Letters to the Editor
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@Un,WFB Lot's
Exactly. I think he has a strong libertarian streak woven into his more traditional liberal values. We need to support individual initiative, avoid mandates, encourage responsible behavior, self-sufficiency etc.
That's my impression. I'm a Founding Fathers buff, and I really got the impression that Obama had done some extensive meditation on the Constitution and the lifes and thought processes of the Founders that went into it. I may be wrong, but I'm left with the impression that he is no lightweight.
I think Obama is facing a hardened shell of cyncicism and let's face it, Empathy and the ability to shift perspectives/perception is not something that the public is encouraged to excel at. Since you like quotes:
When the real becomes unreal, then the unreal is seen as real --LaoTzu.
It'll be a tough job to crack through that shell. One of peculiar aspects of this one dimensional Rev. Wright coverage is that Obama's church does promote individual initiative and self-determination. Old school, Poor Richard type stuff.
I'm fascinated by Autism, though it sounds like it would be difficult at times to work with children like that. I wonder what reality they preceive that we don't? I'm a big believer that we're all stuck in our own little bubbles of perception. The problem with corporate life is that is discourages people with passion, so I can relate.
Why didn't Salon spend more time actually discussing the content of what he said?
An excellent question! Maybe the speech was too huge and off the normal perceptual range, so that all we could discuss was grandmothers. I'm not ready to put this speech in the top ten hall of fame just yet (give me 10 years), but that speech was really good. It definitely upgraded my appraisal of the potential of Obama as a president. And while Salon hasn't really talked much about the content of the speech, we, the (not) humble readers, were certainly affected. We've spent an awful lot of electrons on this speech. It touched a lot of people. Maybe it's that rock dropped in the pond. The rock quickly disappears, but the ripples keep spreading. And based on his polling numbers, it looks like the speech had a great effect. We shall see.