Again With The Hope

The sad thing about Donald Trump's announcement is that it makes him Obama's moral better. Unlike the incumbent, Trump has no stomach for the serious meat. Photo ops and bad television seem enough for him, and we can all be thankful for that.

When I posted this on Facebook and Twitter, a few wondered what I meant by "moral better." Do I believe Trump to be a moral man? Based on available evidence, no I don't. My point is that Trump lacks the fire, if not the money, to make a serious run at the White House. Instead of milking a charade for the cameras, Trump packed it in before he started. You can't say that about Obama who hungered for state power and allied with anyone who could boost him. Yes We Can was brilliant cover, conning scores of gullible Americans. Obama did this with eyes open and hand over heart. At least Trump spared us that disgusting sight.

Still, it's too bad that Trump and Mike Huckabee have bailed from the Sweepstakes. The entertainment factor dropped considerably. Sarah Palin's still around, but her act is tired, a winking cliché. The surprise factor is gone. Liberals try to inflate Palin's specter so they can puncture it, yet this too has been done. Gingrich is an even bigger retread than Palin. Ron Paul will attack the war state, which reactionaries and liberals will vocally defend. So, barring an unforeseen candidacy, this leaves us Mitt Romney, who scarcely inspires. The only possible friction between him and Obama might be over the health care shell game, but this would be more about authorship than the crisis millions of Americans still face.

It's still early and anything can happen, but Obama looks very hard to beat. His expansion of Bush/Cheney war powers strengthens his profile. His service to corporate rule guarantees elite backing. I'm not sure what Romney, or any Republican, can offer that Obama's not already done. This helps explain the paucity of the GOP field. The election is Obama's to lose; and judging by how much he enjoys the imperial perch, it'll take a serious domestic shift to unseat him.

Many American liberals love this. They haven't had such a lock since Bill Clinton in 1996. And as with Clinton, liberals aren't terribly concerned with Obama's actual policies. For most, having a Democratic president is enough. No matter how draconian, violent, or corrupt a Dem administration is, Republicans are always worse. They just are. This is why I question making "progressive" noises during a campaign. There's no need for it. Liberals unconditionally support the Dems in elections, regardless of what a candidate says. Jonestown enjoyed more dissent.

Obama's presidency is the next logical step in eliminating whatever challenges to centralized power remain. If "progressives" didn't balk at Clinton's cruder corporate model, they sure as fuck aren't abandoning Obama's sleeker version. At this pace, we'll eventually have a mass murdering lesbian president in a wheelchair. Liberals will rejoice (FDR and Eleanor in one!) while reactionaries curse political correctness. The country will be broke, but only nihilists will care. Politics is all about compromise, even if you have no power to negotiate. Freedom ain't free.