This is a post I wrote for a group on Facebook called “Progressives (Critically) for Obama”. It was created by a guy apparently for people who call themselves progressives and yet who still (despite Obama’s strong centrist position) still support Barack Obama for President. It was in a response to a post the author sent to my mail inbox there which complained about Obama moving to the center and not being the kind of progressive he should be, and potentially picking a VP choice who is also a centrist Democrat, like Evan Bayh. But it is also a response to people in general complaining that Obama is such a dissapointment, and a potential feeling of buyers remorse, and whatnot that is being engendered by a news media that is suffering a little withdrawal after the binge that was this spring, and the few people in this country that seem to believe that Hillary Clinton should still be the nominee because she was somehow “cheated” out of something that was her right by a fellow who did not “wait his turn”. We all know who these folks are: They are the people that Clinton herself has organized a delegate whip team to stand in front of them when they begin chanting from the floor or blowing kazoos(?) at the convention or whatever.

Anyway… Here is the post. For progressives only (the right is not allow to know that the left is eating itself alive, so if you don’t like Obama because he is “too liberal” then tune out now, please.)

(this post is mainly a response directed toward the messages I got in my Faceboook inbox from the owner of this group concerning Obama’s VP selection)

As a socialist, and a former member of the Socialist Party who swore up and down that I would never support a Democrat, I have resigned from the SP and have thrown my support behind a Democrat. And apparently, one who is a little more conservative than most of those folks on the progressive left would like him to be.

I got one thing to say about that: Too damned bad. Barack Obama is a member of one of the two major national Parties, the Democratic Party. This Party, if we haven’t figured out already, represents a LOT of interests: feminists, workers, minorities, anti-war folks, etc etc etc. They also represent the interests of their districts, and the businesses which operate there. As if we didn’t already know that.

Those progressives on the left who are complaining about Obama selling out here or there, or on the FISA or to big oil or whatever, those progressives interested in complaining about how his choices for VP are way too far from their own personal preferences, need to remember one thing: The Democratic Party, and its standardbearer, represent a LOT of interests, and progressive non-socialist ultra-liberals are just one of those interests. And to top that off, they aren’t even the biggest or most important grouping within the Democratic Party, though they seem to think they should be. If you want a socialist running for President, go vote for Brian Moore, and feel lucky because you are one of the select few in this country who will. If you want Obama, you are going to have to accept the fact that he is not the socialist, ultra-pacifist, womans’ libber you all seem to think he should be. Why? because he is a Democrat, and is bound, by definition, to not be as radical leftist as some would like him to be. He is not, nor has he ever been a member of the Socialist Party, or any other leftist Party for that matter. And just because he talks about change doesn’t mean he advocates social revolution. He means change within the political spectrum that encompasses the MAJORITY of ideology in this country, change around the center. The fringe elements never made much difference in that equation.

Here is why I support Obama for President. I support him precisely because he gets people to support him. He gets people energized to do something politically. He inspires a mass movement, way better than the socialists ever could. Granted, he is not touching capitalism, in any way shape or form (his health policy, for example, doesn’t raise critical issues that need to be discussed about the operation of insurance companies). His policy prescriptions are vague, he clearly needs more experience. But this is PRECISELY what we should be looking for in a president who will succeed a group of people whose motto is “Don’t worry about what we’re up to in the government; we know better than you what to do.”

Look. Obama is a reasonable choice for office. He is not overly corrupt. He may not make all the votes that I as a socialist think he should make (but what democrat does?) He is right to call the war a mistake and to offer a plan to begin leaving (if I had my way, we’d be out of there now…) He is right to try to address health care and get people thinking about this issue, and all other issues he raises. He is not where I am at on a host of other issues, but I maintain that this is a function of my own political attitude, not his. I make Obama look like Barry Goldwater. It is something I have to accept if I want a president who looks, acts and sounds like someone from my own generation, rather than someone from my mother’s generation running the country. In short, I support him because he is one of my own, regardless of what his political beliefs are (after all, when is the last time anything I, or any of us for that matter, believe have any bearing on the policies of the President of the United States?)

Obama will disappoint and fail to live up to my standards. But so what? He is the least disappointing of all the choices I have this year, and the only way I would be truly satisfied with the Presidential candidate is if I am him.

So please, progressive leftists: regardless of who Obama picks for VP, please realize that you’re going to be disappointed with whoever you get, because Obama is picking from among Democrats, and they are ALL disappointing. That said, I would still argue that Obama’s positives FAR outweigh his negatives given the current political and social climate of the USA, and this recommends to me that I vote for him and stop deluding myself that he is ever going to be exactly what I want in a President.

When you come to grips with this fact, you will sleep better at night.

Sincerely,
W. Doc Stodden
Carbondale IL