[Politics] A Promised Land

M

Machiavelli

Well-known member

Oct 11, 2013

16,630

Fiveways

• Nov 19, 2020

• #1

The first volume of Obama's presidential memoir is now out, and is set to break records. I've just listened to an interview with him on R4 with David Olusoga, and his analysis is both sharp and lucid -- it's well worth a listen.

 

R

Rogero

Well-known member

Aug 4, 2010

5,713

Shoreham

• Nov 19, 2020

• #2

Link?

 

Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati

Helpful Moderator

NSC Patron

Jul 23, 2003

34,089

Up and Coming Sunny Portslade

• Nov 19, 2020

• #3

Machiavelli said:

The first volume of Obama's presidential memoir is now out, and is set to break records. I've just listened to an interview with him on R4 with David Olusoga, and his analysis is both sharp and lucid -- it's well worth a listen.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but wait till you get to the bit where he kills thousands of people, injects himself with cleaning fluid, has a Twitter meltdown and refuses to leave the White House. Nothing says "leader" like that.

 

Justice

Dangerous Idiot

Jun 21, 2012

18,588

Born In Shoreham

• Nov 19, 2020

• #4

Hold isn’t the PL meant to be the promised land Maybe not it’s full of cheating refs shit VAR decisions and watching your team win three times a season.

 

M

Machiavelli

Well-known member

Oct 11, 2013

16,630

Fiveways

• Nov 19, 2020

• Thread starter
• #5

Regarding the divisiveness of American society -- mirrored over here -- the only way it will be responded to is through a radical programme that improves the living conditions and possibilities of those that have been won over by the Trump narrative. In my view, Obama's presidency didn't achieve that, and it's not something he addressed sufficiently well in that interview. In no small part, this was caused by the constitutional framework and, in particular, the role of the Senate. The Senate sends two representatives from each state, which means that Iowa -- with a population of 3m -- has the same number of representatives as California, with a population of 40m. The rural, sparsely populated states are heavily over-represented in the Senate which, in turn, secures Republican advantage and the strategy of the Republicans under Mitch O'Connell has been to block any legislation oriented towards change. Obamacare might be the best example here but, equally, the right to bear arms is never put to legislation because it will stumble at this stage.
There are other factors too, notably the role of the media, and the American self-image of itself -- providentialism, rugged individualism which leads on to insularity and, too freqeuntly, racial and other forms of identitarian prejudice. Unless Biden can defuse these factors, Trumpism will remain -- and that's a massive challenge.

 

Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle

NSC Patron

Oct 8, 2003

49,873

Faversham

• Nov 19, 2020

• #6

For me, Obama's greatest triumph was surviving two full presdencies without bein assassinated. I used to think this would set a president - that a black person can be president, and black people are self evidently equal to whites.

Unfortunately we then got a new president - that being a lying repulshive shit is just as good as being principled and honorable.

I wonder which path will emerge as the primary aspiration for people as we move on. I genuinely have no idea. There is a 50:50 split right now in the US. I really didn't expect that.

 

A

arewethereyet?

Well-known member

Jul 19, 2011

753

Brighton

• Nov 19, 2020

• #7

Rogero said:

Link?

Click to expand...

You can see it on iplayer, BBC1 last night (18th) although I haven’t heard the radio 4 interview so it could be different.

 

N

NooBHA

Well-known member

Jan 13, 2015

8,584

• Nov 19, 2020

• #8

Machiavelli said:

The first volume of Obama's presidential memoir is now out, and is set to break records. I've just listened to an interview with him on R4 with David Olusoga, and his analysis is both sharp and lucid -- it's well worth a listen.

Click to expand...

It was a superb interview and he comes across as one of the most Eloquent speakers that I have ever heard; however when speaking about some of the '' Equal Justice Issues '' - You can tell that he has
'' plagiarised '' the Rhetoric and wording straight from the speeches of the Civil Rights Lawyer and ''EJI Founder '' Bryan Stevenson.

That's not a bad thing because Bryan is very knowledgeable on those issues and I know that Bryan was part of a ''Task Force'' that Obama set up to tackle such issues which Trump disbanded as soon as he walked into the Whitehouse.

The only criticism I would have in Obama on this is - I wish I had heard more of the '' Bryan Stephenson Rhetoric '' when Obama was in Office in the Whitehouse

 

neilbard

Hedging up

Oct 8, 2013

6,245

Tyringham

• Nov 19, 2020

• #9

Machiavelli said:

The first volume of Obama's presidential memoir is now out, and is set to break records. I've just listened to an interview with him on R4 with David Olusoga, and his analysis is both sharp and lucid -- it's well worth a listen.

Click to expand...

No thanks!

 

M

Machiavelli

Well-known member

Oct 11, 2013

16,630

Fiveways

• Nov 19, 2020

• Thread starter
• #10

arewethereyet? said:

You can see it on iplayer, BBC1 last night (18th) although I haven’t heard the radio 4 interview so it could be different.

Click to expand...

FWIW, the R4 episode lasted 30 minutes, so if the BBC1 also lasted 30 minutes, you'd have thought it'd be the same, although some might think the R4 interview is

 

N

NooBHA

Well-known member

Jan 13, 2015

8,584

• Nov 19, 2020

• #11

Harry Wilson's tackle said:

For me, Obama's greatest triumph was surviving two full presdencies without bein assassinated. I used to think this would set a president - that a black person can be president, and black people are self evidently equal to whites.

Unfortunately we then got a new president - that being a lying repulshive shit is just as good as being principled and honorable.

I wonder which path will emerge as the primary aspiration for people as we move on. I genuinely have no idea. There is a 50:50 split right now in the US. I really didn't expect that.

Click to expand...

I always feared that he might have been Assassinated too - And if he had been more Radical in constituting some of the Equal Justice and Civil Rights Initiative I think he may well have been. So in that regard, I think that Michelle Obama may have been reluctant for him to go down that route more aggressively. And that is a sad State of Affairs that people fear for their lives if they try and do the Right thing in what they believe in..

The 50:50 Split you mention has always been there - Many have said that the reason the Polls didn't play out was because Trump's Supporters have a ''Silent Voice'' - Many believe what he believes but won't admit it openly. The American people are not alone . Look at the UK Election and the Elections in Brazil in the last few years. There is an ''Appetite'' for those type of Leaders and their Politics and that is one of the saddest and shameful facts about how we live our lives.

They say that the younger Generation are more ''Tolerant'' on such issues. If that is actually true - ? I wish they would f#cking hurry up and grow up and start Voting.