Thinking of what FDR always said to Eleanor [View All]

[eridani]

It's no secret that the New Deal was a much better deal for whites and males than for women and minorities. Look at the work not covered by Social Security and unemployment compensation--farm labor and household labor. Might that conceivably have had anything to do with the race and/or sex of a lot of the people doing that kind of work?

Eleanor certainly thought so, and was always pushing FDR to do more for disenfranchised groups, and in a more leftward direction generally.

According to the ER biography, FDR would always respond to that sort of thing by saying "If you want that to happen, just tell your friends that they have to get organized and MAKE me do it."

What Obama does after we elect him will depend on how well we can organize to MAKE him do things. He's said as much himself--he is asking people to stay involved.