Originally Posted by CorpMediaSux

Yeah and sometimes that feel good rhetoric transforms into major change for the nation. The problem is that the American people do not know their own hsitory. If they understood how self sacrificial and community minded America was during the Great Depression when they elected FDR they would understand the Obama campaign a little better.

FDR never pretended America was a raceless society, but he did recognize that America had to work together, from all races, religious and classes in order to get out of that economic crisis. The U.S. promoted alot of cultural pluralism. It critisized Hitler's racism. It desegregated the army. In addition to putting people to work producing for the war effort and modernizing American cities/small towns, it educated Americans about racial groups they knew TONS less about today than in our society.

Obama has modeled himself upon FDR. And I know what you're going to say. Johnson's Great Society tried to redo the New Deal and it failed. It was meant to solve black poverty with welfare and affirmative action. It absolutely failed in every way. Urban areas became crime infested jungles.

However, the Great Society was insuffeciently funded. When you take a look at the expenditures spent on "welfare" programs, it represented a vastly small slice of the budget. More importantly, the New Deal coalition of Democratic voters essentially kept those policies working, churning out the middle class decade after decade. Nixon and Ford dismantled the Great Society before it could even begin to address the issues it was meant to.

Also Johnson never really believed in the Great Society/New Deal the way F.D.R did and Obama clearly does. That was really J.F.K's thing, he'd run on that in the election. His death left old geezer Johnson unable to really address those issues. In short, Johnson was unable to make the Great Society work because he couldn't rally the support of the American people with inspirational frickin rhetoric in the way F.D.R and J.F.K. did.

I don't really take a lot of stock in the power of the President. Normally they are balked by Congress, unlike the last 8 years. And, as the last 8 years shows us, one party rule is a pretty shitty idea. But what a President CAN do, better than anyone, is use his/her power as an American icon to persuade the American people. F.D.R relied ENTIRELY on rhetorical persuasion and it really worked. The country fixed itself. And remained economically stable for DECADES afterwards.

Why can't it happen again. Learn your history and you'll understand why this is about oh so much more than Obama's race.