Everyone loves Obama. That's understandable, he's very lovable. And he's a great speaker. Unfortunately, infatuation can render a lover blind to any possible shortcomings. And so it is with Obama's supporters: they love him, therefore they want him as president. If he has faults, they don't want to hear them.
The cornerpiece of Obama's campaign (the latest one, at least) is that he brings people together. After examining some of his record, which is very sparse, I am very troubled by what he has compromised by bringing the wrong people together.
There is the issue of healthcare in Illinois. An article in the Boston Globe points out that Obama sponsored legislation that was originally intended to provide healthcare for every Illinois resident, but he changed it dramatically after he met with insurance lobbyists. "The original presentation of the bill was the House version that we radically changed — we radically changed — and we changed in response to concerns that were raised by the insurance industry," Obama said, according to the session transcript. On healthcare, lobbyists one, people of Illinois zero.
In the March issue of The Progressive, political analyst Ruth Conniff reveals that, on nuclear power, "getting to yes meant Obama ultimately compromised on regulations that protected citizens from toxic leaks from a nuclear power plant in Illinois, weakening legislation that activists supported and he himself initially championed." On toxic leaks, lobbyists one, people of Illinois zero.
In a democracy legislators are supposed to represent the people ... you might even call them lobbyists for the people. But these days big business lobbyists have gotten themselves a seat at the legislative table where people cannot be, and with that access have managed to drown out the peoples' voice. Legislators find themselves representing the needs of big business, not the people.
For eight-and-a-half years we have been living with the results of this process. Our current president concedes everything to big business lobbyists and nothing to the people. He has an excuse: he is a Republican.
So what's Obama's excuse? His campaign actually touts his ability to "bring people together" as a plus, claiming he brings about "real change ... not by dividing but by bringing people together to get things done," according to the Globe article. (Haven't we heard that one before? Remember "I'm a uniter, not a divider"?) Conceding everything to industry is "real change"? Since when?
We don't need another president who allows lobbyists to sweet-talk him into making deals for them. But blinded by love, supporters close their eyes to even the possibility of any Obama shortcoming. They would rather kill the messenger than consider that Obama just may not be qualified to be president. Motivational speaker, yes, president, no.
When it comes to choosing a president, we cannot allow ourselves to be blinded by love.