People tell me it's a sin
To know and feel too much within.
I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring.
She was born in spring, but I was born too late
Blame it on a simple twist of fate.
Bob Dylan - A Simple Twist of Fate
I've come to Kos far later than most everyone here. I perused the site once in awhile over the last few years, yet didn't start posting until a few weeks ago. Like most on here I have been a passionate supporter of Sen. Obama since I first saw him at the convention in 2004. It was then I knew that someday this graceful man would be President. While many of my more moderate liberal friends told me that this year was too early for him to run, I shrugged and said strike while the iron is hot. Time dictates when it is time to run, and in no other year or decade of recent memory would Sen. Obama have had a realistic chance to win. I think America is on the verge of a shift in the center right paradigm.
I think we tend to forget in that speech of 2004 he outlined a new type of political movement. It gets called "post-partisan" often enough. I don't really like that term because it hangs more responsibility on his shoulders than even I think it is possible for him to fulfill. America is a long way from "post-partisan". What we all loved about that speech and you will also find it in both of his books is the idea that a Democrat could talk so easily about so many things that previous Democrat were unable to articulate. We've heard for so many years how "un-patriotic", "godless", "weak" we are that when someone finally came along that could shed those labels and re-define the rules...we were excited. I think because of the Democratic Primary and the constraints in terms of the electoral pool, we thought that running a strict left platform was finally possible. We seem to forget he wasn't running for the Presidency; he was running to be the head of his party. Now the real game is afoot.
I knew the game would shift a bit once he claimed the nomination. I knew that there would be things that disappointed me as well as surprised me. There aren't any deal breakers for me except the war in Iraq and getting out as soon as possible. I am not so foolish or stubborn to think there won't be other wars, in fact I know that the war in Afghanistan and in a way Pakistan (We don't say that, do we?) are necessary.
FISA? That was a blow to my solar plexus. It still is and I don't really understand all of the intricacies of the bill itself and frankly I am little dumbfounded that it received as much support in the House as it did. Yet just as FDR ran on support of the League of Nations and dumped it because FDR knew that winning wasn't everything; it was the only thing....Obama realizes that without Victory all of these things are insignificant.
I think the thing that surprises me is that finally some people are starting to feel something and they should really just go back and read THE AUDACITY OF HOPE. It's the blueprint for Sen. Obama and perhaps we should realize there will be cases and times when he takes what some consider "Conservative" stances on issues and legislation. He is not Jerry Brown, Gus Hall, George Mcgovern and thank the stars for that. In 40 years we've had two Democratic Presidents. One, ultimately a failure for his inability to solve an energy crisis that we are only know understanding and the other a charismatic leader who turned the democratic party into Republican Lite....
I trust Sen. Obama and as I heard in a recent conferance...We are not in Sweden. If we were the idea that we could keep him completely left would be not only likely, but realistic. Sen. Obama has his work cut out for him. While no other year previously would he have had a chance...he also will inherit a country in as much trouble as FDR did after Hoover. We must fundamentally shift our entire view of energy and build a NEW DEAL for the 21st Century. That doesn't mean we shouldn't write his campaign letters and try to hold his feet to the fire. I've written many over FISA.
I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING THAT MANY OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS MAY DISAGREE WITH...
I WANT TO WIN....YES....I WANT TO WIN. I KNOW WHAT THE OTHER SIDE IS OFFERING. AS ARIANNA HUFFINGTON SO APTLY POINTED OUT YESTERDAY. THE GOP IS USING McCAIN AS A TROJAN HORSE TO MAINTAIN POWER>
This is not I want to win by shedding my ideals....IT IS WITHIN REASON AND WITHOUT COMPLETELY BETRAYING ALL IDEALS. I WANT OBAMA THE STAR WARS HERO AND I WANT OBAMA THE HARDENED AND INDEFATIGABLE POLITICIAN BOTH....YOU NEED SHARP ELBOWS IN WASHINGTON WHEN YOU GO TO THE PAINT.
I ACCEPT WHAT HE HAS TO DO BECAUSE I KNOW THAT A PRESIDENT OBAMA CAN GET A LOT MORE DONE WITH A MAJORITY RULE IN BOTH HOUSES THAN A SEN. OBAMA WITH A MAJORITY IN BOTH HOUSES YET A PRESIDENT McCAIN PRESIDING OVER....IT WILL BE VETO CITY.....IT WILL MEAN THAT THOSE 5/4 DECISIONS WILL ALWAYS GO AGAINST US AND IF WE ARE UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LOSE ONE JUSTICE...THE NEXT 20 YEARS WILL BE HELL.
I WANT TO WIN!!!