Obama's Missing Moral Narrative
Saturday 29 May 2010
by: George Lakoff, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
(Photo: jurvetson; Edited: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t)
Barack Obama may be one of the best communicators of this generation, but he is not living up to his own talents. In a year of disasters, communication failure doubles the disasters.
If, as he says, the monster spill was his highest priority from Day 1, he needed to communicate that from Day 1 - or at least Day 3 or 4. It took five weeks for him to tell the nation what he and his administration were doing. The result was visible in the press conference yesterday. He was on the defensive. He needed to be on the offensive - from early on. The choice is not doing or communicating. It is doing **and** communicating.
His narrative: This is a tough, unprecedented situation, but I'm in charge, and I've been very busy, in the Situation Room where I belong, not on TV. I'm fully competent. I'm a good policy wonk - ask me any question about details. I'm honest. I admit my few policy mistakes. I think about the details day and night. Don't think I'm oblivious.
It's defensive, trying to overcome criticism that should never have been allowed to accumulate. But worse, it's weak when it needs to be strong.
The president did do the required minimum. He placed a moratorium on offshore drilling and cancelled oil leases in the Gulf and off Virginia. He appointed a commission to make safety recommendations. And he is reorganizing the Mining Management Service. All to the good, but...
Crises are opportunities. He has consistently missed them. Today was a grand opportunity to pull together the threads - BP and the spill, Massey and the mine disaster, Wall Street and the economic disaster, Anthem BlueCross and health care, the Arizona Immigration Law, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, even Afghanistan. The press threw him fastballs straight down the middle, and he hit dribblers every time.
It's not that he said nothing to tie them together. But there was no home run, no unifying narrative, no patriotic call to the nation on the full gamut of issues. Instead, there were only hints, suggestions, possible implications, notes of concern - as if he had been intimidated by the right-wing message machine.
And yet Obama, of all political leaders, could have done it, because he did before in his campaign.
The central idea is Empathy. Democracy is based on empathy, on people caring about one another and acting to the very best of their ability on that care, for their families, their communities, their nation, and the world. Government must also care and act on that care. Government's job is to protect and empower its citizens.
That idea is what draws together all the threads. The bottom line for corporations (whether BP, Massey, Anthem or Goldman Sachs) is money, not empathy. The bottom line for those who hate (whether homophobes, the Arizona Legislature, or al Qaeda) is domination and oppression, not empathy.
Empathy, and acting on it effectively, is the main business of government. And Obama knows it in his heart.
Yet the right wing has intimidated Obama into dropping not just the word "empathy," but the idea. Empathy is a positive deep connection with other people in general and with all living things, the ability to see and feel as they do. The right wing, which shows little empathy, has confused empathy with a bleeding-heart sympathy for individuals, which they see as a weakness. And though Obama has repeatedly made the distinction clear, he has allowed the right wing to intimidate him into abandoning "the most important thing my mother taught me."
At the very end of the press' questions, there was a hint of the campaign Obama.
...I think everybody understands that when we are fouling the Earth like this, it has concrete implications not just for this generation, but for future generations.
I grew up in Hawaii where the ocean is sacred. And when you see birds flying around with oil all over their feathers and turtles dying, that doesn't just speak to the immediate economic consequences of this; this speaks to how are we caring for this incredible bounty that we have.
And so sometimes when I hear folks down in Louisiana expressing frustrations, I may not always think that they're comments are fair; on the other hand, I probably think to myself, these are folks who grew up fishing in these wetlands and seeing this as an integral part of who they are - and to see that messed up in this fashion would be infuriating.
So the thing that the American people need to understand is that not a day goes by where the federal government is not constantly thinking about how do we make sure that we minimize the damage on this, we close this thing down, we review what happened to make sure that it does not happen again. And in that sense, there are analogies to what's been happening in terms of in the financial markets and some of these other areas where big crises happen - it forces us to do some soul searching. And I think that's important for all of us to do.
Here, at the very end, he allows the empathy and the moral vision to come out. Future generations, the sacredness of nature over the immediate economic consequences, caring for this incredible bounty that we have, identifying with folks who see fishing as part of who they are, analogies to what's been happening in the financial markets, soul searching.
That should have - and could have - been the central narrative drawing all the threads together. The narrative about the daily competence and effort should have been in service of the central narrative of his administration. It should be, and can be, the central narrative of American democracy.
But to make it central and powerful would be confrontational. It would bring him head-to-head with right-wing ideology - empathy-free, self-interest maximizing, with disdain or even hatred for those seen as lesser beings. It is self-reinforcing: a value-system that above all promotes that value-system itself. That is why right-wing Republicans always vote no to his proposals. Because to vote yes would strengthen an empathy-based moral system and weaken their own.
Because right-wing ideology takes precedence over empathy, there will be little or any real bipartisanship with those on the hard-core right. The right is provoking confrontation. It cannot be avoided. The president should be confronting the right wing on all issues - not issue-by-issue as a policy wonk, but with the master moral narrative that makes sense of our country's values.
Here's what that would mean. The following "shoulds" are not mine. They follow naturally from President Obama's own values as he articulated them is his 2008 campaign, and as they leaked out, largely unnoticed, during his press conference.
The president recognizes that financial reform requires dealing with systemic risk, which means not mere regulation, but restructuring the financial system to minimize, and if possible eliminate, systemic risk. Applying the analogy to oil spills, it would mean no more deep-water drilling because major systemic risks ("worst case scenarios") cannot be eliminated when you drill starting a mile down where no human being can go and drill three miles deeper.
Like other large corporations, BP uses cost-benefit analysis to maximize profits. It is no surprise that, to save money, BP chose inferior materials in Deepwater Horizon, materials whose defects may well have caused the explosion. The use of cost-benefit analysis for a corporation's benefit (and not the public's) is a dangerous practice in many industries. Cost-benefit analysis itself, used this way, should be considered as an important component of systemic risk by the President's commission on safety.
The president should support the Cantwell-Collins CLEAR ACT, which will actually cut gasoline consumption radically by 2050 and carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, while stimulating the economy by providing significant financial dividends to all adult citizens, eliminating government imposition on business, and making those who profit from selling polluting fuel pay to clean it up and develop alternative energy. CLEAR is far superior to cap-and-trade alternatives.
The president should generalize from oil spills to coal mining, banning the blowing up of mountaintops and the fouling of streams, and imposing serious safety restrictions on all mining.
The president should review the covert operations imposed by the military and cancel those that are inconsistent with American values.
The president should order military leaders under his command to support the elimination of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
The president should ask the First Lady to sponsor a major government program to do research on and support empathetic parenting, along the lines of his 2008 Father's Day speech.
And much more. A great deal follows from a unified moral stance.
Empathy and the discipline to act effectively on it, when seen as the basis of democracy and American values, can be powerful. It can unify the major policies of the administration, and unify people of good will - and that is a majority of our citizens. But only if the president communicates empathy effectively, and acts on it consistently.
Empathy Now!
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Comments
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Except he KNOWS it's futile
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 17:08 — Vic Anderson (not verified)Except he KNOWS it's futile when he's not gonna independently Blow The HOLE and effectively Seal The "SPILL"; hence his emPATHETIC disconnected disposition!
I think what Barry needs to
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 17:44 — Anonymous (not verified)I think what Barry needs to do is send out the 'ol bat signal. He's gotta call his base. The people who put him into office need to answer that call. GL has it right, "The right is provoking confrontation." If his base isn't careful, and doesn't answer the call, they're gonna have to face that confrontation.
George Lakoff, you hit it
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 18:39 — Anonymous (not verified)George Lakoff, you hit it right on the nail! Thank you for voicing such clear ideas. I hope the President and his advisers read your columns, otherwise, the Obamas will be back in Hyde Park in two years, permanently. Maybe that's why they came around this weekend, to get re-acquainted with their home.
George: I have one question.
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 19:45 — Liced-Christ (not verified)George: I have one question. Assume for a moment that Obama is speaking what he means, that he is in full control of his communication skills, and all that is conveyed is "exactly" what he means to convey. Now, how do you then approach what is coming out of his mouth? What are your thoughts?
Great article. Your
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 20:47 — Bobo (not verified)Great article. Your absolutely spot on George. However, I'm fairly certain that if Obama and the Dems did fight back a CIA sniper will prolly take him out. Let's face it, the conservatives have already ready shown they'll lie, cheat and steal to continue their agenda. It's doubtful they'll have any qualms regarding murder.
Of course he was fine in the
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 21:16 — Anonymous (not verified)Of course he was fine in the campaign, when he could say anything-- without consequences.
Obama is a performer for the power elite, not a leader. He's an empty suit.
Most Americans have no moral
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 21:23 — David (not verified)Most Americans have no moral values, that's why Obama leaves them out of his speeches and his tone. Americans support war, killing the earth, capitalism, consumerism, etc. Americans on the left and right refuse to give up their petroleum toys, their baby worship, their big cars, their junk food, their televisions. The left wants solar and the right wants drill baby drill, but they both want more technoindustrial fun. If Obama tried to speak morally, the same thing would happen to him that happened to Jesus, Martin Luther King, etc. Americans don't like morals. They like money, toys and war.
Just maybe he was trying to
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 23:21 — LynninStL (not verified)Just maybe he was trying to convey information as well as empathy? Heaven knows that the MSM media are looking for sensation rather than data people can use, much less serious analysis beyond sound bites.
Yes, self interest PLUS
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 23:52 — Anonymous (not verified)Yes, self interest PLUS empathy constitutes
the innate moral sensibility.
Post-enlightenment "democracy" has always
been a fraud insofar as it usually bamboozles the
poor and the weak in order t o enrich and to
entrench the rich. A university co-opted
by BP (UC) is, however, hard put to intone
the truth. Not only is UC co-opted by BP,
it harbors torture's advocate in its law school.
shame! shame! shame!
Well argued Mr. Lakoff. I
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 01:26 — Anonymous (not verified)Well argued Mr. Lakoff. I appreciate your wisdom on these Democratic branding issues -- but the President is not really capable of empathy. We well know that he surrounds himself with corporate sychophants like Geitner and Emmanual. His corporate full court press for so-called HRC demolished reasonable amendments offered by moderate and progressive senators ( FDA on Dorgan re-importation).
Obama appears to be a narcissistic corporate shill. A real leader would have declared a national emergency on day three and taken over BP, called in the tankers to siphon oil from sea water as was done in the Arabian Gulf, until a team of experts developed an emergency plan with all available resources to kill the well. This is all corporate theater as we watch the slow murder of the Gulf.
Real leaders have vision and
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 12:06 — Paul W (not verified)Real leaders have vision and guts. They don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk. I remember the last "Great Communicator" President, a senile old Hollywood actor. And I remember the Hell he visited on El Salvador and Nicaragua, and the abominable creatures he gathered around him in the White House.
Is this "Great Communicator" any different? He's spending the biggest Defense budget since WW 2. He's surrounded himself with Wall Street sycophants like Geitner and Summers. He's cozying up to all the wrong people, from Karzai to Netanyahu. And he's letting BP off the hook, while he mobilizes nothing to take care of the poisoned mess the Louisiana coast and the Gulf of Mexico are turning into.
I'm inclined to agree with David, who says Americans have no moral values. Because most people don't seem to give a shit about any of this egregious behaviour on the part of the man who supposedly represents them.
If any resurrection of
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 12:52 — MonkeeRench (not verified)If any resurrection of Empathy is actually considered by the Prez, it had better include Empathy for those well-informed, angry-as-hell, activist Tea Partiers (not the ignorant, hate-filled, mob-following TeaBaggers) who are mostly opposed to Washington corruption, whether Dems or Repubs. If the Prez doesn't co-opt a significant fraction of such Independents under his tent of Empathy, the Repubs are going to suck in enough TeaBaggers back to their base, and crush Hope&Change in November and make the Prez another One-Term Wonder.
How much power do you think
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 12:58 — Oscar (not verified)How much power do you think Obama, or any president, really has?
Any president that tries to take over BP 1) can't begin to do it without Congress (and have you ever heard of the filibuster?--duh.), and 2) would be assassinated immediately if he could. The reason he's not sure what to say is probably that he's intelligent enough to understand that this is the end of the world.
All of your premises are
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 13:00 — walden9 (not verified)All of your premises are false. The opposition is not between Obama and the right wing. The opposition is both parties and the corporate oligarchy they serve, against the people. Obama stands for and represents the corporate oligarchy, not the people. This has been self-evident to all but the most recalcitrant Obamapologists.
Thank your Mr. Lakoff for
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 13:20 — Christopher (not verified)Thank your Mr. Lakoff for once again defining the core issue.
So, Americans have no
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 13:22 — Ron (not verified)So, Americans have no morals. They only like toys and war. They don't give a crap? I live in Oklahoma City. On April 19, 1995, Oklahomans rushed to the scene of danger to help their fallen and trapped citizens. The same thing happened with New Yorkers rushing to help their fallen after 9/11. Give me a break. Americans have been some of the most generous people and nations in the world. What other nation helped rebuild Europe after WW II. We, along with many other nations have reached out to Haiti and other disaster zones after disasters. American citizens have donated millions of dollars to those relief efforts.
I'm not happy with President Obama's response to the spill and ecological and economic disaster. However, don't malign a whole nation and its people. If you live here and have that kind of hatred for the rest of us, go and live in the empathetic and generous nation of North Korea.
Empathy is a hill too big to
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 13:24 — neil fabricant (not verified)Empathy is a hill too big to climb. It's too late. The word itself is now fixed in people's minds, something like "limousine liberal." Progressives need a different word or slogan.
Lakoff, however, is on the money with this and previous critiques. It's hard to understand how the skilled Obama political campaign has morphed into such an inept White House communications. Maybe Axelrod and company have to leave Washington frequently and get a different angle of vision on what's going on.
Well now. Just look at the
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 13:32 — DANunn (not verified)Well now. Just look at the "spillover" of our current addiction to political Schizophrenia.
When Obama "takes charge" he is a Socialist. If he doesn't make a PR savvy move with some "Mission Accomplished" blather he is cold, an empty suit, and ineffective. Real effort instead of showmanship is neither recognized nor considered important in this adolescent, instant fix on demand society. It would seem that we have become a nation of such selfish ignorance that the magnitude of the the problems created by this disaster cannot be understood much less addressed. The President has had enough honesty and humility to forgo a "pretender" role. He has not claimed nor has he pretended to be an expert in the either geology or oceanography therefore he has put together a team of specialists who have openly admitted that the enormity of this tragedy is more than ever dealt with in the entire world. There is not much time for empty promises or "feel good" fantasies. And as for the accusation regarding lack of empathy, I guess it depends on whether or not you are listening, rather than ranting.
Obama's a great
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 13:47 — Straight-Ahead (not verified)Obama's a great "communicator" when he's lying to us to get our votes. But like so many politicians he considers the people to be only an obstacle to get over, around or under to get into office and get to work for his corporate masters. He's just another Reagan Republican, a duplicitous dirt-ball who will say anything to get elected. He's been pissing in the faces of the people who elected him for over a year now. Don't expect him to cowboy up, get his act together and show us the real Obama. To have the courage of your convictions you have to have convictions. Obama has none. What you see IS the real Obama, a fatuous, preening narcissist, empty of convictions, ideas or conscience, basking in his self-perceived glory as "Mr. President," who has surrounded by weird, perfidious, right-wing corporados.
I voted for him only because
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 13:59 — ProfessorEmeritus Peter Bagnolo (not verified)I voted for him only because Spitzer and Edwards could not win and because Al Sharpton didn't run , but my experience in Illinois was, as you said "Obama's Missing Moral Narrative," that is because he has no moral imperative. He is a guy like Rahm Emanuel, on the make. He, like Tony Blair, is all about seeking lifetime celebrity, and dynastic wealth. He has appointed a committee of 18 of the most powerful/wealthy people in America to seek ways to lower the deficit and "nothing is off the table," that includes Social Security and Medicare. He did this because "without saving expenditures, America will become a second class financial entity. To him preserving, expanding and supporting the the wealthiest people, is everything. otherwise how will he seek and nail down a job in industry. He has sold out his base and middle and lower class Americans, and will NOT get my vote again. Compared to FDR and even Jimmy Carter, who slapped a Windfall Profits Tax and Oil cap on Big Oil, or JFK who nailed Big Steel. He is a phony, and a coward.
Yes, Mr. Lakoff, that's what
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 14:13 — Stephanie Hiller (not verified)Yes, Mr. Lakoff, that's what Obama needs -- not sure if empathy is the right word, but a commanding moral vision would do more good, and win more support, than prevarication masquerading as compromise. Moral citizens or no, most people realize that the global situation is dire. Catastrophe looms at every turn. If Obama is not an "empty suit", now is the time for him to show it. The whole world is waiting!
"Empathy" is certainly the
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 14:44 — JLGraham (not verified)"Empathy" is certainly the right word but perhaps too much of a college-word abstraction to be effective in the mouth of Obama. I am certain, however, that a moral narrative is precisely what Obama and our nation needs. Think of words that stirred the nation in the past; "We hold these truths to be self evident…", "I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free…" , "I have a dream...", "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country." All have a compelling moral component. The point that you would think would be persuasive to nearly anyone is that "A house divided against itself cannot stand." That does not prescribe no differences of opinion, or even no strong and confrontational differences of opinion, nor does it exclude a beneficial side to competition. It means that if we spend our time undermining each other and fail to recognize that we are all in the same boat, we will surely sink as a nation, as unsolved problems overwhelm us.
"Greed is good" would seem
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 14:45 — JLGraham (not verified)"Greed is good" would seem like it ought to be a very easy target. If it doesn't work on the playground, how is it magically converted to a virtue viewed as social policy? It is true that collective pursuit of self-interest can be a creative and liberating force, so long as (and this is the critical caveat) it is pursued in ways that are consistent with the common good. Self interest PLUS empathy as it was put by "Anonymous" above. Theft is out. Rape is out. Some activities closer to the borderline require further discussion, and present a complex constellation of merits and disadvantages whatever the choice, but hey; making such choices is what adulthood is all about.
"The president should review
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 15:06 — RS (not verified)"The president should review the covert operations imposed by the military and cancel those that are inconsistent with American values."
Apparently the covert operations are not "empathetic." But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military budget larger than the rest of the world's, the support of client states the world over....this is all deeply empathetic. and consistent with "American values" whatever that may mean.
"Empathy, and acting on it effectively, is the main business of government. And Obama knows it in his heart."
I assume this is Mr. Lakoff's great empathy which informs him what Obama knows in his heart.
This piece is too absurd to take apart sentence by sentence.
The US is the giant center of gloabal capitalism...
Obama is deeply connected to the representatives of this system.
It is NOT BASED ON EMPATHY...
Finally....look at what the man does.....his entire inner circle is Goldman Sachs, Citi Bank...
He has barely made a change in the endless brutal inhumane wars.
His first move on health care was to mollify the drug companies and insurance companies.
Empathy anyone????
I vote for "civic duty" and
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 15:14 — Frances Griffin (not verified)I vote for "civic duty" and "responsibility".
I, too, think empathy is too liikely to be derided.
The United States is a
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 15:18 — RS (not verified)The United States is a capitalist nation. Capitalism is not based on empathy.
It is based on enabling and enshrining huge inequality.
Obama is very much part of this fabric.
See his comments on not begrudging the bankers their billions....after all they are shrewd businessman.
See his appointments....center and right wing.
See who he supports in primaries.....Blanche Lincoln, Arlen Specter against left leaning populist opponents.
Observe his legislative strategy—
Spend endless time and energy to win over right wing opponents...no time shoring up left leaning forces
Observe his endorsement of the entire Bush military crew.
Observe his unwillingness to investigate war crimes committed by the US.
Mr. Lakoff is living in an empty fantasy world of his own creation.
He claims to know what is in Obama's heart.
He ignores all of Obama's actions and the history and nature of the US
This article belongs in a New Age journal. Not in Truth out
wow!!! another guy falling
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 15:31 — Anonymous (not verified)wow!!! another guy falling all over himself to help the right zing another one at obama me being black iam so used to having to bow to our masters. but hell im through. obama trys to be honest that of which we didn't have the last eight years with that guy. and writers tear him apart. they say they want mean and vicious well do they want the angry black guy?!! this was not his fault he's trying to help by sending scientist clean up crews but this is bp's world failure not obama's the drill baby drill crowd(teabaggers) are silent so press go ask them why arent you out sreaming at big oil not obama!!!!!!
Lakoff is directly on target
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 15:44 — Fredboy (not verified)Lakoff is directly on target with this assessment. In short, we need a champion in the White House, not a hesitant President overly concerned by the evolving New Reich. We need action, direction, and that enormously powerful empathy Lakoff discusses with superb clarity. Instead, we have a President who goes bowing and begging to the other side, the dark side, the people who most despise him. His recent luncheon appearance with the GOP spiteful was at best pitiful. The BP tragedy has demonstrated US weakness and hesitance to the world. Not a good sign, not a powerful message. And all the while we appear ignorant to the challenge of closing BP's gutting Pandora's Box.
Where were all these
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 16:28 — Americonned (not verified)Where were all these pinpoint critics when Bush was bushing us? And the alternative was???
BP, like Bush, has no extraction plan. Think it will be fixed in hurricane season? Obama is in no way responsible for this Bush era failure involving the Senate and her lobbyists and the ugly anti environment sentiment spawned by corporate interference with due process.
What disturbs me is how many
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 16:41 — Anonymous (not verified)What disturbs me is how many truthout readers buy into this new age drivel.
For O to tie all his issues
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 16:44 — Dr Slim (not verified)For O to tie all his issues to a single core metaphor could endanger their prospects for more piecemeal success if the label on the bundle seems too extreme to the muddled middle of the political spectrum on which electability in the US rides. Lakoff's centralized, high-modern semantic analysis does not seem nimble enough for such a situation. And far from the muddled middle, the insatiable appetite for political correctness exhibited in many of the previous comments makes one despair of the prospects for November 2010 and 2012. Didnt the Naderites who spurned Gore as Bush Lite learn anything from the disaster of 2000? The US does not have a parliament led by minority parties, folks. Presidents have to capture the support of the widest possible spectrum of the electorate and the monied interests that fund campaigns. Governing agendas are constrained accordingly unless a huge historical crisis gives them greater political capital. O exhausted most of his on the stimulus package and health care reform, which Truthout's vanguard readership might recall is the biggest redistribution of wealth in the US in half a century. Less implacable folks might consider these (and little extras like ending Dont ask-Dont tell) to be signs that something of substance resides in that suit.
At almost 93 there is little
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 17:09 — Howard Ennes (not verified)At almost 93 there is little I can do except speak up and nudge my friends –– so I've sent 200 or so of them this commentary on Empathy: Why is it so hard to shake off the fiction of control-by-money [a concept of our own making] ? Can –– will –– Obama help us to take our own futures in hand?
It ain't just Obama who
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 17:54 — Straight-Ahead (not verified)It ain't just Obama who lacks a moral narrative. It's the whole damn Democratic party. They have bought into the whole Friedmanism-Reaganism school of thinking. Any time some jerk corporado says "free market" or "Milton Friedman" or "Adam Smith" or any of the other shibboleths of the class war, Democrats are silent because they have no beliefs of their own. So the class war will continue, the rich making on virtually everybody, using the bribed and bought Congress as their principal weapon. No-one is fighting back. No politician will even acknowledge that a class war is going on. It's simply the "Magic of the Marketplace." at work. If the marketplace is so magic, why do the corporations need all those lobbyists and why do they pay all those bribes (aka campaign contributions)? There's the real magic, the black magic of corruption, producing all those billionaires by robbing all the janitors, farmers, teachers, cabbies, in short, everybody who doesn't already have enough money to buy a Senator or Congressman or two or three.
GL's point about a master
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 18:52 — Bob Anonymous (not verified)GL's point about a master narrative is a good one, but his own language is too academic:
Master Narrative = common values/problems;
Empathy = caring about one another;
Regulation = incentives for helping;
Free market = democracy on corporate boards, share holder rights.
Taxes = Investment in the future of America.
For example:
The short-term interests of profit at all cost are endangering the values of the American people. This is apparent in oil spills, banking crises, mining disasters. It reveals itself in the unwillingness of the rich and powerful to pay their fair share of taxes, which are really ways to invest in America and its people.
Oh please, give me Chomsky
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 19:24 — Anonymous (not verified)Oh please, give me Chomsky any day and not this blather about feelings and empathy from Lakoff. Not that empathy isn't a wonderful trait. It is. But if you don't got it, you can't acquire it like a pair of fancy shoes.
But the real problem for me is that I don't need a Daddy or a feeler as president, I need a real social democrat. I need a non neo liberal. Predator capitalism sucks. The system sucks.
No amount of "messaging" or marketing or wordsmithing will change the fact that we have a crony capitalistic system in place now.
Stop listening to this guy!
A very serious investigation
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 19:32 — Rodrian Roadeye (not verified)A very serious investigation needs to be done into just exactly how much of this lack of empathy is based on a need for oil to keep two wars going? I'm sure that BP is a big supplier. Just how much are they into it for? Any takers?
I'm tired of all the
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 19:42 — JaneAdele (not verified)I'm tired of all the punditry - and trying to second guess Obama.
If anyone knows this issue isn't going to go away soon - it's Obama. Doing campaign-style rhetoric, rather than a firm, steadied approach to the crisis, is not Obama's style. He is an analyzer, a wonk.
Stop trying to make him into something he's not!
He does, however, need a stronger spokesperson than Gibbs or Axelrod.
Many of you commentators
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 20:35 — fred fep (not verified)Many of you commentators don't really care about anything but your pet rant.
Main point is this Deepwater mess is beyond fixing, perhaps. One can't stop underwater lava flows, perhaps they've gone too far now. Perhaps they can't stop this. Obama is no magician. Let Ron Paul's kid say an abre cadabre. Or some supposedly not-a-fool tea baffer who would put the disastrous Republicans bavk in control!
Where have you gone, Joe
Sun, 05/30/2010 - 23:28 — Anonymous (not verified)Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio?
woo woo woo
One of the most common
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 00:08 — Brent (not verified)One of the most common sense, yet illuminating pieces I've read in quite awhile. I'm on the left to help save what's left - but we're running out of time. If the oil spill in the Gulf does not change public and private policy,as well as people's lifestyles, then we may be doomed. Obama better tighten it up man. Energize with EMPATHY.
Obama has no power. He is a
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 01:28 — Anonymous (not verified)Obama has no power. He is a front man (good cop)
like Bush was ( bad cop) before him. The Zionist
Master Minds behind the Looting & Destruction of America are throwing Obama gibberish at us, just as they threw Bush gibberish at us. Every statement which any of them make is either a lie or part of a bigger lie. We live in a culture of illusion, mendacity and deception. And there is no way to get rid of the Rothschilds
Obama dumped the millions of
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 04:18 — Anonymous (not verified)Obama dumped the millions of regular folks who volunteered in his campaign, before he was even in office.
Obama for America aka OFA ceased to be anything grassroots, and was moved into the Democratic National Committee sans 99% of the campaign volunteers and staff.
We've got many of the worst of Clinton administration and Bush administration people in the Obama administration and in the Pentagon - instead some of the millions of people who could have made a real difference.
Plus we have a Congress mostly composed of cowards or worse from both parties, and both Congress and Obama represent the corporate oligarchy - an oligarchy which is the number one threat to our own populations (these huge corporations and those who own and/or run them, are the true threat).
Yes, McCain would have been even worse, but that's no longer the issue, and as an endless "excuse" given to us for all the B-S, that has little weight anymore...
It's the Christian poison,
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 05:35 — Bergliman (not verified)It's the Christian poison, stupid: "Love thy neighbor" and "Turn the other cheek"...
Obama, BAPF (Bought and Paid
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 08:23 — Anonymous (not verified)Obama, BAPF (Bought and Paid For). It's not a lack of intelligence, it's not a lack forensic skills - it's a lack of integrity. Obama's "moral vision", insofar as he has ever expressed it, is a sham. He's not a moral leader, and he doesn't want to be. He's a company man, "a big business guy", and he says so himself! Ask not what Obama can do for you. Ask what he can do for Jamie Dimon. Then, at least, you won't be disappointed.
Whew! The cynicism here is
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 09:42 — Anonymous (not verified)Whew! The cynicism here is appalling. That's all I have to say because any effort on my part to bring anything positive to the discussion would be a total waste of my precious time...so all you people out there just keep wallowing in your misery and continue blaming anything and everything for our problems...we're all responsible to some extent or another. If you aren't part of the solution then you are part of the problem.
This article is pretty
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 13:29 — Anonymous (not verified)This article is pretty interesting because it brings up the point that the Right-wing is operating from, and promoting, a worldview that breaks with with the moral narrative of much of the world. Lakoff says that for this reason, compromise may not be possible. On fundamental issues, he may be right. If the ethos of the country can be aligned with our ethical impulses to understand and share (rather than acquire and achieve superiority over), we will all be better off. Obama may not be the best promoter of these ideals (so far, his policies don't bear out principles of universal empathy), so our best response is to promote and form ethical institutions rather than wait for him to do it. To the extent that he articulates and enacts ethical standards he deserves our support; when he breaks from them, he earns our opposition.
This is what disappoints me
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 14:10 — eatbees (not verified)This is what disappoints me about you, Lakoff. It's not about framing, communication, or narrative. It's about having a moral core. Obama isn't lacking a moral narrative — he's lacking a moral core.
If you start from the a
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 18:30 — Renzo (not verified)If you start from the a priori position that democracies will tend to do the right thing, we are clearly not a democracy, if we ever were, any longer. That is our great disconnect from the moral governments of small self sufficient productive countries.
Empathy is not the issue. Greed and money are the issues. Those who build big monuments to greed with their money, also buy politicians who long for the "American dream"which has become a position on five or more boards of directors and an annual income of millions, like Tiger, or Bill, or Gore. Made men. Politicians. The mob.
We are the masses controlled by corporate propaganda. The control could end if we would turn off TV, most radio, and stop participating in the credit economy. Start being real, turn off TV. It has taken over your souls, if you even have anyanymore.
Obama has the pulpit, I wish
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 18:33 — midwest Tom (not verified)Obama has the pulpit, I wish that he would use it. In my opinion one of the GREAT SOCIETY programs created by Lyndon Johnson has resulted in todays prison problem for blacks. Aid For Dependent Children took away the need for marriage and has resulted in over 65% of black babies being born to single women. So you may ask why is that bad? The U.S. today has the highest percentage of it;s citizens in jail of any country, the majority of prisoners are black, and over 80% of the prisoners come from single parent homes. He will not touch this problem, because he and his wealthy backers view the rest of us as SUBJECTS, not citizens.
I'm in your boat. Empathy
Tue, 06/01/2010 - 23:12 — Anonymous (not verified)I'm in your boat. Empathy NOW!
Obama has shattered so many of his heart-ties through his campaign I can't trust him as a moral, empathetic being.
The most egregious trespass to me, was his denouncement of his Reverend, the moral and just Reverned Wright. This is a man who took Obama in under his wing, who taught him and guided him in personal and societal liberation theory for many years. And Obama did him trash - denounced his mentor. I was proud of Reverend Wright for not making nice at the end - WHAT was there to make nice about? -Either the man had been using him all along or...what else? He evidenced no call to defend his former Pastor and Mentor when that relationship was stood to the test. He let it drop like a hot biscuit and sent a bouquet along with a card saying "Hope you understand".
No, Obama, we don't understand. We elected you because you went to Reverned Wright's church. We elected you because you were a community organizer. We elected you because you are from a broken, international family; raised by your single mother who was a humanitarian, and by your grandparents who know about migration and desperation and who passed that wisdom along to you. We elected you for who we thought you were.
But you are not just that man. You are also another man. You are an ambitious man who is not constrained by morals. And that, ultimately, is why you were able to get elected. -Because you hold no bounds. Because you are shifty. And because, in you "logical" approach, you leave your morals behind. You have forgotten your roots, you don't know your power, and you have forsaken us. And that is why THEY elected you. -Because you are a moral flub-jub, flap-in-the-wind.
We now understand Reverend Wright, and I hope we don't accept you boquets with "You Understand"'s on them either.
Whether or not Obama is a
Wed, 06/02/2010 - 04:33 — TruthSeeker (not verified)Whether or not Obama is a "natural born citizen" and thus a "legitimate" president, is not even the point. By his actions it is CLEAR that he is not a "legitimate" president. He is NOT acting in the interest of the American People - he is acting in the interests of his Masters - the Corporate, Banking and Royalty Elite. He is as phony as a three dollar bill. More and more are waking up, shaking off the HOPEnosis of this shill, and are realizing that America can't and won't survive a full Obama Presidency. His performance with Wall Street should have convinced EVERYONE - likewise with Afghanistan, Invasion of Privacy, the Patriot Act, and all the other BROKEN PROMISES. It's time for people to realize that Obama will only accomplish ONE THING - the end of the Republic. The MILITARY, along perhaps with consultation with the RUSSIANS could stop the Oil Volcano in the Gulf. The Russians have more experience here than we do and we should LISTEN to them. It is time to REACH OUT, not to exacerbate polarization. Glass Stegall Act must be ReInstituted... This is the only way to survive the present World Monetary System collapse. (there is NO recovery - they have been blowing smoke up our rear ends) Obama has shown NO WILLINGNESS nor COMPETENCY nor INDEPENDENCE to accomplish these Urgently Important CHANGES (the "Change" President indeed - the only change about Omama is the he "changes" his mind. Please quit apologizing for this FAKER.
I have no need for this
Wed, 06/02/2010 - 10:39 — RWNorman (not verified)I have no need for this President to expend his time telling me about what he is doing. It is obvious he is doing the business of the country.
The concept of watching the sausage being made would off-put almost anyone. I see no reason to hear from President Obama every day about circumstances that do not change day by day.
Give the man a break, Greg. You are an excellent thinker, but there is a difference between being a thinking and a man of action.
The man of action plans his own moves whilst everyone else gets to second guess.
Its called Monday Morning Quarterbacking, and you'd best be served by continuing to write those excellent books you write.
President Obama is the
Sun, 06/06/2010 - 07:38 — Anonymous (not verified)President Obama is the biggest mistake the people of the US have ever made. The real business of the people is an inconvenience to him as it impedes the implementation of his radical agenda through carefully orchestrated, contrived "crises".
Is BO a coward? Is BO a
Tue, 06/08/2010 - 12:51 — Frank (not verified)Is BO a coward? Is BO a corporate hack? Is BO all talk and no action? The comments are really asking questions that we seem to have no answers for. I really don’t know who BO is. Is BO a fence sitter? Is BO a move-along-get-along-guy? He gets rid of people that confront the power structures that really run this country - Van Jones being the first scapegoat. His Goldman Sachs buddies, the left overs from the Bush days are probably giving BO all sorts of don’t do this, don’t do that advise as he runs by keeping his head as low as possible, gutless and afraid. Maybe coward is the defining word for BO.
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