Wie is Obama? Wie schuift hem naar voren? Welke belangen vertegenwoordigt hij? Vast staat dat hij een product is dat verkocht wordt aan een publiek. Maar welk publiek precies? Bekend is dat 50 procent van de Amerikaanse kiezers al meer dan een halve eeuw niet stemt omdat men weet dat het toch geen verschil uitmaakt. Wat is Obama? Waarom wordt er geen serieus portret geschreven van deze frisse, jonge, dynamische knaap die beweert de Amerikaanse droom te willen terugbrengen en die de audacity heeft om te hopen? Branding dames en heren!
Even nog dit: de auteur Milan Kundera omschreef het in zijn Jeruzalem rede in 1985 als volgt: ‘Je kunt je de toekomst wel voorstellen zonder de klassenstrijd of zonder de psychoanalyse, maar niet zonder de onweerstaanbare opkomst van pasklare ideeen die, ingevoerd in computers, gepropageerd door de massamedia, het gevaar met zich meebrengen binnenkort een macht te worden die elk oorspronkelijk en individueel denken verplettert en zo de werkelijke essentie van de Europese cultuur van onze tijd verstikt.’ Kundera waarschuwde ervoor dat we zo de wereld van de kitsch binnentreden. ‘Het woord kitsch verwijst naar de houding van degene die tot elke prijs zoveel mogelijk mensen wil behagen. Om te behagen dien je je te conformeren aan wat iedereen wenst te horen, in dienst te staan van de pasklare ideeen, in de taal van de schoonheid en de emotie. Hij beweegt ons tot tranen van zelfvertedering over de banaliteiten die wij denken en voelen… Op grond van de dwingende noodzaak te behagen en zo de aandacht van het grootst mogelijke publiek te trekken, is de esthetiek van de massamedia onvermijdelijk die van de kitsch en naarmate de massamedia ons gehele leven meer omsluiten en infiltreren, wordt de kitsch onze dagelijkse esthetiek en moraal.’
Zo, nu de media weer:
'Obama borrows a Bush policy to court evangelical voters
CHICAGO: With an eye toward evangelical voters, Senator Barack Obama presented a plan Tuesday to expand President George W. Bush's program of investing federal money into religious-based initiatives intended to fight poverty and perform the work of other social services.
"The fact is, the challenges we face today, from saving our planet to ending poverty, are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama said, according to a prepared text of his remarks issued by his campaign. "We need all hands on deck."
He thus embraced the heart of a program, established early in the Bush administration, that critics say blurs the constitutional separation of church and state. Obama made clear, however, that he would work to ensure that charitable groups receiving government funds be carefully monitored to prevent them from using the money to proselytize and to prevent any religion-based discrimination against potential recipients or employees.
Obama's presumptive Republican rival for the presidency, Senator John McCain, was flying Tuesday to Colombia on a trip meant to highlight his strong advocacy of free trade, notably of a U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement that Obama has criticized and which is stalled in Congress. The Arizona senator was to travel later to Mexico, where immigration is bound to be a core topic.
Obama, on a weeklong tour intended to highlight his values, traveled to the battleground state of Ohio to present his latest proposal, speaking at the Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, which provides food and clothing to the needy.
Now, I know there are some who bristle at the notion that faith has a place in the public square," Obama was to say. "But the fact is, leaders in both parties have recognized the value of a partnership between the White House and faith-based groups."
He said he would elevate the program - created by Bush amid considerable controversy - to the "moral center" of his administration, renaming it the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
As a former community organizer in Chicago - where some of his neighborhood work was funded by a Catholic charity - Obama has some familiarity with the issue.
The Illinois Democrat also proposed spending $500 million per year, partly through charitable groups, to provide summer learning for one million poor children. He said the program could be financed through cuts in "wasteful spending" elsewhere.
Obama's initiative Tuesday represented more an evolution than a shift in his position, but came at a time when he has been recentering his stances on several issues, angering some liberal supporters in the process.'
"The fact is, the challenges we face today, from saving our planet to ending poverty, are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama said, according to a prepared text of his remarks issued by his campaign. "We need all hands on deck."
He thus embraced the heart of a program, established early in the Bush administration, that critics say blurs the constitutional separation of church and state. Obama made clear, however, that he would work to ensure that charitable groups receiving government funds be carefully monitored to prevent them from using the money to proselytize and to prevent any religion-based discrimination against potential recipients or employees.
Obama's presumptive Republican rival for the presidency, Senator John McCain, was flying Tuesday to Colombia on a trip meant to highlight his strong advocacy of free trade, notably of a U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement that Obama has criticized and which is stalled in Congress. The Arizona senator was to travel later to Mexico, where immigration is bound to be a core topic.
Obama, on a weeklong tour intended to highlight his values, traveled to the battleground state of Ohio to present his latest proposal, speaking at the Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, which provides food and clothing to the needy.
Now, I know there are some who bristle at the notion that faith has a place in the public square," Obama was to say. "But the fact is, leaders in both parties have recognized the value of a partnership between the White House and faith-based groups."
He said he would elevate the program - created by Bush amid considerable controversy - to the "moral center" of his administration, renaming it the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
As a former community organizer in Chicago - where some of his neighborhood work was funded by a Catholic charity - Obama has some familiarity with the issue.
The Illinois Democrat also proposed spending $500 million per year, partly through charitable groups, to provide summer learning for one million poor children. He said the program could be financed through cuts in "wasteful spending" elsewhere.
Obama's initiative Tuesday represented more an evolution than a shift in his position, but came at a time when he has been recentering his stances on several issues, angering some liberal supporters in the process.'
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