Whatever It Takes
June 23rd, 2008 -- Posted in American Politics | 7 Comments »I will say that today is one of “those” days for me, I was searching for a legal document only to find out that the lady who cleans this house once a week has thrown it away. Beyond that issue I am a little disappointed in Senator Obama after his agreement to support the bill to provide the Telecom companies with retroactive immunity for illegally spying on many Americans. The Senator has later stated that he will support a “compromise” bill that does not provide retroactive immunity therefore allowing the 40+- lawsuits to go ahead against the companies in question. I lean more towards the right when it comes to national security but my big problem here is that in the last week, we have seen Senator Obama capitulate on two issues that many liberals care about. The first being the promise to stay within the public finance system and the second to filibuster any telecom immunity bill.
I understand declining public funding given the huge amounts of money the RNC has in the bank along with the questionable practices of the Republican allied 527’s. I hope Senator Obama uses that money effectively to combat the increasing smear campaigns while helping to spread his message around the country. I am still dissapointed though, and it begs the question for both candidates, what are they willing to do to win the election?
As a liberal and a Democrat, is it better than Senator Obama wins the general election through tactics rather than principles and message? After 8 years am I willing to let Senator McCain run with the GOP policies to continue the degradation of the American economy? I can answer that question with a resounding No. Senator Obama, despite these actions over the last week is still the better person to lead America and I will continue to support him because he is a man of character playing the political game to ensure that we have a Democrat in the White House next year.
That does not remove him of the responsibility of keeping on message, I encourage the Senator to filibuster the bill if retroactive telecom immunity is included. Senator Obama also needs to make sure that he remains consistent because he is running primarily on character and judgment and it will be a shame to lose because of a few bad decisions to appease those voters focused on “national security.”
The above picture is of a snippet of the latest USA Today poll but I want you to pay close attention to these three statements:
- Understands the problems Americans face in their daily lives
- Cares about the needs of people like you
- Is independent in his thoughts and actions
These statements illustrate quite the picture of the current state of the campaign because they demonstrate that Senator Obama’s message of his character, judgement and values are resonating with the American people. This is great news and I am hoping the Senator picked up a copy of USA Today when he woke up this morning. This also emphasizes my earlier point that the Senator needs to be consistent, as it is this consistency that will win him the general election in November.
