Damn, I should've started this blog in 2008, right before Obama got elected for the first time. At that time, I used to be amused at people around me, in office & in my friend circle, that how everyone blindly bought into whatever Obama was selling at the time. Bunch of ignorant morons !!!
At that time, back in 2008, I was saying that Obama will disappoint you. He is not who he made you think he is. I saw this "hope dashed" 8 years ago.
So how did I predict that Obama will dash hope? Simple. There are very, very few organizations in the world that like radical & different ideas, & thus, promote those people within them, which question the established culture of the organization. Most organizations don't want anyone "disturbing" their culture. US government, & any other government in this world, is like that.
Obama, regardless of his upbringing & his personal values, he was required to toe the line of the government, if he ever wanted to become the President of US. He was required to abandon his own views, ethics, & morals to become President of US. If you want to become the President, you need to jockey up to groups whose ideals & objectives may very well clash with your own.
It doesn't matter how great Barack Obama is on the personal level. That doesn't affect anyone but him & his family alone. What does affect the whole world are his decisions, which were, for the past 7 years, similar to, if not as bad as, his predecessor, Mr. George Bush. I am still amazed how the Nobel committee awarded Obama the Peace prize. He hadn't, & still hasn't, done much in the name of peace. Guantanamo prison is still open. Destruction of Libya & the rise of ISIS in Syria & Iraq are the testament of how much of a failure Obama has been on delivering the mandate of world peace.
The only good legacy he might be remembered for years to come, is American affordable healthcare act or "Obamacare". That made life easier for many poor Americans. Other than that, financial mess he inherited from previous American leadership is still a mess, without any substantive controls, whatsoever. Personal privacy for Americans, & essentially, for the people around the world, became a joke under him. Weapons & arms deals with the corrupt leaders & despots continue on unabated. Violence in America itself has escalated multiple folds due to the rise in gun ownership, which he didn't, or perhaps, couldn't, do anything about. Working conditions & middle class in the American socio-economic strata are set to become worse, due to his relentless push for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
You may point out the fact that I am not mentioning Iran nuclear deal or opening up the American embassy in Cuba. These deals are actually not in the name of peace. These deals are in the name of business elites. Consumer markets for American international businesses are running out. American businesses are everywhere around the world, except, only in those places where they are not allowed to operate by law. Other than North Korea, Cuba & Iran were the only countries left where American businesses couldn't sell their wares. American businesses right away pushed in Cuba, as soon as, the borders open, & they are already ready to enter Iran.
Now, I am not saying all this, because I prefer Republicans or I think Republicans would've done a better job of running the country. Heck no. Republicans might have been the same, if not worse. Reason being that US government, as an institution, has a set culture & only people who rise through it are the ones who follow that culture by the book. You think differently & your chances of ever becoming an influential person in that organization are slim to none. Both political parties in America will only promote those people within them, who think alike. Therefore, regardless of which political party comes to power in 2016 or in 2020 or in 2024, foreign policies coming out of the White House won't change a bit.
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The man on the poster is still president. But the artist behind the poster has moved on.
Shepard Fairey, whose stencil portrait of Barack Obama with the caption “Hope” became the defining image of the 2008 presidential campaign, told Esquire magazine in an interview ... that the politician had not lived up to the propaganda.
“Not even close,” Fairey said.
“Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he’s compromised on that I never would have expected. I mean, drones & domestic spying are the last things I would have thought [he’d support].”
...
Fairey is not a wholesale detractor of Obama, however.
“I’ve met Obama a few times, & I think Obama’s a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control,” Fairey told Esquire. “I’m not giving him a pass for not being more courageous, but I do think the entire system needs an overhaul & taking money out of politics would be a really good first step.”
As for whom he is supporting in 2016, Fairey said: “I mean nothing against Hillary [Clinton]. I agree with Hillary on most issues, but campaign finance structure makes me very angry.”
In 2014, Fairey released a poster that was evocative of the Obama image, but which featured a different, anonymous politician holding a fistful of cash.
The image was captioned: “Sold”.
At that time, back in 2008, I was saying that Obama will disappoint you. He is not who he made you think he is. I saw this "hope dashed" 8 years ago.
So how did I predict that Obama will dash hope? Simple. There are very, very few organizations in the world that like radical & different ideas, & thus, promote those people within them, which question the established culture of the organization. Most organizations don't want anyone "disturbing" their culture. US government, & any other government in this world, is like that.
Obama, regardless of his upbringing & his personal values, he was required to toe the line of the government, if he ever wanted to become the President of US. He was required to abandon his own views, ethics, & morals to become President of US. If you want to become the President, you need to jockey up to groups whose ideals & objectives may very well clash with your own.
It doesn't matter how great Barack Obama is on the personal level. That doesn't affect anyone but him & his family alone. What does affect the whole world are his decisions, which were, for the past 7 years, similar to, if not as bad as, his predecessor, Mr. George Bush. I am still amazed how the Nobel committee awarded Obama the Peace prize. He hadn't, & still hasn't, done much in the name of peace. Guantanamo prison is still open. Destruction of Libya & the rise of ISIS in Syria & Iraq are the testament of how much of a failure Obama has been on delivering the mandate of world peace.
The only good legacy he might be remembered for years to come, is American affordable healthcare act or "Obamacare". That made life easier for many poor Americans. Other than that, financial mess he inherited from previous American leadership is still a mess, without any substantive controls, whatsoever. Personal privacy for Americans, & essentially, for the people around the world, became a joke under him. Weapons & arms deals with the corrupt leaders & despots continue on unabated. Violence in America itself has escalated multiple folds due to the rise in gun ownership, which he didn't, or perhaps, couldn't, do anything about. Working conditions & middle class in the American socio-economic strata are set to become worse, due to his relentless push for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
You may point out the fact that I am not mentioning Iran nuclear deal or opening up the American embassy in Cuba. These deals are actually not in the name of peace. These deals are in the name of business elites. Consumer markets for American international businesses are running out. American businesses are everywhere around the world, except, only in those places where they are not allowed to operate by law. Other than North Korea, Cuba & Iran were the only countries left where American businesses couldn't sell their wares. American businesses right away pushed in Cuba, as soon as, the borders open, & they are already ready to enter Iran.
Now, I am not saying all this, because I prefer Republicans or I think Republicans would've done a better job of running the country. Heck no. Republicans might have been the same, if not worse. Reason being that US government, as an institution, has a set culture & only people who rise through it are the ones who follow that culture by the book. You think differently & your chances of ever becoming an influential person in that organization are slim to none. Both political parties in America will only promote those people within them, who think alike. Therefore, regardless of which political party comes to power in 2016 or in 2020 or in 2024, foreign policies coming out of the White House won't change a bit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The man on the poster is still president. But the artist behind the poster has moved on.
Shepard Fairey, whose stencil portrait of Barack Obama with the caption “Hope” became the defining image of the 2008 presidential campaign, told Esquire magazine in an interview ... that the politician had not lived up to the propaganda.
“Not even close,” Fairey said.
“Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he’s compromised on that I never would have expected. I mean, drones & domestic spying are the last things I would have thought [he’d support].”
...
Fairey is not a wholesale detractor of Obama, however.
“I’ve met Obama a few times, & I think Obama’s a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control,” Fairey told Esquire. “I’m not giving him a pass for not being more courageous, but I do think the entire system needs an overhaul & taking money out of politics would be a really good first step.”
As for whom he is supporting in 2016, Fairey said: “I mean nothing against Hillary [Clinton]. I agree with Hillary on most issues, but campaign finance structure makes me very angry.”
In 2014, Fairey released a poster that was evocative of the Obama image, but which featured a different, anonymous politician holding a fistful of cash.
The image was captioned: “Sold”.
