Change? Not from what I can see.

Ahhh, change.  We hear so much about change.  It is a sort of mantra blatted into our ears like Tibetian temple pipes roaring.  A "Prajna shovel" we are beaten over the head with, and a veritable "Vajra bucket" we are "round-house shillelaghed" with.

But, I got to looking around at all this change, before I start to "smile and grin at the change all around,"  I have to ask some questions.

Ummm, where is this change?  Let's jump and I'll show you what I mean.  

Who are Obama's leading economic advisors?

From what I can find, Obama has tapped Austan Goolsby from the University of Chicago, a neo-classical economist.  Then we have David Cutler, a Harvard economist, a name you may recall from the Clinton Administration, and lastly another Clintonista, Jeffrey Liebman from Harvard. Source Louis Proyect  ["Red" Lou has the best breakdown of the three top Obama advisors that I have found to date, be warned it's tinged with his viewpoint, but useful.]

Ummm, all three of these men are "anti-Keynesian" economists, and about as progressive as John Snow was when he ran the Treasury.  Liebman openly favors privatising Social Security, which worries us older folks as we have contributed a lifetime to Social Security, and don't want it squandered by back-slapping politico/economic wunderkind seeking to clean up after "Big Shitpile" as Atrios calls the mortgage mess.  Cutler and Goolsby both think our current healthcare mess is great for the economy.  The campaign calls THIS change?

This is not change.  This is status quo, and Hillary Clinton's crew is just as "stick in the mud."  

Nearly eighteen months ago, Charlie Rose had Tom Daschel (Obama), Leo Hindery (Edwards), and Gene Sperling (Clinton) on, and the big issue just that short period ago was healthcare.  Well, in that short span we have watched the economy tank like like a scuttled ship.

Radical, yet thoughtful action will be required to extricate the nation from the economic morass that the Bush Administration has driven us into.  More-of-the-same, status quo thinking that looked hot just a couple of months ago now looks inadequate.  Gamesmanship on issues like Social Security and national healthcare is a losing deal, I hope Obama realizes this.

But the shocker for me is in the foreign policy arena.  Folks a choice between Madeline Albright with Clinton, and Zbigniew Brzezinski as senior advisor for Obama...that's like choosing between tweedle dum and tweedle dee.  Obama also has Richard Clarke, Susan Rice, Anthony Lake, and Samantha Powers; a line-up I personally like, but nonetheless notice that this collection is very status quo.  Hillary has an even more "stick-in-the-mud" collection with General Wes Clark, and her likely Secretary of State choice, Richard Holbrook, if she wins.  Does anyone notice the 1990's thinking here, the same thinking that led us into the Iraq calamity?

Change?  I am worried about this.  I don't see a lot of agents for change, and the public wants a reasonable, but very noticable change in direction, and that right quick like.

Because if we don't get the public to buy Obama, and his change ideas because that same public sees Obama simply recycling Bill Clinton's ideas and people, this is what America has to look forward to.  [From the always excellent Pepe Escobar of Asia Times Online]

I don't know about you, but a hothead like McCain sitting in the White House with his finger on the button is not what America needs and not likely to bring any meaningful change to healthcare, the economy, the wildly bloated defense budget, or much of anything else.

I want change, and define it as ending the Iraq catastrophe, starting jawbone negotiations with Iran, pressing Israel to end the madness of the West Bank and Gaza instead of feeding into more rounds of fear, hatred and violent death.  I'd like to see the economy solidified, and will tolerate higher taxes to see it done, so long as the bigs pay up too.  Healthcare, and leaving Social Security alone, and curbing that Pentagon mania for "new toys" far beyond what is needed for simple replacement and updating is in every American's best interests.

But racing back into the 20th century simply because the Republicans want to race back to the 19th will not bring the change we need.  Senator Obama, make the change real.