I'm an Obama supporter, but I have an issue... [View All]

[CoffeeCat]

Contrary to the ill-informed stereotypes, Obama supporters are not cultist lemmings. As
a 43-year old, stay-at-home mom--who voted for Obama in large part because of his
expertise on and commitment to the Constitution.

My feeling has been for a long time--that health care, education, tax policies, and other
Dem social issues--are important, but they are on the back burner for me--because we no
longer have a working democracy that follows our Constitution.

In my opinion, we must fix the foundation first. I'm interested in these ancillary issues, but
what good is painting, picking out furniture and re-wiring the lighting when your entire
foundation is crumbling all around you?

With that said, I took a very good look at all of the Democratic candidates. I was stuck
between Edwards and Obama, but in the end I was very impressed with Obama's background
with regard to the Constitution. He's a Constitutional Scholar, who taught Constitutional Law
(and other law classes) for nearly a decade. Obama gets it. Kucinich carries a copy of the
Constitution in his pocket. Obama carries around an encyclopedic knowledge of it's intricacies
and its history--in his head.

In Obama's "Blueprint For America", he discusses his policies and ideas, which are grounded in
restoring the Constitution. He adamantly insists on restoring Habeas, ending illegal wiretaps
and closing Guantanamo. Obama's ideas seem to emanate from The Constitution--which appears to be
at the core of his decision making.

After teetering between Obama and Edwards, this was my tipping point and why I ended up in the Obama
camp.

I'm not saying that I'm changing my mind. However, I am concerned about Obama mentioning in the debate
that he regretted voting for the Terry Schiavo bill. Obama said in the debate that "he knew better because
of his knowledge of the Constitution."

That really bothers me. He knew better, but he did it anyway. We know that most neocons (on the Dem side
and on the Republican side) ignore the Constitution. Some of them may have disdain for it. I expect
that those people will behave recklessly, but I guess I'm just a little miffed that Obama, someone
who knows---in every cell of his body--that the Schiavo nonsense was unConstitutional and only a dog-and-pony
show orchestrated by the nutter, religious wackos on the far right.

Again, I support Obama and many of his important ideas. We must close Guantanamo, end the wiretaps and restore
Habeas. However, I feel let down--that he went along with this, given his expertise on our Constitution.

Obama admitted that this was a mistake, and obviously he regrets this. I'm wondering if I can really count
on him to adhere to the Constitution and govern by it? Or will he get to Washington, respond to pressure and
not let the Constitution be his guiding light? Maybe he will.

I'm just asking questions. My support for Obama hinges on this issue, and I need to know that our candidate
will be someone who ends the pillaging of our government and our democracy. If it doesn't get done this time,
our country is lost.
decisions and ideas emanating from that