The Obama/Biden ticket got my vote because I had such an overwhelming dislike for the McCain/Palin ticket (mostly the Palin part), not because I embraced the Obama/Biden campaign ideas and promises. Other than Palin, I saw three seasoned and reasonable political opportunists with the standard-issue pro-corporation, pro-war agenda.

Aside from a few issues, and apart from the impact Palin would have had, I don't see much Obama has done that's much different from what I think McCain would have done. Pro-bank? Check. Pro-corporation? Check. Pro-war? Check. Pro-insurance company? Check.

This administration does not want the kind of change liberal folks like myself are looking for. I welcome some of the intangible changes, such as the racial barrier being broken and the resulting dialogue, being proud of a President who can actually speak clearly, and an improved view of the United States in the eyes of the world.

But real things that impact me, like the economy, health care and endless wars? I don't see any change at all. The premise that those with the wealth know best, know all and must be protected at all costs has not changed. The premise that the house should continue to win vis-a-vis health insurers has not changed. And the premise that US corporate interests in Afghanistan and Iraq must be protected at the peril of both the citizenry of the US and the strategic interests of the US has not changed.

The corporate handouts to the banks did nothing to help anyone in the US other than bankers. The handouts to states for "shovel-ready" projects only delayed construction company layoffs by several months (and artificially deflated unemployment numbers), and gave opportunists like Texas governor Rick Perry a platform to bluster about the fiscal irresponsibility of Democrats.

The answer to Afghanistan, a country that couldn't threaten the US outside of its own borders, is send more troops/escalate the war. Um, what is the objective here? Are we protecting a pipeline, a people or contracts for the continuous sale of Predator drones?

And health care? What a joke. It's as if we have caught the casino owners in the act of rigging the games and now are asking them to rewrite the rulebook so they won't get caught again. Nevermind the fact that they will continue rigging the game.

I have a better approach. Get out of Iraq and Afghanistan and save a bundle of money. Get off the oil tit and we won't need any pipelines other than the ones that already criscross the US, nor will we need to protect oil interests in the middle east. The money we save from the war can go to a real health care solution that's not predicated on the continuous increase in profit, market share and stock price the insurers demand (you know, like every other country in the world has) and into making alternative energy, like oil from algae or solar towers. All it requires is a fuck you to health insurers and oil companies. Our national security improves, the economy grows (in spite of losses by unsustainable oil and insurance interests) and the health and welfare of our citizenry improves.

That's change I can believe in, and it's a little more satisfying than, "hey, this president can actually read a teleprompter!"