Trying not to get depressed about Obama and FISA

[Berry Cool]

I guess we really have to let him know WE DON'T LIKE IT and WE DO NOT WANT HIM TO SUPPORT IT just because it's going to pass anyway or because he thinks it's the safe thing to do.

I'm inclined to agree with Glenn Greenwald on this one:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/21/obama/index.html

His view is very balanced. In short, this is important, that this is NOT something where you really want to set a precedent of "going along to get along" and reinforcing the status quo. How Obama ultimately deals with this will tell us a lot about how he will deal with things as President. It's very easy to say that it'll be a different ballgame then, that he'll be able to do what he wants, but that's what we said with Clinton too and we were wrong. How he behaves now will tell us loads about how he will behave when it's all on the line in the Oval Office. If he caves in now, he may cave in later, and he may keep caving in, and "It's only until...(after he gets elected, until the next Congress is seated, etc.)" rings really hollow after a while, because "It's only until" may never come.

I think he really needs to know that the people who support him DO NOT WANT THIS. If he knows that, it might make him think twice. If it doesn't, that tells us something too.

And I say that not because I think we have any better alternatives to him right now, or because I would ever not vote for him this fall. But dammit, if how Hillary voted on the IWR mattered, well, this matters too. It can pass without his OK.

I really wish he'd support a filibuster of the whole damn thing. But I will settle for him listening to the voices that tell him NO. NOT GOOD. TURN AROUND. YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if Keith will be in next week. If he is, I wonder if he'll do a Special Comment about this. It would be a very good time for one.