NO FEAR, NOR PARANOIA!
Here’s my (hopefully) calming post for the day! It’s long, yet I ask that you please indulge me!
“DON’T LET THE BARRAGE OF OBAMA ‘CENTRIST’ COMMENTS GET YOU DOWN!
Sen. Obama must move the center; following is why! While I’m as far to the left as one can be; I am glad he is moving to the center; actually, I’m relieved; for if he doesn’t, I know “We the People will be doomed!
I gave up a very long time ago the naive hope long ago that a far-left liberal candidate stands any chance of winning the presidency. I only have to look back to George McGovern, although I was far too young to vote, who won just one state in the general election.
To those who are feeling “disappointed, let down, or betrayed”, etc, .PLEASE, take a few steps back! I know I support most of his positions and while I’m a very liberal democrat, it impresses me that Obama takes some positions that bounce around Democratic Party orthodoxy; I may not always agree with the positions; however, it’s impressive! Moving to the center, in my opinion, will attract more people; he has an unwavering willingness to “color outside the lines.” As a result of some of Obama’s recent actions, many true-believers on the “left” feel betrayed. However, I don’t; I knew this was coming; I actually am grateful it has arrived! This change in course may help the senator with moderates and independents in the fall.
And moving to the center is certainly nothing unusual; actually, it’s not only common, it’s the only way to win! Candidates from both parties often find it necessary to play to the base during the primaries and then gravitate to the center for the general election. John McCain has done much the same thing with Republicans this year, having learned his lesson from the 2000 primary, when his moderate stances and harsh criticism of certain leaders of the Christian Right provoked the ire of many conservatives and contributed to his defeat to George W. Bush.
In evaluating Democratic success in moving toward the center, people fail to remember the last time a Democrat actually won the Presidency. That would of course be Bill Clinton, who won the Presidency twice! His centrist approach was felt by most to be the key. I recognize that for some here, 1992, and even 1996, is ancient history; however, it’s what got Bill Clinton elected twice. It’s also what saved us from another four years of George Herbert Walker “One Term Presidency” Bush!
Clinton enjoyed the longest economic expansion in history, and the reductions in crime rates, welfare rolls, and the federal budget, credit him with being a masterful politician. The first Democrat to win two terms since Franklin Roosevelt, the so-called comeback kid proved his powers of persistence, hard work, and focus. Clinton also successfully blunted a majority of the Republicans' most reactionary moves. And by moving his party closer to the political center, he made the Democrats the majority party on most policy issues.
If Sen. Obama doesn’t move to the center, in my opinion, he “could” and “may” lose in November! I disagree with the FISA Bill as it is currently written; I believe no civil immunity should be given to the telecom companies. I also disagree with Sen. Obama's gun control and death penalty statements after the SCOTUS decisions.
But let's consider the alternative, a John McCain presidency: no plan for Iraq besides crossing our fingers and hoping; more puffed up, schoolyard bully tactics towards Iran; a candidate with a new, more confused economic plan every week; and a Supreme Court full of lifetime appointees like Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito.
And this shift is yet another instance of Obama's remarkably shrewd post-primary strategy. He is slowly undermining every conceivable reason to vote for McCain. If you want to withdraw from Iraq - as prudently as possible - Obama is your man. He won't risk chaos in a precipitous withdrawal regardless of the strategic and tactical situation. Unlike McCain, he is also unafraid of Baker-Hamilton diplomacy; and unlike McCain, he does not threaten a hundred years of occupation and the suspicion that he'd like the U.S. to stay there for ever. What can McCain say now?
When you put this together with Obama's defusing of the patriotism issue and his brazen cooptation of Bush's faith-based social services policy, you see what a gifted strategist Obama is.
I hope this “eases the nerves” of many; step back, relax and REMEMBER, just as Bill Clinton, a masterful politician, won two terms, to include unseating an incumbent after one term, Sen. Obama, too, will win!
The end; my “motivational” post for the day! LOL!
Comments are closed for this post.
