Excerpt: The hysteria that has broken out among we on the left in response to Obama's voting for the FISA compromise was totally predictable. Some more cynical types might say, so predictable as to be planned. National campaigns are dominated by people who believe a leftist can't be elected to national office. That means events that signal a candidate is not a leftist are critical for any election to national office.
Well, Mr Lessig, I think we all understand the nature of politics — as the election approaches, Obama has to sound more a Republican, and McCain has to sound more like a human being.
A lot of Democrats understand this, and we could look the other way and chalk it up to politics when Obama says he wants to execute more people, or wants to engorge "faith-based initiatives", or when he rebukes Wesley Clark and MoveOn.org for speaking the truth. It sucks, but to appeal to a nation dumbed down by fantastically shallow corporate-controlled media, these are things a candidate has to do.
He was looking for another so-called "Sister Soulja moment", to show how tough he can be in standing up to even people on his own side, so people
There are a hundred issues I disagree with Obama on, but very few of those issues are life or death, make or break issues.
This is one of them, right up there with if he had announced that he plans to expand the capacity at Guantanamo or refuse diplomacy with Iran and just bomb 'em.
He has slashed at one of the key issues that make (made) Obama a better candidate than McCain.
would say gosh, Obama's not so scary and liberal ... but I don't think dropping his britches and pooping on the Constitution was something he had to do to get that message across.
There are a hundred issues I disagree with Obama on, but very few of those issues are life or death, make or break issues. This is one of them, right up there with if he had announced that he plans to expand the capacity at Guantanamo or refuse diplomacy with Iran and just bomb 'em. He has slashed at one of the key issues that make (made) Obama a better candidate than McCain.
In so doing, Obama has fatally fractured my enthusiasm for his candidacy. Sure, I'll still vote for him, but I'm not sending any campaign contributions to someone who opposes the US Constitution. I'm all done cheerfully tapping my toes to that charming "Yes we can" video. I'm pretty much disinterested in volunteering to work the phones for his campaign.
And I'm not alone. I think he's sucked the wind out of his own sails, and sunk his own campaign. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this was a massive miscalculation, and I'm not sure there's anything Obama can do to recover. The Bush-Cheney-McCain bastards will throw all manner of manure at Obama as the election gets closer, and with the enthusiasm for Obama now dead, the vote will be close enough for Republicans to steal... again.
