having higher expectations of a black politician is a product of a need to validate what you think is your freedom from historical american racism by amplifying obama's good qualities. this, i think, is condescension. and when those higher expectations aren't met, your righteous indignation gets an extra boost from a wounded ego that thought it was powerful enough to overcome racism (yours and everyone else's) with intellect and compassion alone. but all of this is a sidebar. as disappointing as o's fisa vote was, i don't think it was a vote for political expediency. yes, it mau have been a preemption of the 'soft-on-terror' tack that mccain will doubtless try. but i think it was a form of proactivity that put a law into place where there was none, allowing for revision and reconciliation with the constitution when he, a constitutional scholar and bipartisan activist, is in control of the agenda. so... instead of getting too hung up on this decision (the only real reversal he has committed) and wailing on obama, let's all change our cell service to qwest and do what we can to empower congress (and, believe me, that takesten times what you think it will with this sorry lot) to make something of the investigations that will undoubtedly come when there is hard testimony that bush spied on americans for political reasons.

by silence donothing on 07/12/2008 08:54:18 PM EST