In late 2004, I made the following prediction:

The Democratic Party will either go the way of the Whigs, or undergo a profound metamorphosis whereby the current leadership of the party (DNC, the Clintons, U.S. Senators, etc.) is replaced with anti-Corporate leadership.

In late 2006, I made another prediction:

In November 2008, Barack Obama will be elected as the 44th President of the United States.

If you follow the above link, you’ll see that I made this last prediction based on the following observations:

• America is entering a period of profound national crisis every bit as dangerous as any other in its history
• During previous such crises, Americans have chosen as President a profoundly charismatic leader; if Obama is anything, he is certainly that; moreover, no other 2008 candidate was or is
• This pending crisis can be characterized as “People vs. Corporations”, and in that battle, Obama is squarely and unambiguously on the side of the People

On that last point, recall that when asked to identity a core substantive difference between his policies and those of Hillary Clinton, Obama would say that Clinton favors and accepts campaign money from big business lobbyists, whereas he does not. That was the only substantive distinction I heard consistently coming from Obama.

Further, he has played both sides of most political coins. e.g. pro-Israel/pro-Palestine; pro-Left/pro-Right; pro-secular/pro-religious; and so on. But one huge exception to this “playing of both sides” by Obama concerns the People/Corporations divide. To my knowledge, over the past 18 months, he has never played the Corporate side of that divide.

If you still have any doubts about Obama on this score, read his speech given today in Raleigh, N.C., on the American economy. Following that link, use your browser to search for the term “corporat” in that speech. I count eight such references. And in every case, that reference by Obama was pejorative toward the corporations.

Here’s the video:

It’s coming, man. Civil war in America. I just don’t know who is going to be fighting whom. I mean there’s no geographical distinction between People and Corporations. What uniforms would the Corporations wear? What uniforms could they wear since they’re just a legal fiction?

Any of you guys have any ideas of how this battle will take shape? Theory brings me to the unavoidable crossroads of “People vs. Corporations”. I just don’t know where the road leads from there, especially when the President is on the side of the People.

Maybe the coming years will “just” be the Second Great Depression, rather than Civil War II. Here’s hoping.