The Queer Absence of Liberal Activism in Obama's First Year.

Throughout all the ups and (mostly) downs of the Obama presidency, liberals have been bracing themselves for a great upset on the part of the administration whom they are partly responsible for raising enormous expectations of. And throughout this painfully stupid health care debate they have only themselves to blame, for throughout it the queer absence of the Yes-We-Can liberals has been overshadowed by the obnoxious heckling of the primordialist victims of the Bush era, people too stupid to understand the complexities of sound policy armed with an undeserved conviction of a uniquely American variety that they, too, can be political philosophers.

When Barack Obama campaigned for his presidency, the pompousness of his ambition was always counterbalanced with his frequent reminder of the pivotal role we, the fucking people, had in the changing of the American political landscape, especially if it were in the direction of progressive humanism. His was the campaign that reminded us of the role of Labour and other organized mass movements in pushing America toward "a more perfect union". His was the campaign that reminded us that "we still have work to do". And his was the inaugural address that devoted its final minutes to calling upon the American citizenry to embody the spirit of service, "(f)or as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies."

Unfortunately, despite clear efforts on the part of the Obama White House to make his presidency more "transparent", progressives in the United States have been asleep while holding a majority in both houses and the presidency. Meanwhile, the enemy, though without a clear leader (and certainly not an enviable one), remains highly organized and devoted to quashing the progressive vision of our lazy generation's Wunderkind.

How is this even possible? The Bush presidency saw the invigoration of Conservative activism, which had victory after sweeping victory from the 2001 stem cell debate to drawing federal involvement in the Schiavo affair, not to mention a constant presence on television that even drew in plenty of liberal audiences with a taste for irony (a la Da Ali G Show and Hell House). There are many obvious factors involved in this discrepancy (not least of all is the advantage of the pulpit over the internet in mobilizing a devoted mass of people), but one thing is clear: those who support Obama initiatives need to step up. The cameras will do the rest.