I know all of that, which is why I am dumbfounded as to why he has the popularity he does. What kind of "change" is he proposing? If we want change, we could also vote for a Hitler or a Stalin too. It would be change, but I am not sure everyone would be happy with it! I just hope that as the months progress that we will see him being asked about some of these things by the mainstream press. Then again, I fear that they are now just the propaganda wing of the "Democratic People's Socialist Party of America", and not the check and balance they were supposed to provide at the nation's founding.
It all goes to what I have been saying for a while. Entertainment and feelings are the new opiates of the masses. Obama makes people feel good, and that is enough for most. The proletariat (to use Marx's terminology) is made up of people who do not think critically. This is why they are so easily manipulated, and why they usually have no real political power. Usually, they simply do not care-and this is a good thing. When they do, a powerful speaker can easily manipulate them into whatever he desires. Then when someone questions the herd mentality, they become an enemy and their critical thinking is discounted. I see this at work here with Obama and it scares me. Simply speaking his actual middle name is like you are committing blasphemy against god. After all, then they may have to think and thought is nothing compared to feeling.
(Off the main topic but...) To finish my analogy to the "Communist Manifesto", the Bourgeoisie (Capitalists) are in their position because they can think critically. This is why they have the political power--intelligent thought and the willingness to act upon it. They do what the proles do not wish to do and are rewarded with the bounties of capitalism. This is why they deserve their position due to their actions, but are hated because of it by the lower classes who cannot or do not think and innovate. (The proles benefit due to the bourgeoisie but fail to realize it due to a flawed perspective.) Remove the bourgeoisie and you get a society of sheep. They will always seek a leader, and not default to a pure democracy as Marx felt they would. They lack the ability and will to self-rule and would rather feel good and seek pleasure than consider the boring facts of the matter. The bourgeoisie exist because of the need of the proletariat to be led by the nose, not because they wish to oppress the masses.
