The Vacuity of 'Hope'

"You don't get anything clean without getting something else dirty." - Cecil Baxter

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The Vacuity of 'Hope'

Given how 'Hope' - specifically, 'Hope We Can Believe In' is a very big part of Barack Obama's campaign, I decided to do more than assert that 'the hope and promise of change you always see in the runup and during the Honeymoon period is inevitably dashed by the power of established institutions, reality and the fact that rhetoric is free'.

With the aid of some friends, I have compiled a table showing what a politician promised, what was hoped of him, and what the results were. If you have any corrections or additions to make, please detail them in the comments.

I'm almost hoping for him to win, to see how it all comes crashing down (you already see signs of that with FISA and the reversal on public funding), but then the only thing we learn from history is yada yada, so we are sure to see something like this happening again, rational expectations be damned.

. Politician What was promised What was hoped Results . Abdullah Badawi Crackdown on corruption A kinder, gentler approach to governing Malaysia Corruption as usual, the Mongolian BBQ, Son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin messing around in UMNO, Oil-For-Food shenanigans . Caligula The return of a Germanicus to the throne of Rome No more proscriptions The first Emperor to reign as a God. More proscription trials. Bread and circuses. A horse as Senator. Almost 2000 years later, a movie called Caligula . George W Bush 'Compassionate Conservatism', 'A uniter not a divider', 'Strong but humble' foreign policy, 'Restore honor and dignity to the White House' A boring Presidency Iraq War, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay; Valerie Plume scandal, the death of bipartisanism, several new creative entries into the OED . Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid) Reform, National Unity A moral government Money picked up by his masseur, $2 million from the Sultan of Brunei missing. Impeachment by Parliament. . Hamid Karzai Removing Northern Alliance Warlords from power A free, prosperous Afghanistan Warlords running around with impunity. Karakul hat sales go up . Junichiro Koizumi Privatization of Japan post Funky hairstyle Funky hairstyle, "Political Reform without Substance" . Kim Il Sung Juche (Self-reliance) The Korean War. North Korea is one of the WFP's largest beneficiaries, and the people eat tree bark. Kim is Eternal President, though he is dead. . Lech Walesa Solidarnosc (Solidarity) A rejection of the Communist past Mudslinging in campaign for office, questionable advisers: closest adviser former chauffeur (and good table tennis buddy), "war at the top": annual changes of government, erratic Presidency, authoritarian . Lee Hsien Loong A hundred flowers blooming; a forward-looking society Continued censorship, repression of political expression, eg no private screening of DVDs with political themes - your DVD player gets seized even though that won't help police 'investigations'; a 19th century law inherited from the British (377A) is retained. Mee Siam Mai Hum . Lee Kuan Yew 'If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally', 'If it is not totalitarian to arrest a man and detain him, when you cannot charge him with any offence against any written law - if that is not what we have always cried out against in Fascist states - then what is it?' 'If I were in authority in Singapore indefinitely without having to ask those who are governed whether they like what is being done, then I would not have the slightest doubt that I could govern much more effectively in their interests' . Mikheil Saakashvili A break with the Communist era embodied by Eduard Shevardnadze Real democracy in the former Soviet state of Georgia. Intolerance towards people with different opinions', questionable prison riot plots, Sandro Girgvliani Murder Case. Declares state of emergency in late 2007 . Morgan Tsvangirai A real shot for the 2008 presidency Winning the election Withdrew from second-round by-election amidst fears of more violence . Nicolas Sarkozy Simultaneously-enacted liberal economic reforms, a 'break with the ideas, habits and behaviour of the past' Standing down to the unions, opposition to the deindustrialization of France, talking about protecting jobs and national champions, marriage to a supermodel . Robert Mugabe Commitment to peace and the democratic process of election, an end to anti-black racism A real free Zimbabwe 'It may be necessary to use methods other than constitutional ones", Recent elections a one-man runoff done literally at gunpoint, anti-white racism, the ruin of Zimbabwe and the deaths of many of its citizens, the highest inflation rate in the world . Viktor Yushchenko Ukraine's Orange Revolution Escape from the Russian fold Illegal dissolution of Parliament, funding of his election campaign by exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky (illegal in Ukraine); appointment of pro-Soviet Viktor Yanukovych as Prime Minister . Vivian Balakrishnan A stealth liberal and reformer who may in time overturn the conservatism of PAP rule Half-truths about New Media vs Old Media (eg 'New media allows wrong ideas to be reinforced'), Fears of bartop dancing accidents . Walter Woon A member of the Roundtable group continuing its critique of government policy in parliament Maintenance of family bill. Fears about human rights 'religious' 'fanatic'-s. Transformation of Roundtable member to establishment Attorney-General. . Barack Obama Post-racial America, Change, Hope, No more politics as usual, Bipartisanism, A fairly quick withdrawal from Iraq (16 months was it??) Inspiring America with his dream Only ending a 20-year relationship with a racist and deluded pastor when exposed, A not particularly bipartisan Senate voting record (lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the ACU, lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the ADA), Reverses promises on FISA and public campaign funding, ???; "It's only words, and words are all I have, to take..."

(Updated 27th July, 2008)