How Obama Reshaped Reality and the Rise of the Digital Deep State

The Evolution of the Deep State

• 💡 The concept of the "Deep State" or "administrative state" dates back to Eisenhower's warning about a permanent expert class.
• 🚀 This piece argues that the digital age, particularly after 2000, fundamentally changed how information is communicated and public opinion is formed.
• 🎯 The shift from 20th-century media to digital platforms has enabled a new form of political messaging and control.

Manufacturing Consent in the Digital Age

• 🧠 Walter Lippmann's concept of "manufacturing consent" is re-examined in the context of social media.
• 💬 Politicians can now actively shape public opinion rather than just react to it, a significant departure from previous eras.
• 🎭 The Obama White House, through figures like Ben Rhodes, leveraged the collapse of print media to forge a "new reality online" using social media platforms.
• 🌐 This created "echo chambers" where a new class of experts credentialed each other, bypassing traditional gatekeepers.

The Obama-Era Messaging Machine

• 🔑 The Iran deal is presented as a case study where the Obama administration used new messaging tools to sell a policy that seemed counter to conventional US interests.
• 📱 The "collapse of the world of print" left Obama with little choice but to "forge a new reality online," as admitted by his speechwriter Ben Rhodes.
• 📈 This machinery allowed for the creation of feedback loops, influencing reporters, staffers, and public perception.
• 🎭 The results were often presented as naturally occurring thoughts and feelings, a form of "virtue signaling."

The Digital Deep State's Enforcement Arm

• 🚨 The Obama-era messaging apparatus evolved to include enforcement arms of the federal bureaucracy, such as the Justice Department and FBI.
• 🚫 Large-scale changes in societal norms were legislated outside of traditional democratic processes through "top-down social pressure machinery."
• 🗣️ "Rapid onset political enlightenment" describes the sudden, often overnight, adoption of new beliefs and phrases, akin to social contagion.
• 🚫 This machinery was used to censor dissenting opinions on various topics, from COVID-19 to DEI programs.

The Collapse and Legacy of Obama's System

• 💥 The election of Donald Trump, and later events like the Hunter Biden laptop story, demonstrated the power of this digital apparatus.
• 🔒 Control over digital platforms, rather than just the White House, became the substantial source of power.
• 📉 The piece argues that Obama's system, built on controlling digital narratives and social proof, has largely collapsed, partly due to its own hubris and the actions of figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
• ⚠️ A warning is issued for the right not to emulate the same tactics, emphasizing the need for a clear "plumb line" beyond just loyalty to a political figure.