Friday, July 11, 2008

And then, there is the FISA vote.

Well, it's time to turn off the gush spigot and voice my dismay at Obama's vote in favor of the deeply flawed FISA bill. I think it's wrong -- substantively, ethically, and politically.

On substance: A real constitutional lawyer -- the thoughtful Glenn Greenwald comments here .

On ethics: The American Constitution was trashed and everyone who had a role in that travesty should be held accountable.

On politics: Obama has forfeited a priceless treasure that he can never fully regain: trust. Fewer volunteers. Less impassioned. Crushed dreams. Feeling of betrayal.

But, I fully agree with Greenwald that:
Having said all of that, the other extreme -- declaring that Obama is now Evil Incarnate, no better than John McCain, etc. etc. -- is no better. Obama is a politician running for political office, driven by all the standard, pedestrian impulses of most other people who seek and crave political power. It's nothing more or less than that, and it is just as imperative today as it was yesterday that the sickly right-wing faction be permanently removed from power and that there is never any such thing as the John McCain Administration (as one commenter ironically noted yesterday, at the very least, Obama is far more likely to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will rule that the bill Obama supports is patently unconstitutional).

And I find this op-ed by Gail Collins and this comment, too (despite the wooly right brain-left brain analogy), worth considering.

So, yes, in the end, I am a loyal Obama foot soldier. I am pissed, but not betrayed. It doesn't make sense to put any politician on a pedestal. More on this later.

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