This theatrical game of pitting "liberals" against "conservatives" has been going on since at least 1980. It is a dramaturgical farce enacted by politicians and elaborated by the media.

Rather than buying into the misleading Newspeak concepts of "liberal" and "conservative," we might be better served by thinkiing in terms of "corporatist" (for the corporate bottom line) vs. "populist" (for the citizenry).

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All the warnings about Obama were evident in February 2008. Out of sixteen candidates in the two major parties Obama had more corporate money in his pocket than any other two candidates.

Obama was bought and sold like any other product on the Oprah show but everyone wanted to believe that he was "liberal, progressive" while he was nothing more than good marketing research.

So it was really the consortium to the left who continued to belief its own hype, hear what it wanted to hear and buy what fit the comfort zone, and as a McGovern Democratic who never voted Republican, this failure of perception was obvious.

In November 2004 the political marketers, including Karl Roverer, knew exactly what to say with their "new and improved" candidate on the "progressive" left: change and hope.

It's too early to begin thinking about impeachment, isn't it?

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Don't blame your stupidity on the media. There were enough web sites not to mention 2 years of campaigning that gave anyone with a brain the correct messages.

Obama was not the far left politician that people thought - one only had to look at his positions and recent votes on FISA etc..etc.

If you're surprised, you deserve to be!

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The media needs to be reminded how they painted Obama as so liberal before the election. Clearly, since he was elected, the people must have chosen to have a liberal administration. Since the media doesn't like this conclusion they will no doubt try to forget all they said and let the rest of us also forget how they used to describe Obama.

Whether or not he actually ever was a liberal is not what is important. The media gave him a very liberal image, so liberal is what the people voted for and what they deserve in an Obama administration. The media needs to be reminded of this and so does Obama.

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I thought AlterNet was supposed to be a progressive site! The author's point? The mainstream media was trying to smear(?) Obama by incorrectly(!) branding him a "liberal?" I'm quite frankly surprised by how far the "cult of Obama" has penetrated the liberal left, as if defending his centrist politics is the starting and ending point of any political position. I won't be surprised when I start seeing articles posted here defending the war in Afghanistan, the Wall Street bailout, and even continuing the U.S. occupation of Iraq. I think it's not too early for antiwar social progressives to wake up and clearly see what is going on in the name of "Change We Can Believe In." If Clintonism is the solution to the problems of the 21st century, it's time to start a new, independent antiwar progressive movement.

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LOL

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....But nooooooooo.
It wasn't the black vote either that installed Obama.

Barak was molded and groomed by the powers and system, he was
not a street kid turned into a president. He was allowed to
go to the schools he did.

So many say ,"give him a chance, he's not even in office yet" . YA, that's what's freigtens me. He is pushing congress to not push Impeachment.

This is plain wrong. We have to keep these politicians on our agenda, Not Theirs.

In order to address any peace proposals or ending of fighting and wars we must start with IMPEACHMENT FIRST

ALl the writers here on Alternet should have that as a continues effort. The criminals that have plummeted this coungtry into the situation it is in are going to be allowed to get of scot free unles YOU ,
everyone of you PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

Stop allowing yourselves to be distracted by meaningless rhetoric and stupid articles about "Christmas balls".

The media won't do their job so we must do ours.

PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

PUSH FOR IMPEACHMENT

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Remember we had only two choices for President. We got the better one. Obama is an extraordinary politician, kind of like a Bill Clinton without the red neck. He could not have been elected if he was a liberal. I am convinced that he is progressive by nature, and will direct the nation's energy into channels which will advance science, justice, and peace while refusing to waste energy on denial. Meanwhile, I hear what I want to hear, the voice of an intelligent man who I helped elect President of the United States.

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Soooo that we progressives feel betrayed (barbituate Lefties per Mr. Wise, damned librul) is the fault of the MSM, now?

I seem to recall lots of progressives saying, yeah he's not really progressive, or even liberal but we have to vote for him.... if I had the time to fact check I think I'd find Jane saying that a few times too... it's a really dipshit thing to say, even more stoopid to actually swallow that line and believe it. Kinda like saying that bus that's bearing down on me at 55 mph won't really hit me...

Look we got this dood as the boss and we were promised everything would be OK if he just put his feet to the fire. We "barbituates" said that's not good enough after 8 years of Bush Co. shitstorm and voted progressive anyway and now it's all the MSM's fault?

Mmmkay...

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Yeah, whatever. I was never under any impression that he was a liberal. I always knew he was a centrist and like him just the way he is. This is idiotic, tearing him down before he even gets in office after working so hard to get him elected.

Could we please find something useful and with depth to write about please.

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Obama has just proved everyone wrong with his announcements to his cabinets. As if it were not enough proof when voting in favor of covering up telecommunications spying efforts.

This throughs mud at the "Hillary for McCain" campaigners. Although we all know how phony they were. Watching these pests on Fox News you just knew they were Bushie-McCainey the whole time.

These appointments I do believe are temporary, but the problem is that these particualary individuals will make it fiercely difficult to prosecute any wrongdoing with so much congruency with the Bush team on the Obama team.

I know Obama calls the shots, but the problem is that you become your environment, at least if your on the same level as your environment.

This is definately going to put a big garbage can in the middle of progress. Some things may sound like progress. Like ethonal. In the beginning ethanol sounded like a viable answer until the real inpacts were exploited and we found out that it was all a big corporate scheme. (Although it didn't have to be that way).

The appointment of Gates is because he knows best whats going on there. Of course. And maybe he will bring Obama up to date on the ground game. But I'm sure he will leave some things out until a new appointment time.

Obama I believe is patient. Right now it is pointless to argue over wether he is selling us out or wether he is really a conservative or wether he is center or left or whatever.

He's new. The Clintons were the last administratin that worked in power. It makes sense to use their employees to bring the nation back to stability. Too many fresh faces are too many lost faces. It's like an old timer quarter back who stays at the helm after a first round future hall of famer joins the team. The transition must be smooth.

The only fault I can see is that our old timers came from a hawkish, corporate befriended Clinton administration, and our new president-elect is extremely careful

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For several months during the campaign, articles appearing on Alternet contributed a great deal to the perception that President-Elect Obama is liberal, and we readers called them on it every time we could. They kept on, though. That's why I'm rather amused and surprised that they chose to publish this article.

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No, I am not surprised but what choice did we liberals have in the general election? Vote for McCain/Palin?

My first choice has always been Dennis Kucinich but he has no chance of ever being President.

The corporations who run our government give us two candidates bearing their official fascist seal of approval. This makes us little people believe that we have a say in how our country is run. The truth is, we have no say. The election is "bread and circuses" for the great unwashed masses--that would be us.

I voted for Obama because he was by far the better of the two choices we were presented with but I knew going in that he was no FDR.

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Full text.

"By now, we should expect the soft Left (and more than a few radicals) to gleefully guzzle the Democrat Kool Aid every four years. In 2004, it was Anybody-But-Bush. This year, it was Attack of the Obamatrons.

"Hey, when you’re a liberal, harboring multiple delusions comes with the territory, e.g.:

"[1] Sooner or later, the Democratic Party is gonna wake up and help us 'take back' the country.

"[2] No matter what we think of war, we must always support the troops because sooner or later, the men and women in uniform are gonna wake up and help us 'take back' the country.

"[3] There’s a mysterious mass of Americans out there -- just sitting on the proverbial fence as they wait for us to convince them we are right so they can wake up and help us 'take back' the country.

"[4] There was once a time when the people actually 'had' the country.

"During presidential election years, of course, the most contemptible liberal lie is this: We shouldn’t vote for the third party candidates who actually represent our deeply held values because (drum roll please) they can’t win. It should be obvious that the only reason a third party candidate 'can’t win' is because almost everyone who claims to be progressive votes for a Democrat instead.

"This self-fulfilling prophecy comes courtesy of the same folks who apparently believe that marching with giant puppets might help end a war...

"...I could go on but I’d rather ask this simple question: Why is anyone still trusting the entrenched Left on anything? Thanks to their archaic tactics and dogma, we now face four years of genuflecting before the Pope of Hope as he blatantly spits on every effort toward peace, justice, and solidarity..."

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Fascinating.

We want diversity, social unity, peace, tolerance for dissent, and an end to partisan reasoning in favor of the most rational decisions. However, we won't tolerate our elected representative hiring a handful of people with dissenting opinions.

We want a shift to the left. We also want direct democracy. The general public thinks that most leftist talking points are evil or wrong. For instance, May 2008 Gallup polls find that 58 percent of the public is opposed to gay marriage. We want Power to The People when The People think we're crazy or evil.

I intended to post more than this, but I've gotten side tracked while typing this and I'll just end it here and perhaps continue it at a later point.

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nah, Amerikans don't need no stinking, f*cking platforms!

they're just GRATEFUL FOR WHATEVER THEIR 2 PARTY SYSTEM can remember to wrangle in their favour when their politicians sit down to 'negotiate business' with the corporate powers that be...


Nader?
Kucinich?

nah, that's just TOO LIBERAL TO WIN, right??



do you know how many times ThisCanadian has listened to Americans & Canadians *snivel* that real change was just too much change to handle, then listen to them about-face & snivel that the only way to 'change things' was to completely undermine PROVEN SYSTEMS OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE for which we've fought to gain some measure of control?

These latest changes in Canada are enough to make a good progressively humanist Canadian cry her eyes out...

watching progressive Canadians get manipulated into believing that the system we have doesn't 'work' simply because they were too stupid to learn the RULES of engagement...

so they're gonna walk directly in front of the NeoCon Texas-style 'republic' bus to do exactly what Harper wants: undermine a working system for a set of 'new rules' they can twist into a NeoCon thing that resembles nothing so much as a Bushevik wet dream.



Spread Love, not corporate dependence...

BlueBerry Pick'n
can be found @
ThisCanadian
~~~
"... tolerance of intolerance is cowardice..." ~ Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
"We, two, form a Multitude" ~ Ovid.
"Violence can only be concealed by a Lie, & the Lie can only be maintained by Violence." ... "Any man, who has once proclaimed Violence as his Method, is inevitably forced to take the Lie as his Principle" – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
~~~
"Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced"

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