We Should Be Thankful for Obama

Recently, Obama quipped at a black-tie gala of elites that Wall Street should be thanking him for their rising stock prices.

But it’s not the bankers and the fatcats who weren’t prosecuted for wrecking the economy who should be thanking Obama.

Rather, we should be thanking Obama.

His example was eye-opening for many a millennial who was once inspired by his “hope” and “change,” myself included.

We were thrilled as fuck about him. Against the odds and the Clinton-hugging management, he became the Democratic nominee.

We — especially young people and independents — turned out for him in droves. And we did it. He’d won.

Against all the odds, we’d elected the first black president — itself something to be proud of, especially since we did so based on his message.

A message of hope. Something to vote for.

We thought true, transformative change was coming to America.

We’d overcome racial prejudice in terms of who to select as leader of the free world, but aside from this…

…we were wrong. Dead wrong.

And when it became apparent Obama campaigned like an inspiring, progressive-esque figure, only to govern like a more reasonable and respectable Bush, we were continually reassured that he was simply playing chess.

Complete and utter bullshit, as we would realize.

But we learned a lot from that school of hard knocks! We didn’t quite pick up on the why — at least, not yet for some of us still asleep and disengaged — but Obama taught us, and taught us well, that it’s your actions that matter, and not only your words.

It allowed us to better keep our feet on the ground the next time someone came around promising hope and change.

And that someone turned up. Needless to say, we were skeptical. But the internet allowed us to learn what MSM wouldn’t tell us when it mattered.

While Obama was busy making Bush’s tax cuts permanent, this man filibustered against them. For hours.

While Obama was talking about putting on a soft shoe, this man was already on the picket line.

While Obama was promising hope and change, this man was fighting like hell to extract the change he could from a broken system.

But then this brusque old Brooklyn native hammered into all our brains why it had all gone wrong:

It wasn’t Congress that regulated Wall Street, but Wall Street that regulated Congress.

Of fucking course! It’s about the damn money! And we can figure that part out using the internet, too!

We’d missed that Obama’s top donors even in 2008 were among the same banks we bailed out and his DOJ failed to prosecute.

Money in politics reduces 3D chess to baby’s first checkers.

Obama helped America learn, through his actions, who it really is controlling this country. Trump, by extension, continues to prove this, and they both prove the true key: follow the money.

We now know, once again, that government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob.

If you want a candidate who will actually enact what they promise, you have to not only make them do so, but ensure they aren’t bought off by those contrary to your interests. And you have to ensure their actions match their words.

And that’s a lesson we’ll all make sure Gen Z hears, too. It will be a truly critical lesson for 2020, as an army of pretenders believe once more they can fool us with mere lofty rhetoric.

Thanks, Obama!