If Senator Obama wants to move toward the center to improve his chances of winning the general election, tha's his perogative. However, such a move undermines my general impression of him as a man of courage and conviction. Rather than stand up to yet one more abuse of power by President Bush, he is deciding to go along with the FISA "compromise" for his own political agenda.
I've read some blogs that state that Democrats should focus on winning the White House rather than worry about Senator Obama's actions in the Senate. Once in office, the argument goes, he can focus on undoing the damage done by the Bush administration. I don't accept that argument. Senator Obama has the opportunity now to undo some of the damage by filibustering the FISA bill. If he doesn't have the courage to do it now, why should I believe that he will do it if he becomes president?
I'm a firm believer in the importance of the protest vote. Remember 2000? If Senator Obama cannot learn the lesson that cost Al Gore the presidency, then perhaps he's not the candidate we thought him to be. If the Democratic nominees keep losing votes to candidates that better reflect the views of the progressive wing of the party, then maybe they'll finally pay attention to us.
