Don't Rain on my Parade: Yet Realistic

Democracy Now had a round-table discussion about the President-Elect . The participants by and large were not complementary and John Pilger was particularly empathic in declaring Obama "the same old, same."

It was an eye-opening discussion in that, with one exception, the speakers do not see President-elect Obama as a candidate of change.

Several of the issues raised:

- Israel-Palestine
- Darfur
- Latin and South American

One of the participants named a few indicators that could and would make for that "change."

A simple one could be lifting the embargo and relaxing the tensions between Cuba and the United States. The anti-Cuba policy never made much sense to me, and with Castro at the end of his long tenure rapprochement is probably long overdue.

Another major change in direction could be a heightened role in a change in policy regarding the Gaza Strip. It is disheartening to think that the Israeli policy has land-locked 1.5 million Palestinians.

It is my hope that a President Obama will find balance between the ongoing US policy, and the policy explored by former President Carter in his book, "Peace, not Apartheid" for the Middle East. And that a President Obama will not be afraid of dealing with a Communist-run country like Cuba.

Time will tell.

-