Dear Kossacks:
Writing this diary is a fool's errand, but this community is ostensibly created to help us get more and better Democrats, and to discuss it.
First, I will start by saying that I like Barack Obama very much. I lived in his district on the south side of Chicago, and he was the commencement speaker at my law school. He will get my vote and my money in November if he is the nominee.
But he is not the progressive messiah. I have watched this community--one that started out so rabidly in favor of the elbow-throwing left-wing politics of Howard Dean go through many phases.
And I will tell you this: if your hope is for a transformational figure, Obama will be one. If your hope is for a progressive/liberal transformational figure, Obama will not be one.
I'll tell you why on the flip.
Second, let me say that full disclosure requires that I state that I have already voted for Hillary. But I have no illusions about her. She will not be transformational. She will not implement a social democracy in America.
But people that are smarter than you and me know that in order to achieve many of our left wing goals, we need to start with getting people to believe in government as a force for good again. We need people to believe their tax dollars are spent better than they do now. They need to believe that the government will help them in the event of a hurricane, earthquake, or other natural disaster--not just in the even of a terrorist attack.
And those smart people think that the key way to begin to turn that tide is to get universal health care. And I know many of you Obama fans have turned your back on Paul Krugman--even though he began speaking up against Bush before almost anyone else with his reach. But, if you read his column today, and you saw the results of that study, you have to ask yourself this:
If healthcare is the key to a progressive future, how can you support Obama's plan? Do you think his claim that "Congress will change it anyway" is responsible?
If Hillary says she will end the war in Iraq, and will do more to get us universal health care, then why are we making the unelectability meme a self-fulfilling prophecy?
If Obama is the nominee, he will get my support. But I don't have any illusion that he will transform our country in a progressive direction. He will probably do a lot to heal the divide between red and blue, but in doing so, he won't be invoking a lot of progressive ideas. And he's never pretended to run as a candidate of the left.
So, I understand your anger at Hillary for her AUMF vote, but I do not understand your fervor for Obama.
So, let's get out there and vote. But Obama will break your heart if you think he is here to make the values that most of this community shares a reality.
Updated by Attorney at Arms at Thu May 19, 2011 at 09:07 AM PDT
I look pretty damn smart 3 years and 4 months later, don't I?