I want to be wrong

My vote has been cast and tomorrow we will see what sort of “change” this country is in for. Stranger things have happened and John McCain may yet manage to pull this off, but . . .

As Michael Malone writes:

If the current polls are correct, we are about to elect as President of the United States a man who is essentially a cipher, who has left almost no paper trail, seems to have few friends (that at least will talk) and has entire years missing out of his biography. 

If polls are correct, Barack Obama will no longer be the Democratic candidate for president. He will be the President-Elect and on January 20, 2009 he will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. He will be MY president. This statement should not be construed as a declaration of unquestioning fealty. As much as I opposed him, as much as I protested (and will never forget) the actions of the Democratic Leadership and the Obama campaign during the primary, I also believe in little “d” democracy, and the people will have spoken. 

Progressives should not see this as a great victory. Obama’s words have often not matched his record and I strongly suspect that he will disappoint many who have placed their faith in him.

If nothing else, this election should inform Obama that the people have turned their back on the neo-con world-view. They long for something better. I only long for one thing: To be wrong.

I will be watching closely to see if Obama’s first actions in office match the soaring rhetoric of his campaign. A couple of things he can do right away to help ease my mind, in no particular order:

• Immediately repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. No consultations with the Pentagon. End it.
• Rescind or freeze every Executive Order put in place by the Bush Administration. (Signing statements that refuse to obey select portions of passed and signed legislation should be repealed as well)
• Immediately repeal the Global Gag Rule.
• Immediately direct HHS to rescind the new “conscience” regulations.
• Command the Defense Department to accord all detainees at Guantanamo the same rights as Prisoners of War. No special “status.” No more word games. Honor the Geneva Convention.
• Immediately move for the closure of Guantanamo and the adjudication of all cases involving detainees in a court of law. No secret tribunals, no secret testimony, no torture.
• Immediately begin the process of ending U.S. military involvement in Iraq.
• Direct the Justice Department to cease and desist from all warrantless wiretaps, and to open the records of all subjects of such wiretaps to the appropriate investigative committees in the Senate and House of Representatives.
• Immediately task Congress with coming up with a workable plan for Universal Health Care and have it to his desk within six months. H.R. 676 is written and ready to go. And then, go out and Sell It to the American people.
• Get that Democratic Majority to repeal the odious Defense of Marriage Act (my marriage is not in need of defense from others’ marriages, thank you).
• Demand that Congress put some sort of HOLC in place for people facing foreclosure on their primary residence.
• Disband the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. [I know, I know…he wants to expand it!]

I realize that much of what I’ve enumerated above, Obama has already nixed, but if, as his supporters insisted, he was just “faking” until he got elected, well, his time to shine has come.

I’ve read posts from many of you in the “progressive” blogosphere that once Obama is elected “we” must be sure to Hold His Feet To The Fire. I assume you are speaking to your collective “we” because I’ve already done that. I intend to keep on doing so. You, on the other hand, did not. Some of you, in full-throated approval, cheered his every move and justified his every stance and flip/flop. Some of you, in spite of your misgivings, cast your vote for him anyway and in doing so let him slide on so many issues, just to get a “D” into the White House. I cannot see how you are going to have any leverage. Why should Obama listen to you once he’s ensconced in the Oval Office? He got what he wanted from you. He won’t have to talk to you for another four years, when the contract is up for renewal.

When I go to buy a car I have one cardinal rule: I must be willing to walk away at any time. No matter how badly I want the car, and even if the salesperson knows it, I must be able and willing to walk away. The minute I sign the contract, I’ve lost all bargaining power. The time for Progressives / Liberals / Democrats to hold Obama’s feet to the fire has passed. You signed the contract. You own him.

I want be wrong about Obama. In my judgement he is an Opportunist with no central core and no burning passion for any issue. But, maybe I’m wrong. I “hope” I am. I sincerely do. The American people have lived through eight years of George W. Bush and the radical neo-con agenda. We are desperate to have “normal’ lives again where words actually mean something. Where “Clear Skies” really are free of pollution, instead of having pollutants no longer considered such, where a “Healthy Forest” does not mean uncontrolled logging, and where Patriot Acts really do protect the patriots rather than subvert western jurisprudence and give untold secret powers to the government to spy on its own citizens and make them afraid to speak in protest.

When presented with new evidence, I have always been able to adjust my thinking and admit my error. It’s how I originally came to support Hillary Clinton. When push came to shove, and after investigating all the candidates, I moved the person who was originally at the bottom of my list to the top. And I then supported her wholeheartedly. I was able to speak about her and praise her, not as one immediately smitten and blinded by infatuation, but as one who had been won over.

I have not seen anything in Obama’s record that would lead me to believe that he will be the transformational and transcendent leader that so many proclaim him to be. Heck, he doesn’t need to be transcendent for me to be happy. He just needs to be a real Democrat.

I’m not optimistic. C’mon Obama. Prove me wrong.