"It's all about money and votes and power."

     There is an article from the New Republic, found in Discover the Networks, that gives greater insight into what motivates Barack Obama... from lessons he learned at the breast of Saul Alinsky, father of community organizing, and author of Rules for Radicals.
     To many readers, this is neither new, nor surprising.
     The article states that, from the beginning of his political career...

Obama had already been applying Alinsky's core concepts--rigorous analysis of an opponent's strengths, a hardheaded understanding of self-interest as a fundamental organizing principle, a knack for agitating people to act, and a streetwise sense of when a raw show of power is necessary--to situations beyond the South Side.

     When describing how Obama had knocked his opponents off the Senate ballot, including his mentor Alice Palmer, the author wrote this...

Obama internalized the Alinsky maxim to always live in "the world as it is and not as we would like it to be," and, starting with his race against Palmer, he put it to use. In the world as we would like it to be, every election should have more than one contestant. In the world as it is, especially in Chicago, you challenge your opponents' signatures and knock them off the ballot.

     Finally, probably revealing the most about Obama, is this passage...

Speaking of what he learned as an organizer, Obama himself told me, "I think that oftentimes ordinary citizens are taught that decisions are made based on the public interest or grand principles, when, in fact, what really moves things is money and votes and power."

     That philosophy surely explains Obama's actions. When his policies seem to run contrary to what is good for the American people, just re-read that quote. And you will see why.