I know a lot of you are stunned, shocked, and hurt right now over Obama's support of the new FISA bill. Some of you have even stated on this site that you will no longer contribute to Obama's campaign, that you will no longer actively volunteer for him, and even - most troubling for Democrats - will not vote for him in the fall. He has, in many of your eyes, let you down and voted to limit the protections of the Constitution. He is not the progressive that you believed him to be.
Let me say that I hear you and I know how hard today's vote was for you. It was for me as well. If you will allow me, however, I would like to go back to the 1860 election for President to provide some context on why Obama chose to do what he did. I am not a historian, nor am I a FISA expert, but I think the little knowledge I do have may shed some light on the bigger stakes we have to keep in mind.
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