I have been a huge supporter of Barack. He is the guy I've been behind for quite awhile now. Check my older diaries if you wonder about that. And while I've been steeling myself for a Barack loss in November, because I think the Repug machine is too good for him to beat, I had resigned myself to still working hard for him and for the Progressive cause!
But today something changed for me...
Today, the scales fell from my eyes and I saw Barack Obama for what he truly is: a weak man and a standard politician. I really never thought I would say this...
But I am disgusted with him!
I thought he was going to lead us past that, too. And I am disappointed. But I am more disappointed in Obama's judgment than I am with his decision to disavow his friend and minister. A lot of conservatives are saying that we have to look at this whole episode as an example of Obama's lack of judgment. Do we want a president who makes bad choices in his friends?I just watched Barack throw someone who has been a huge part of his life overboard because a bunch of white-bread advisors told him he had to.
And why? Because white America was freaked out by a black preacher!
I thought Barack was going to lead us past that. I thought he was bigger than that. I thought he was different.
We saw with Bush that one's friends have a powerful impact on how a person manages a country.
Obama should have saw this coming. Reverend Wright was probably a good preacher -- he was certainly well respected within the Black community of Liberation Theology. But when his reputation was challenged, he threw Obama under the bus to protect his apparently fragile ego.
A better man would have held his tongue for a few months (until after the election in November) and then written the obligatory book, done the media circuit, and ended up with a nice retirement fund as he watched his former parishioner run the country.
But not this man. His ego demanded he speak out now, to make his case for his righteousness. And a pitiful display it was.
You can tell he was loving the attention. He was soaking that shit up like water on a sponge.
At least one of the Libertarian candidates looks interesting to me, Mike Gravel.
A couple of interesting ideas he supports:
I won't vote for Nader, so I don't have too many options.The National Initiative for Democracy Mike fully supports the National Initiative for Democracy. The NI4D is a way to bring legislative power back to the people. In many states, citizens can put measures on the ballot and Mike believes as citizens of the United States we should all have that power. Read More about The National Initiative
Progressive Taxes - A fair Tax Senator Gravel's Progressive Fair Tax proposal calls for eliminating the IRS and the income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax on new products and services. To compensate for the tax on necessities, such as food, lodging, transportation and clothing, there would be a "rebate" to reimburse taxpayers. This would be paid in a monthly check from the government to all citizens. The focus on taxing new goods would also help tackle the global climate change problem. For more information go here and here More information on what FairTax is and how it works can be found here, here, and here.
LGBT Rights Senator Gravel supports same-sex marriage and opposes the Defense of Marriage Act. He supports expanding hate-crime legislation and opposes laws that allow discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or one's gender identity or expression. Senator Gravel strongly opposes the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" legislation on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, as it restricts the rights of gay Americans. He opposes any state or national constitutional amendment that restricts the rights of the gay community.
The War on Drugs The War on Drugs has been a failure. It is time to end prohibition and start treating addiction as a public health problem. This has ravaged our inner cities, and we are losing an entire generation of men and women to prisons. We must regulate hard drugs for the purpose of treating addicts, which would emphasize rehabilitation and prevention over incarceration. We must decriminalize minor drug offenses and increase the availability and visibility of substance abuse treatment in our communities as well as in jails and prisons. The United States incarcerates more people and at a higher rate than any other industrialized nation in the world. Some 2.3 million Americans are now behind bars. This tragedy must end.
2 comments:
Awww. Barack will make an excellent president. Hang in there, Bill. I think that Obama is being foursquare. He has never endorsed Wright's extreme statements. I think Obama is admirable, genuine and pretty consistant. Give him four years in the White House!
There's seem to be a couple good points that can be made here.
First of all, you yourself acknowledge the disgusting narcissism of Wright's display. How do you think Obama felt being blindsided by such idiocy at the worst possible moment by someone he admired? (Before you protest he ought to have known better or expected it: have you ever in life been close to someone, believed that you actually "knew" them--or at least the range of their possible actions--and yet been blindsided--in a good or bad way-- at some point by one of their actions? Has this in fact happened in ALL your long term intimate relationships? Is it, maybe, the nature of relationship that we never finally--or perhaps especially--know the people we're close to?)
But to my mind, the much bigger issue is that that politician you're waiting for--competent, second tier, progressive, unbreakable, fully vetted, and never, ever, in any way, going to let you down--simply does not exist, and cannot, in that imaginary way you're envisioning him/her. The mainstream media and the Republican attack machine are perfectly designed to trip up, besmirch and character assassinate progressive politicians. The absurd length of the election cycle has made it impossible for a progressive to emerge on election with his/her virtues (as opposed to deficits) at the forefront of everyone's mind. The MSM and Republicans have the system gamed to smooth the flaw/magnify the charms of and squelch any criticisms of conservative politicians.
I was convinced that, after Bush, the MSM had learned to wary of empty conservatives short on actual competence and ideas but long on "charm" "heroism". Hadn't they learned from the terrible, moronic injustice of what they did to Gore and, in a lesser way, Kerry? Imagine America now, after 8 years of Gore. Doesn't your heart just break, looking at where we are?
But they haven't learned, Bill. Be careful, is all I'm saying, because it sounds like you're drinking their kool aid. A lot of shit has been thrown at Barack--a mountain load; it's natural that you're not finding him as pristine as at the start. Barack has had to run a brutal obstacle course and you've seen him stumble badly more than once. Try to not forget that nothing similar has, or will be, demanded of McCain.
Kai in NYC
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