Did I miss some big chunk of Obama's history where he was reforming the heck out of something?

I rather suspect that the memory of the near-death experience will fade quickly, and that the mindset will be one of "hey, I got 'em to do what I wanted once, I will do it again, and the next time, they'll fall into line faster."

This isn't scaring Obama - it's energizing him.  And all the praise for the process victory is obscuring what it is that is being won, and at what price.

In other words...same old, same old.

There is nothing wrong with being a politician as usual as long as you use your power to accomplish good things for the nation.  That's how Johnson did it.  Civil Rights, Medicare, Voting Rights.

Obama's victory was achieved because his team played the old game brilliantly.

Lawrence ODonnell was on the tube this morning. saying a similar thing.  while I usually think he has a pretty good take on congressional stuff I am not sure I am down with flawless.

And regardless of the foxmyths that spin with public opinion polls, it wasn't as if America didn't vote with a clear demand for health care reform.

Sorry squeaky, but Obama IS a warmonger, his pretty Nobel Peace Prize notwithstanding. He escalated the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, sent tens of thousands of more troops in, and expanded the war into Pakistan where the use of drones on innocent civilians is a regular event. He barely waited to be in office a month before killing a bunch of brown-skinned kids.

 He's ramping up for war with Iran, too, or haven't you been reading the papers? The NYT of the last few months could be a repeat of the year leading to the Iraq invasion, all drumbeating terror about those dastardly Iranians getting dastardly nukes.

But remember, "all options are on the table," quoth Obama, and we all know that when our fearless leaders say "all options" they mean "prepare to be massacred."

Yes, he promised to pull all the troops out. And Obama always keeps his promises, doesn't he?

One of the most remarkable aspects of Obama's "war lite" plan is its brazen and absolute disregard for the agreement signed between the United States and the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government guaranteeing the complete withdrawal of all American troops by the end of 2011. Of course, this "agreement" was always considered a farce by everyone - except for the American corporate media, which kept reporting on the "tough negotiations" as if the pact would have any actual meaning in the real world. The agreement contained escape clauses allowing the Iraqi government to "request" a continued American military presence after the 2011 deadline - and considering that any Iraqi government in place in 2011 will be helplessly dependent on American guns and money to maintain its power, such a "request" has always been a dead certainty.  So I suppose we must admire the Obama Administration's candor in dropping all pretense that U.S. forces are going to leave Iraq at any time in the foreseeable future.

http://www.counterpunch.org/floyd02252009.html

Let us not forget Obama's continuing support of Israel as it continues its policies of ethnic cleansing, massacre, and land theft. Support? Kowtowing is more like it.

And yes, I'm aware that Hillary, McCain, or any mainstream pol would have been just as horrendous in this department, and I have repeatedly said so. It's a reason I can't join the voices of other Hillary admirers who want her to challenge Obama in a primary.

America voted for Obama cause America was afraid of the war-mongering McCain.

But people don't want to see who he is.  They want him to be their dream date, knight in shining armor, the Easter Bunny... whatever.

ACORN is shutting down because of a fraudulent video pimped by the corporate media.  U.S. forces in Afghanistan have heroically laid seige to and conquered a fictional city, helping build the case for further escalation.  A cable news channel has created a right-wing mass movement by pretending it already existed.  Congressman Dennis Kucinich voted for a health insurance bill he believed would deprive more people of healthcare (and wealth and homes), because fraudulent reports had convinced his constituents of the opposite.  The peace movement was defunded in November 2008, because of a fraudulent presidential election campaign.  71% of Americans believe Iran has nuclear weapons.  41% of Americans think the quality of the environment is improving.  Has the power of the corporate media to overwhelm all before it begun to sink in yet?

[snip]

This is the biggest lie of them all: the system works. Vote for this corporatist war party or that warmongering corporate party, and you will have played your role well. The system works. The president makes the laws. The Congress gets in the way. The two parties are significantly different from each other and represent our views. News stories that include the views of both parties are complete and admirable journalism. The journalism itself has no viewpoint at all. The role of a citizen is to support politicians and parties.