I need some of the self appointed gurus around here to tell me because I don't know anymore. Who's a real progressive? Who's a real liberal? Who's a moderate? I need one of you saying there aren't enough progressives in Obama's administration to tell the rest of us who thought we were progressives and liberals, who are pretty happy with PE Obama and his cabinet so far, just exactly what the litmus test is. I'm sure I'm not the only one who needs to be educated. Is it like baseball, three strikes and you're out? Is there a list or manifesto somewhere? Because I didn't see the damn thing.
Excuse me while I go on a rant for a minute or two.
Is it being against the war in Iraq from the beginning, because that would leave out Biden wouldn't it? Is it always being pro-choice? Because that would have meant that Obama couldn't have accepted Sen Bob Casey's endorsement. Is it ever in your career having worked with or agreed with a Republican? Because hell that would leave out Obama himself. Are you a progressive if you support gay marriage, but only a moderate if you support civil unions? Can you still be a liberal if you want affirmative action to be based on economics instead of race or does that push you into the dreaded moderate category? Can you only support alternative fuels and no more drilling anywhere ever again or what? Just what exactly gets you into the tribe and what gets you the boot? And just who get's to decide this exactly? Is it the whole of an appointee's career that gets looked at or do you just wait until they do something you don't like and then that's it, they lose their "progressive, liberal" card and have all privileges that come with it revoked? I need to know, because right now I feel like I'm back in my childhood having someone tell me I'm not "black enough" for speaking proper English and having some white friends.
If I'm not up in arms about any of Obama's cabinet picks am I progressive enough? You know some of us aren't interested in turning into the left's version of the right's wingnut Borg. Has it occured to you that there was little difference in opinions and positions in the Bush Administration because they had a base that howled anytime someone didn't adhear to their strict notion of what a "conservative" was? Have you forgotten what that lack of diversity of opinion cost this country? You think this country would be perfect if only people like you were in Obama's cabinet? Some of us voted for Obama because we knew he does his own thing. If you think you own him, his appointments and his Presidency because you donated to his campaign then you are no better then the oil companies, big corporations and other "special interests" that owned his predecessor. Is it too much to ask to wait until these people actually get sworn in and do something? Or is it that some of you are perpetual whiners who had the cover of the Bush Administration to mask the fact that you just like whining all of the damn time? I swear I've never seen so many sore winners! We won damnit! We won! We can be critical, but Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick if some of you can become this disenchanted before the man is even sworn in, when will you be happy?
I don't know who some of you made Obama out to be, but as far as I can see he is exactly who I thought he was. He's is his own person who won't be boxed in by anyone. He is a liberal who believes in a diversity of opinion. He is a man who will take smart and competent over lazy ideology any day of the week. He is candidate who stated he was running his campaign in such a way that he couldn't be owned, by anyone. He makes his decisions for reason we can't always see. Remeber when we wanted him to rip McCain a new one in the first debate and thought he lost because he didn't? Who was right and who was wrong? Remeber when he let Palin have her moment in the sun and we were all "woe as me, the sky is falling"? He knew all she had to do was start talking without a teleprompter and he'd never have to say a word to attack her. Did you listen to his speech in 2004? Did you hear him talk about a team of rivals? If you thought he was bullshitting, that's on you. If you don't get how this man operates at this point you haven't been paying attention either.
Ok, rant over. Proceed to agree or disagree. We should be able to both around here and not get kicked out of the tribe for doing it.