UpDate : and part of what my friend Chris answered in comments at PSA:
Okay look, this guy is running for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. It's not a job that outsiders ever win. It's not a job he will be allowed to do as a radical left wing organizer. America is inherently conservative, and the political establishment is just that: established. Pretty firmly.
Having said all that, Obama's surge is doing three things worth noting. One, he is energizing non-white voters who are blinking their eyes in disbelief that a black man will become President on January 20th. Two, he is galvanizing world opinion positively towards the United States which helps a great deal to make for a more peaceful world. And three, and perhpas most important, take a look at the progressive political action going on in the US. The Presidential race is just one thing. At the local level there are scores of incredibly radical people about to be elected, and lots of ultra right wing agendas are suffering in the referendum campaigns. Gay marriage will be legalized in Conneticut and Proposition 8 in Calaifornia seems to be going down.
Radical politics will never have a place at the top of the American political food chain, but it lives at the local level and this year it is coming on. In that sense the President doesn't matter, but this year THIS President matters at that level.
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