There are a lot of discussions going on now about some of the "controversial" stances Obama is taking on FISA, the death penalty, and other issues.
Before we head-off with our (well used) torches and pitchforks, I think we need to look at the big picture and acknowledge the one thing we can learn from Republicans (gasp!).
What do we complain about bitterly, and almost incessantly, when it comes to our party leadership? I would submit that lack of leadership strength, the ability to unify party votes, and get the legislation we want passed, is at the top of the list.
The Republicans have demonstrated that this is one area they are far superior to us. When they vote, for better or worse, they vote lock-step. Democrats, on the other hand, tend to be much more independent and less likely to "rally around" our leaders. We demand much of them, and our support is always tentative and contingent. As soon as one of our leaders goes "the wrong way" on any one of our pet issues, we eat our own. We demand "purity to our princples". Of course those principles vary to a great degree from person to person, so we're esentially expecting a candidate or leader to please all the people, all the time.
Now, I'm not proposing we beome Republican-like in our blind faith in our leaders. I do advise that we understand the realities of the political system in which our representatives live. In order to achieve success in the political "war" against the people who are destroying our country from within our own government, we have to be willing to lose a few strategic "battles".
I believe that is exactly what Obama is doing. Crazy like a fox, he is positioning himself to achieve not only victory in the general election, but is also laying the groundwork, via a broadbased nation-wide campaign, to position the Democrats to be able to win down-ticket in a big way. That is a must-have if he is to accomplish the "big ticket" items we want him to achieve when he takes office: End the Iraq war, (near) universal healthcare coverage, and economic and environmental improvements.
We have a choice: hold his feet to the fire on every individual issue and "punish" him with our vitriol and withdraw our support everytime he doesn't do exactly as want, or, trust his judgement (to a point, obviously) and keep our eye on the big picture and the goal of having progessive leaders in the positions to make our goals reality. Don't ask the guy to win the 1/4 mile when he's running a marathon. Let him run his race and be there to give him support and cheer him on.