I’m pretty sour on the Obama campaign at this point of the juncture. I’m baffled about the hype. Liberal white guilt? Some so beaten by 7 years of Bush that they latch on to anyone selling “hope”? People that buy into the “American Dream” b.s. rhetoric? And Obama supporters are undoubtedly the most uncritical supporters of any candidate on this side of the aisle The guy can do no wrong in their eyes. It’s ridiculous, like he was Jim Jones or something. I tend not to like candidates that have that cult of personality thing going on, because if he wins, and pushes through bad legislation or ideas, his most ardent supporters are going to go along for the ride, unquestioning. We already have that with Bush. I don’t want it with Obama.
He’s positioned himself as the ‘change’ candidate, yet just about everything he talks about is middle-of-the-road, and play-it-safe. I really don’t think the word “bold” is in his eloquent vocabulary. And that’s what irks me so much… at this point in the game, we need a fighter, not someone who tries to be everything to everybody. There’s a war going on here, and I’m not talking about Iraq. So the only thing he’s got going for him in my eyes is that he’s not Hillary Clinton. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
I’ve been trying to avoid writing about the Presidential election, at least in terms of the Dems, because although the roster is certainly a bit stronger than it was in recent elections past, I still think they’re all a bunch of corporatist hacks to varying degrees. I suppose that they’d be an improvement over what we have now, but I’m not expecting any substantial move forward from any of them. Just look at Hillary’s new healthcare plan… it still includes the insurance companies as a major player. That’s like having guys who still beat their wives working on a task force to stop domestic violence.
Anyways, back to the hype. What prompted this little tirade is something in the WaPo this morning, about Obama going out and touting his antiwar speech from 2002. Now, Obama seems to forget that he’s also a Senator, and is in a position to raise a lot of hell, should he find those balls of his that are seemingly absent. He also fails to realize that by doing something bold in the Senate now, whether it be forcefully introducing some antiwar legislation or filibustering the living shit out of some toothless proposal, he will force the other candidates to step up their antiwar positioning as well. This ‘don’t have the votes’ crap is getting old. Although it may be true, there is no reason to give up the fight, because the more attention brought to it, the more the GOP owns the war, and therefore, the bloodier the bloodbath in November. This is incredibly significant, because there are two other candidates, Dodd and Clinton, who are active members of the Senate. It’d be so nice to see them trying to outmaneuver each other in the Senate to be the most antiwar candidate. Obama talks a good game about how he’ll end the war, if elected. Why do we have to wait? He has the power to throw a major wrench in the works and change the dialog, right now. But that requires courage, something that doesn’t seem to be in Obama’s character at this particular time. He’s too busy enthralling his uncritical supporters and trying not to offend anyone. Audacity of hype, indeed.
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