Did President Barack Obama mislead the American people who voted him into office? Scholar Cornell West certainly thinks so. West has joined forces with consumer advocate Ralph Nader to seek a candidate to oppose Obama in the primaries, reports the Washington Post.

West and Nader believe the president has failed to keep his campaign promises by leaning too far in the interest of corporate America and not doing enough for the country’s poor and working class citizens.

They are leading a group of liberal activists and academics in seeking six articulate candidates to debate Obama in the primaries.

“Without debates by challengers inside the Democratic Party’s presidential primaries, the liberal/majoritarian agenda will be muted and ignored,” Nader said in a statement. “The one-man Democratic primaries will be dull, repetitive, and draining of both voter enthusiasm and real bright lines between the two parties that excite voters.”

West is spearheading the New Progressive Alliance (NPA) - an online grassroots campaign focused on opposing Obama by endorsing an Independent or third-party candidate. Candidates endorsed by the NPA must publicly pledge to run on the Unified Progressive Platform and to govern based upon it when elected.

A few of the commitments the candidate must make under that platform are to promote peace and minimize military posturing, reduce the economic and political clout of corporations, support full public financing of elections, provide Medicare for all Americans, support science-based policies to curb and mitigate the effects of climate change, support measures to restore a more broadly shared prosperity, and to protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment insurance by any means necessary.

“We need to put strong Democratic pressure on President Obama in the name of poor and working people,” Dr. West has said. “His administration has tilted too much toward Wall Street; we need policies that empower Main Street.”

QUESTION: Do you think West has a point or is he just hating on Obama?

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