RC CitizenView

The show is over for the time being in the Democratic Party race for the nomination. Now comes the sequel, with the Vice Presidency spot to be filled. The temptation will be to put Hillary Clinton on the ticket to bring her democratic base along in November. The party split between the conventional base wishing for the good old days of income redistribution and the new fold of younger better-educated and affluent supportors of Obama.

The Hillary Clinton support hides no surprises for John McCain in the fall, the Obama support is more of a wild card. What do these seeming more informed forward looking constituents expect their candidate to accomplish beyond end the US combat roll in Iraq.

The democratic controlled house and senate are still practicing the same old Washington politics, pandering to their home state constituents while best serving their nationwide campaign contributors. Beyond the role of commander and chief, the president has little power to effect change without the support of the congress, which has little inclination to change anything that has served their interest so well.

Obama’s supports will have a few benefits they can count on, like being well thought of in the western world. On their next vacation to Europe, there will be a different tone to the criticism of the USA from the locals. Maybe Obama will achieve the star quality of a Tony Blair, which would be nice.

Will an Obama Presidency be able to bring about real change? Will he be able to break the corn lobby forcing Ethanol down our throats in the name of green strategy? The use of corn based Ethanol contributes to inflation in innumerable products, not least of all food. There is a clear line between the nice guy approach to a real problem and McCain’s promises to kill off a racket with the a veto. In the case of Obama democrats, they can feel good claiming the high moral ground while failing to effect real change in Washington. McCain promises to take action in the only form of power left to the office of President, the veto.

If the congress were, only as easy to charm into a new day as the Obama followers believe, I would vote for him, there not. The real battle is with the congress, if we want to change America in ways more than just our image abroad, congress is where the fight looms.