I hate it when I’m right.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Democrats are not better than Republicans, they are merely the lesser of two evils. Now that Obama has cinched the nomination he sounding more and more like a run-of-the-mill politician.
The current FISA mess is a no-brainer. If the rule of law doesn't apply to the president, what's the point? Isn't that what we call a king? Everyone got their panties all in a knot because Bill Clinton got a blow job in the Oval Office, but people seem much less incensed that Bush actually broke the law. Nixon was kicked out of office for exactly the same thing. The only difference is the respective targets and that Nixon didn't have a war to hide behind. Spying on fellow politicians? Good God Almighty! We can't have that!. Spying on American citizens who we think might possibly have ties to terrorist organizations, but can't be bothered to present our proof to a court? Oh, well that's okay then. Asinine.
And yet Obama is waffling on this one.
Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program," Obama said in a statement hours after the House approved the legislation 293-129.
This marks something of a reversal of Obama's position from an earlier version of the bill, which was approved by the Senate Feb. 12, when Obama was locked in a fight for the Democratic nomination with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
Obama missed the February vote on that FISA bill as he campaigned in the "Potomac Primaries," but issued a statement that day declaring "I am proud to stand with Senator Dodd, Senator Feingold and a grassroots movement of Americans who are refusing to let President Bush put protections for special interests ahead of our security and our liberty." ((Washington Post, 06-20-2008)
So much for the candidate of change.
Oh, I'll end up voting for him, only because McCain would be a catastrophic choice, not because I particularly like him or because I think he'll be the president I'd like to see in the Oval Office. And you know what? I think he knows that. His base is incensed, but what are they going to do to register their displeasure? Vote for McCain?