beyond obama

Not Much Done on Agenda of Change

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:15:20 -0500

by Christopher Rowland

WASHINGTON - Despite being portrayed as responsible for myriad national ills, Wall Street bankers, oil and coal companies, and health industry executives bounced back in Congress this year with remarkable success, stalling or weakening the biggest regulatory threats on President Obama's domestic agenda.

The success is fueled in part by a $1 billion combined lobbying blitz through the first 10 months of the year, as the industries fought off the changes that many thought were coming with Obama's election.

Angry Liberals: Why Didn't Obama Fight?

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:51:55 -0500

by Craig Gordon

More than anything else in Barack Obama's presidency so far, health reform has exposed a get-a-deal-at-any-cost side of Obama that infuriates his party's progressives.

And as Democrats tried to salvage health reform Tuesday, some liberals could barely hide their sense of betrayal that the White House and congressional Democrats have been willing to cut deals and water down what they consider the ideal vision of reform.

Obama's Big Sellout: The President has Packed His Economic Team with Wall Street Insiders

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:37:05 -0500

by Matt Taibbi

Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008. He pushed a tax plan to soak the rich, ripped NAFTA for hurting the middle class and tore into John McCain for supporting a bankruptcy bill that sided with wealthy bankers "at the expense of hardworking Americans." Obama may not have run to the left of Samuel Gompers or Cesar Chavez, but it's not like you saw him on the campaign trail flanked by bankers from Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

Keep Your Eyes on the Peace Prize

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:58:03 -0500

by Randall Amster

We have to give Team Obama credit for a truly historic and thoroughly incredible Nobel acceptance speech. Whereas the teachings and legacies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi were recalled as admirable yet not "practical or possible in every circumstance," we were reminded that Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon were pragmatic peacemakers, and furthermore that America consistently strives to work both with and through the United Nations "to govern the waging of war, ...

The Betrayal of Generation Hope

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:37:27 -0500

by Evan Knappenberger

As I sit here preparing for my final college exams, I can't help but think back on the ups and downs of the past two years. Ups: the defeat of the Republican Party in 2008, my own graduation from college, and the formation of progressive student and veteran movements; and downs: suffering through a war and hospitalization due to post-traumatic stress, watching my friends die in foreign countries, and now, the betrayal of my generation by a President who we put our utmost faith in.

From Apathy to Activism

The Nobel War Lecture

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:34:32 -0500

by David Krieger

In accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, President Obama, one of the world's great orators and purveyors of hope, gave a speech that must reflect the divisions within himself and his personal struggles to reconcile them. It was a surprising speech for the occasion. Rather than a speech of vision and hope, it was a speech that sought to justify war and particularly America's wars. The speech was largely an infomercial for war, touting not only its necessity but its virtues, and might well be thought of as the "Nobel War Lecture."

'Just War' Is Just Words

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:05:22 -0500

by Ralph Nader

President Obama, the Afghan war escalator, received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, and proceeded to deliver his acceptance speech outlining the three criteria for a "just war" which he himself is violating.

The criteria are in this words: "If it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the force used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence."

Norwegians Incensed Over Barack Obama's Snubs

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:41:48 -0500

by Gwladys Fouché and Ewen MacAskill

Barack Obama's trip to Oslo to pick up his Nobel peace award is in danger of being overshadowed by a row over the cancellation of a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner.

Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit.

President Obama Told Me to Stop ‘Demeaning’ Him, says Rep. Conyers

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:07:47 -0500

by Molly H. Hooper

President Barack Obama recently called Rep. John Conyers Jr. to express his frustrations with the Judiciary Committee chairman's criticism.

In an interview with The Hill, Conyers said his opinions of Obama's policies on healthcare reform and the war in Afghanistan have not sat well with the president.

According to the lawmaker, the president picked up the phone several weeks ago to find out why Conyers was "demeaning" him.

Obama's Afghanistan Decision

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:20:37 -0500

by Kathleen Barry

Dear President Obama,