Let me clear my throat before attempting to clear the air.
Ehhhhh-HEGMMM. There, better.
A lot of what I have said in the past about Barack Obama back when he was a Senator and a candidate for the presidency still stands. The moves made by his transition team and some of the names floated around as nominees for cabinet positions don't change that.
So let's go over a few things. Again.
Here's what I wrote July 8, 2008:
Many of us here have said that Barack Obama is moving to the center. Some of the same people who are saying this now, I would wager, didn't spend a lot of time checking out exactly who the Senator is, who he was, and what he believes.
Because like any individual who is honest with themselves rather than playing at being a demagogue with an artificial ideology, Barack Obama's ideology is more mature. Some of the positions he holds could be called liberal, and some could be called conservative. Some are in the middle as well, and still others defy classification.
There may not be a single label that suits him completely, as is the case with many of us. Some of us are liberals to a T, and that's fine so long as that's really what you believe.
But we have to realize that we're voting for a person, not a label. Everyone's experiences are unique, and shape their worldview in a unique way that is sometimes difficult to understand for an outsider who doesn't know them. Maybe this explains some of the confusion we've been having in this community as to who Barack Obama "really is."
I commented in the same diary:
We shouldn't hold people to unrealistic standards on ideology, and that includes ourselves. It's easy to become a demagogue, but I think an obsession with purity belies an unexamined conscience.
Here is what I wrote July 1, 2008:
There's quite a few things wrong with the now commonly held assumption that Obama is "moving to the center." Some people say he's doing the politically expedient thing and selling we lefties down the river. Still others insist he was never that progressive to begin with, and has always been a centrist Democrat.
First of all, a person's political ideology is hard to identify in the first place because it's so very subjective. One person's center is another person's far-left.
Second, how is it that we Kossacks, who are normally so sharp when it comes to detecting a manufactured media outrage story, are suddenly so credulous? Are we now listening to the very serious people who are telling us that our nominee is moving to the center?
And finally, even as we ask ourselves whether Obama is moving to the center, he is continuing to fight for progressive ideas -- even though we may not notice it in our current state of limp-noodle mumbling and hem-hawing.
(snip)
There is nothing at all wrong with criticism of our candidate, so long as it's respectful, polite, and not unnecessarily inflammatory.
(But) even as we cajole and kick tires, we have to give credit where it is due, and congratulate our nominee for the things he does right. We must point out our disagreements and our agreements with equal enthusiasm. This is a people-powered campaign, and it thrives or dies based on the quality of our involvement. Barack Obama needs our help and our direction, smart cookie though he is.
My conclusion from the same diary:
Conclusion: Even if Obama is moving to the center, he's still a center-left candidate that many center-right people could vote for.
You can change that now to read: Even if Obama is moving to the center (which I didn't think he was doing then, and I still don't think he is doing now) he's still a center-left president that many center-right citizens can support as president.
Enough flashbacks. Let me restate what I've said again and again about the man who is going to be our next president
Barack Obama has never pretended not to be who he is. He is a person who believes in building a consensus around issues.
On some issues, he's a centrist. On some, he's liberal. He's even conservative on a couple. But so am I. And most people are, if they were honest with themselves. Very few people fit any label 100 percent of the time on every issue.
And besides that, he likes to surround himself with people who will disagree with him now and then because he knows this will lead to a better outcome. Look at Joe Biden. They have had some rather large disagreements in the past.
No matter who these appointees and nominees wind up being, they're still going to have to line up and answer to a man who have proven himself to us time and again as a principled, decent, honest, wise-beyond-his-years person who also happens to have an incredible sense of what is possible to get done politically at any given time.
You've often heard it said that politics is the art of the possible. And the simple fact that this man we supported is standing where he is makes a lot of things possible that wouldn't have been if another person were standing in his place.
As campaign gives way to presidency, Obama is already getting much more specific about what he intends to do.
As someone who was supported by SO many different kinds of Americans (the biggest tent a Democratic presidential candidate has built in some time), some people will inevitably be turned off.
But as Obama has said before, this is what presidents do. They must be honest with the American people about what needs to be done and make the right choices whether they are popular or not.
Will he do everything we want him to do? No. That would be a silly thing to expect. But he's been President-Elect now for a grand total of 15 days. Isn't that a little early to be running around sarcastically screaming, "THIS is the change we can believe in?"
Barack Obama has said what he plans to do, and he will do those things. He's just that kind of person. We should be excited about this prospect because he's made some truly daring and inspiring statements.
Right now, this man is leading a team of people to determine how the next four years will go in the White House, and he's choosing the people he thinks will be best to help him make those things happen.
We trusted in his plan to get this far, so let's give him a little benefit of the doubt to get that far. And if you simply can't trust someone who has thus far delivered what he has promised, at least wait until the confetti settles on Inauguration Day before shaking your fists at the guy.