Does the riot inside move on?
I think it's clear that in some ways Daily Kos's torrid love affair with Barack Obama, so passionate for so long, has lost some of its spark. Sure, it's easy to blame him. He's putting his career first, and he just isn't wooing us like he used to. But let's be honest, there's a point in any relationship when the fires die down, the honeymoon phase ends, and both parties need to learn to compromise and accept the flaws of the other. I have no doubt that at the end of the day, Obama and the DKos community will find that they have a strong, secure bond based on mutual respect, even if that spring-time euphoria is never rekindled.
But in the interests of helping everyone deal with the transition from infatuation to commitment, let me attempt to remind us all why we fell in love with Barack Obama in the first place...
Iraq
Barack Obama opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. In 2002, as the conventional thinking in Washington lined up for war, Obama had the judgment and courage to speak out against the war. He said the war would lead to "an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences." In January 2007, Obama introduced legislation to responsibly end the war in Iraq, with a phased withdrawal of troops engaged in combat operations.
We have a candidate who has consistently opposed the war in Iraq. We have a candidate who realizes that a decline in violence is not good enough if we don't have the political progress to end the Iraqi civil war. We have a candidate who has a careful, measured plan to remove combat troops from Iraq by the end of next year.
Energy and the Environment
"Well, I don't believe that climate change is just an issue that's convenient to bring up during a campaign. I believe it's one of the greatest moral challenges of our generation. That's why I've fought successfully in the Senate to increase our investment in renewable fuels. That's why I reached across the aisle to come up with a plan to raise our fuel standards... And I didn't just give a speech about it in front of some environmental audience in California. I went to Detroit, I stood in front of a group of automakers, and I told them that when I am president, there will be no more excuses — we will help them retool their factories, but they will have to make cars that use less oil."
We have a candidate who wants an "Apollo Program" of energy. We have a candidate committed to reducing carbon emissions 80% by 2050. We have a candidate who realizes that "going green" can reassert America's position as an economic leader instead of dragging the economy down. We have a candidate who wants to make sure that America is a leader on climate change, from our own businesses to the international community.
Healthcare
"We now face an opportunity — and an obligation — to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday's health care debates... My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less. If you are one of the 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance, you will have it after this plan becomes law. No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition or illness."
We have a candidate who is committed to insuring every citizen in this country. We have a candidate who will fight to insure people regardless of pre-existing conditions. We have a candidate who knows we need to modernize and simplify our medical system. We have a candidate who isn't willing to let people go without medicine because he refuses to allow fair competition among pharmaceutical companies.
Security
"Incredibly, security remains voluntary at (chemical) plants, despite strong warnings from the 9/11 commission that a strike at just one of the nation's major plants could release chemicals capable of killing one million people or more, according to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. He and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have introduced legislation that would require plant owners to beef up security. The question is why President Bush hasn't been pushing for tougher measures all along."
We have a candidate who views national security as a problem to be solved, not an issue to be exploited. We have a candidate who will work to implement the findings of the 9/11 commission. We have a candidate who seeks to protect us not by starting unnecessary wars, but by building international alliances. We have a candidate who won't look for phantom WMDs in Iraq, but will work with members of both parties to secure the weapons we know are a threat to the US and the world.
The United States of America
" The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."
We have a candidate who respects people regardless of political affiliations. We have a candidate who's ready to fight for votes in all fifty states--and has begun with an ad buy in 18 states, 14 of which were red states in 2004. We have a candidate who understands how to motivate and inspire people to vote for the first time, to donate for the first time, to volunteer for the first time.
Most of all, we have a candidate who's bringing these values, these ideas, and these policies to the highest office in the land. This is the big one, the presidency. This will be the man who holds the veto pen, who appoints our supreme court justices, and who commands our armed forces.
And he's going to win.
I guess that's my love letter, so please excuse me while I go and send him flowers.