13 Shares 0



13

0







The 2016 elections were both a blessing and a curse for the Obama family. Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 elections was a severe setback for the institutional power of the Wall-Street indebted Democratic Party establishment. Both the House and Senate fell to GOP majorities in the same period. Hillary Clinton's reputation as a war-monger and servant of the banks was exposed throughout the electoral season in various forms. WikiLeaks provided plenty of ammunition in the form of leaked emails from former campaign chairman John Podesta. The revelations led to a shakeup in the Democratic National Committee, which was caught rigging the 2016 Presidential primary in favor of the Clinton machine.

The tumultuous election season continued into the Trump Presidency as the Democrats elected Wall Street friendly Tom Perez to chair the DNC, much to the chagrin of Sanders supporters. Barack Obama, as former President of the United States, remained relatively unscathed from the waning popularity of the Democratic Party elite. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders defended his Administration during the primaries. Obama predictably sided with Hillary Clinton during the primary despite the many email revelations that revealed the Democratic nominee to be nothing but a paid servant of Wall Street and the war machine. It makes perfect sense then that Obama would walk in the footsteps of the party’s defeated nominee.

During the campaign trail, WikiLeaks released a number of speeches Clinton had given to Wall Street donors after her tenure as Secretary of State ended in 2013. Clinton reportedly made tens of millions of dollars speaking to Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs, serenading them with her "public" and "private" positions on issues such as Social Security cuts. It is only fitting that Obama’s post-presidential life would include similar ventures. On April 26th, it was verified that Obama planned to speak at a conference held by Cantor Fitzgerald LP. Obama was reportedly offered 400,000 USD to give a keynote address to the Wall Street investment firm.

While Obama's party has suffered in the wake of his administration, his personal profit certainly hasn't. The 400k Wall Street speech comes after Barack and Michelle received lucrative book deals for their memoirs, estimated to be worth over sixty million USD. Trump's ascendancy compelled some establishment liberals to fall into a state of sadness over the end of Obama's Administration. The sadness that overtook them merely revealed a deep disconnect from reality. Obama's recent moves to cash in on his legacy only reinforce what should have been established long ago.

The first Black President was one of the most effective servants of Wall Street and war that money could buy. Obama constructed a cabinet at the behest of one his biggest donors, Citigroup, in order to facilitate the largest wealth transfer from the 99 percent to the 1 percent in US history. His administration continued old wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and started new ones in Libya, Ukraine, and Syria. By the end of Obama's tenure, public education was nearly swept into the dustbin of history in favor of for-profit charters. Healthcare remained squarely in the grips of the health insurance and pharmaceutical monopolies. For the ruling class, Obama's Presidency was a job well done.

Even in times of crisis, Obama never bit the hand that fed him. Not once did he question the Bush-era bailouts to the banks or jail any financier for their criminal activity that led to the 2008 financial collapse. During the 2016 election campaign, he stood by finance capital's chosen candidate, Hillary Clinton, even when she stumbled and faltered toward her second Presidential loss. Obama even spearheaded a war against truth on behalf of Wall Street. He coined the phrase "Fake News" in an attempt to blame independent media and internet info-sharing for Trump's popularity. Trump eventually claimed the term for his own purposes but not before it had laid the basis for a rabid anti-Russia attack that involved the demonization of WikiLeaks and any person, organization, and media outlet critical of the Democratic Party.

Ironically, it was such moves on the part of Obama that led to Donald Trump's victory. The ascendancy of Obama was coupled with a fierce marketing drive that painted the first Black President as the symbol of "Hope and Change." Yet what the masses received, and what the US imperialist system demanded, was vastly different from what was advertised. Bush-era policies of torture were covered up, bank bailouts were resumed, and whistle blowers were targeted at historic levels. The rate of poverty in the US increased under Obama as did the amount of US dollars spent on prisons, policing, and war. But many so-called progressives became so enamored by Obama's charm and opted to give him a pass.

So it should come as no surprise that a deep divide exists over how to view Obama's post-Presidential business ventures. Corporate media outlets such as Ebony have directed readers to "stop trippin'" over Obama's Wall Street speech. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders expressed disappointment in Obama. However, few are linking Obama's combined multimillion dollar speaking and book deals within the context of concrete policy. Concrete policy and history suggest that Obama was always a servant of Wall Street and war, making his recent speech for a Wall Street firm unsurprising but not insignificant. A humane society could not consider such behavior "normal." If this is the case, than a new society is what we need.

*(Image credit: IIP Photo Archive/ flickr).