Misunderestimated

I've been reading the electronic version of Bill Sammon's "Misunderestimated", and it's utterly fascinating. I highly recommend it.

I've also been thinking about the upcoming election. Conventional wisdom is that Obama is a shoo-in. I'm wondering whether this is one of those times that the conventional wisdom is dead wrong.

Obama comes from the leftist tradition of scorched-earth tactics. His previous background of community organizer is widely viewed, by the general public, as a kind of guardian of Boys & Girls clubs, community gardens, and clean up the streets efforts.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The community organizers are an offshoot of leftist radical theory. These organizers were trained to go back into the 'hood, and deliberately fan the flames of discontent. They were told to frame every dispute, not as a problem that could, with existing systems, be resolved, but as a way of digging a trench between the people and the current government structures. It's an natural progression of the "Speak Bitterness" strategy that the Chinese Communists employed at the beginning of their reign against the landlord class, which eventually culminated in the Cultural Revolution, when average citizens were imprisoned for the crime of being of the "wrong" class.

So, Obama is comfortable with the tactics. And many of his supporters are, as well.

Couple this with the "scorched-earth" mindset of the Clintons and Gores, and you have the ideal combination for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.