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| Jay McInerney on Obama: 'We have to give him a second chance' | Jay McInerney on Obama: 'We have to give him a second chance' |
| (12 days later) | |
| Jay McInerney, 56, is the author of Bright Lights, Big City and Brightness Falls. His latest book is the short story collection How It Ended | Jay McInerney, 56, is the author of Bright Lights, Big City and Brightness Falls. His latest book is the short story collection How It Ended |
| Last week I was at a party in a Manhattan art gallery attended by the inevitable mix of artists, journalists and wealthy art collectors. I ran into a friend, a painter, who is a strong supporter of the Democratic party, but she told me she wasn't donating money to the Obama campaign this year. "He's been a huge disappointment," she said. "Not one major Wall Street banker has been held accountable for the financial crash, and he's extended the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy. I just can't get enthusiastic about him. I don't even know if I'll vote." | Last week I was at a party in a Manhattan art gallery attended by the inevitable mix of artists, journalists and wealthy art collectors. I ran into a friend, a painter, who is a strong supporter of the Democratic party, but she told me she wasn't donating money to the Obama campaign this year. "He's been a huge disappointment," she said. "Not one major Wall Street banker has been held accountable for the financial crash, and he's extended the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy. I just can't get enthusiastic about him. I don't even know if I'll vote." |
| In another part of the room a group of art collectors, most of whom worked in the financial industry, were clutching plastic glasses of cheap white wine and complaining about Obama from the opposite end of the political spectrum. "He's a socialist," said one, a short, bald man who runs a huge hedge fund. "He hates people like us." His friends all nodded in agreement. | In another part of the room a group of art collectors, most of whom worked in the financial industry, were clutching plastic glasses of cheap white wine and complaining about Obama from the opposite end of the political spectrum. "He's a socialist," said one, a short, bald man who runs a huge hedge fund. "He hates people like us." His friends all nodded in agreement. |
| "Socialist" is the nastiest thing you can say about an American politician in some quarters. For years the Republican party depended on the spectre of the evil Soviet Union to stir up nationalistic impulses and demonised the left as unpatriotic; many on the right interpreted the collapse of the Soviet bloc as proof of the bankruptcy of socialist principles. For his part, Obama has done precious little to deserve the "socialist" title – he has yet to repeal the massive Bush tax cuts to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans – although his healthcare reform package, which cost him so much time and political capital to get through Congress, represents an expansion of government's role in the healthcare system. | "Socialist" is the nastiest thing you can say about an American politician in some quarters. For years the Republican party depended on the spectre of the evil Soviet Union to stir up nationalistic impulses and demonised the left as unpatriotic; many on the right interpreted the collapse of the Soviet bloc as proof of the bankruptcy of socialist principles. For his part, Obama has done precious little to deserve the "socialist" title – he has yet to repeal the massive Bush tax cuts to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans – although his healthcare reform package, which cost him so much time and political capital to get through Congress, represents an expansion of government's role in the healthcare system. |
| It's curious that Obama has managed to alienate the big bankers and brokers and investors, many of whom supported him in 2008, even as he has infuriated those who feel he hasn't been tough enough on Wall Street. The Dodd-Frank Act, pushed by Obama and passed largely by the Democrats in Congress in 2010, imposed restrictions and regulations on the financial industry but many of us feel that it was watered down and is largely symbolic. Many in the financial industry claim it has hurt their business but the fact is Wall Street has prospered, earning more in the first two and a half years of the Obama administration than during the eight years of Bush's presidency, according to the Washington Post. Bush initiated the bailouts that helped save the big banks during the meltdown of 2008 but Obama continued those policies, thereby probably saving the financial system from a major collapse. | It's curious that Obama has managed to alienate the big bankers and brokers and investors, many of whom supported him in 2008, even as he has infuriated those who feel he hasn't been tough enough on Wall Street. The Dodd-Frank Act, pushed by Obama and passed largely by the Democrats in Congress in 2010, imposed restrictions and regulations on the financial industry but many of us feel that it was watered down and is largely symbolic. Many in the financial industry claim it has hurt their business but the fact is Wall Street has prospered, earning more in the first two and a half years of the Obama administration than during the eight years of Bush's presidency, according to the Washington Post. Bush initiated the bailouts that helped save the big banks during the meltdown of 2008 but Obama continued those policies, thereby probably saving the financial system from a major collapse. |
| What disappoints many of us outside of Wall Street is the feeling that Obama hasn't been nearly as effective in bailing out the lower and middle classes. For someone who so inspired us with his soaring oratory during the last campaign, he has turned out to be a poor communicator during his first term, failing at crucial moments to explain and defend his policies. Even now, in this crucial election, his best and most articulate advocate has been Bill Clinton, who delivered a superb defence of Obama at the Democratic National Convention, despite the well-known tensions between them. Like Clinton, I believe that it is more important than ever that we give Obama another chance – the alternative seems to be a return to most of the failed policies of the Bush administration, including reducing taxes on the rich and reducing regulations on business. | What disappoints many of us outside of Wall Street is the feeling that Obama hasn't been nearly as effective in bailing out the lower and middle classes. For someone who so inspired us with his soaring oratory during the last campaign, he has turned out to be a poor communicator during his first term, failing at crucial moments to explain and defend his policies. Even now, in this crucial election, his best and most articulate advocate has been Bill Clinton, who delivered a superb defence of Obama at the Democratic National Convention, despite the well-known tensions between them. Like Clinton, I believe that it is more important than ever that we give Obama another chance – the alternative seems to be a return to most of the failed policies of the Bush administration, including reducing taxes on the rich and reducing regulations on business. |
| The best we can say about Obama's foreign policy record is that he's not George Bush, that he managed to end the absurd and unjustified war in Iraq. His escalation of the war in Afghanistan has been a failure – every foreign power to invade Afghanistan has been humiliated in the end. Sarkozy took the lead in rallying Nato to aid the Libyan rebels, and Obama's failure to aid the Syrian rebels seems increasingly like a betrayal of his stated ideals and a failure of leadership. | The best we can say about Obama's foreign policy record is that he's not George Bush, that he managed to end the absurd and unjustified war in Iraq. His escalation of the war in Afghanistan has been a failure – every foreign power to invade Afghanistan has been humiliated in the end. Sarkozy took the lead in rallying Nato to aid the Libyan rebels, and Obama's failure to aid the Syrian rebels seems increasingly like a betrayal of his stated ideals and a failure of leadership. |
| And yet… the symbolism of an African-American president is still incredibly potent, even after four years. (Yesterday I spotted a poster in the window of a barber shop in the largely African-American South Bronx – a portrait of Martin Luther King under the caption "The Dreamer" beside a portrait of Barack Obama; caption: "The Dream".) He remains the most charismatic of world leaders. One gets the sense of a man who is comfortable in his skin, comfortable with his place in the world, of a man who generally means what he says, and says it elegantly. It's hard to get any sense of the personality of Mitt Romney, who seems like a robot with excellent hair. | And yet… the symbolism of an African-American president is still incredibly potent, even after four years. (Yesterday I spotted a poster in the window of a barber shop in the largely African-American South Bronx – a portrait of Martin Luther King under the caption "The Dreamer" beside a portrait of Barack Obama; caption: "The Dream".) He remains the most charismatic of world leaders. One gets the sense of a man who is comfortable in his skin, comfortable with his place in the world, of a man who generally means what he says, and says it elegantly. It's hard to get any sense of the personality of Mitt Romney, who seems like a robot with excellent hair. |
| Obama may have lost some of his mystique, and disappointed many of us, but he hasn't yet irrevocably betrayed us, or his ideals, and he will probably get another chance to fulfil some of the great expectations of 2008. | Obama may have lost some of his mystique, and disappointed many of us, but he hasn't yet irrevocably betrayed us, or his ideals, and he will probably get another chance to fulfil some of the great expectations of 2008. |
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