Obama is no saint, no purist. Nor should he be–he's a politician. And Glenn Greenwald nails the dynamic of American democracy in regard to pressuring politicians: speak up or be ignored. (And of course, the more money you have, the more loudly you can speak.)
I really like Obama. That's why I'm not about to imitate the Bush cheerleading squad and forgive him his every bad decision, Kool-Aid rivuleting down my chin.
He's going to mess up, what with being fallible and all. (Indeed, he already has, what with the FISA bill in 2008.) When he does, all of us with Obama stickers and fresh hope filling our coffee mugs had better let him know he's messed up. It's also true that there's a rabid chorus of naysayers out there awaiting Obama's missteps so they can tell us all we've been had–but they seldom have proven capable of getting this basic premise that politicians are not worthy of deification, and holding them responsible and making them responsive is what is required of citizens in a democracy. So when they pipe up, ignore them. Hold the much cooler new guy accountable, even if the old, uncool guy got away appallingly unprosecuted.
Here are the four most important paragraphs I've read lately on Obama, from the aforementioned Greenwald:
Just as Congressional Democrats have known for the last eight years, Obama will know that there is only a price to pay when he acts contrary to the Republican and Beltway "centrist" agenda, but no price to pay when he acts contrary to the agenda of his most ardent supporters (because they won't criticize him, because to do is to "tear him down," "help Republicans," act like a Naderite purist, etc. etc. etc.). That meek and deferential attitude — aside from being a wildly inappropriate and even dangerous way to treat a political leader — also ensures that one is irrelevant and taken for granted and one's views easily ignored.
When Obama does things that warrant praise — when he appoints someone like Dawn Johnsen as OLC Chief, or defies Beltway demands by going outside of the intelligence community to find his CIA Director — he should be praised. When he does things that warrant criticism — such as going on national television to talk about the need for a special process to allow the use of "tainted" evidence against Guantanamo detainees, or when he openly contemplates naming someone as CIA Director who supports rendition and torture, or when he votes in favor of warrantless eavesdropping and telecom amnesty — he should be vigorously criticized. When he makes statements without any apparent basis — such as Sunday's assertion that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons — he ought to be made to account for that claim and show evidence for it. That's just basic accountability for a political official.
Like all politicians, Obama is not intrinsically good. Good things don't happen by virtue of the mere existence of his presidency. His presidency will be good only and exactly to the extent that he does good things. Pressure and criticisms make his doing those good things more likely (there is a quote from FDR [ed. note: "I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it."] where FDR privately instructed his supporters to publicly criticize him for not doing X so that he would be able to do X more easily).
Obama is about to become one of the world's most powerful political leaders, if not the single most powerful.He begins with sky-high approval ratings, his political party in control of Congress by a large margin, and enjoys reverence so intense from certain quarters that such a loyal following hasn't been seen since the imperial glow around George Bush circa 2002. He's not going to crumble or melt away like the Wicked Witch if he's pressured or criticized. The far more substantial danger is that he won't be pressured or criticized enough by those who are eager to see meaningful changes in Washington, and then — either by desire or necessity — those are the voices he will ignore most easily.
Hail to the Testy Frat Guy
Just how crazy is Bush? Yesterday's press conference reveals precisely what Bush's critics have maintained for years–he is testy, incompetent and deluded. He is everything we did not need at a crucial time in our history, and he leaves a wake of misery around the world and a violated Constitution. What a guy.
There will be several people who will miss him, I am sure, but they are mostly comedians.
My favorite moment is this one, complete with head-bob and swagger:
In other important news: more proof positive that the Department of Justice was shamelessly politicized under Bush emerges with a report that was completed last summer, but only released now. And of course, this clear violation of the law will not be prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Funny how that works.
