I get around the progressive blogosphere and have encountered much consternation against Obama over various issues recently. He is not fighting FISA at an acceptable level. He is screwing up by advocating that religion take a role in fighting poverty. He is trying to hard to "move to the center". Going further back there were complaints about his AIPAC pandering, his healthcare plan, and a number of other things. I agree with many of the criticisms. I understand the concern and outrage. But Obama is not the problem I see here.
The problem I see lies in the expectation that Obama was going to be some sort of Progressive messiah. He was going to cut down the evil doers and lead us all the promised land. As much as I would love to wake up tomorrow in a more perfect union, I know that our Democracy was not dismantled in a night. And it will not be restored in a day either. It is going to take years to pull the United States out of the disastrous policies of the last half century. It may even take decades. The way we will achieve this is through the grassroots organizing and State/Local politics. It will not be done by one man sitting in the oval office.
Continued criticism of Obama is a good thing. We should hold all our politicians to the fire in order to remind them who is really in charge. Right now, in the current state of progressive politics, we do not wield enough influence to elect a President that embodies purely progressive values. This is why Obama is the perfect candidate for this election. He is smart enough and bold enough to start us down the path of change. He is also smart enough to know that he will need a coalition of voters to win the election. Many people will be let down by this, but we should see it as a good thing. Whether Obama follows through on his promises or fails us, things are going to change for the better.
In the meantime we should remember that this radical form of the right came to power through small elections. Well positioned Senators and Congressmen. State legislatures and Governors. Mayors and City Councils. These are places where we have the ability to not only hold our officials accountable, but to run candidates that share our vision for a better tomorrow. From the ground up is how we will take back America. And here, again, is where Obama shines. We are going to have massive voter turn out and a whole new generation of voters who, even if they do not share all of our ideals, see that we are on the wrong course and are ready to do something about it. These new Democratic and Independent voters need time to come back to the center. Public opinion will take time to come around. In the meantime we are electing a President who has the skill and ability to communicate to those we are trying to bring on board.
In short, celebrate the movement and celebrate the fact that we are going to start down the path we have been waiting for. Understand that change will not come overnight and that Obama is the right man for the current situation. Finally, do not let various issues dampen our collective spirits. We can do this, we are doing this, and we will persevere.
Yes we can.