate whose campaign Dr. King would endorse.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkkdjngBu0