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Friday, November 07, 2008

Americans Reject Corporate Evil
For the rest of our lives, we will all remember exactly where we were when we heard the news that Barack Obama was elected President. It was a monumental event for several reasons, including the fact that President-elect Obama is African-American; is a bonafide liberal; and won the election in a dominating fashion. However, I would like to focus on just one of the meanings of this election: in large numbers, the American people turned out and rejected the corporate evil agenda of the Republican party.

It is erroneous to view this election as merely one in which the people voted against the incumbent party due to an economic disaster. It is also false to view this election in which the guy people were more comfortable "having a beer with" won, as nearly always occurs. The reality is that the American people were disgusted with Republican economic policies and wanted to reject them.

One amazing thing from this election is the fact that Democrats are now much more trusted on the economy than Republicans. This is a wholesale change from the conventional wisdom of my youth. In those days, it was always assumed that Republicans were stronger on the economy, whereas the Democrats were viewed as weaker because of their indebtedness to entitlements and the poor. The old CW was that Republicans made this country work efficiently and profitably, even if the poor were usually left out or harmed. No more. Now, people view the Democrats as reliable stewards of the economy while the Republicans are viewed as robber barons only interested in exploiting our economic system.

In a very large way, the pro-corporate evil agenda of the last eight years has been rejected by the people. The election of Barack Obama symbolizes the new perception of the Democratic party as the party that will keep us safe. Hopefully, President-elect Obama will further this perception and save our country from the horrible situation in which we are stuck.