People who know me know that I like Barack Obama. Since reading his book, The Audacity of Hope, I have been a big supporter of his campaign. He is clearly a smart and thoughtful public servant who would be a much better choice than anyone else running, especially McCain. But my man-crush is over.
First, I’m disappointed that he broke his pledge to pursue public financing for the general election. I agree that the system is broken, and that even after negotiations with McCain’s campaign it probably wouldn’t have worked out, but he honestly didn’t even try. I believe spending some time discussing the issue would have brought some attention to the system and made it easier to reform next election cycle. But he didn’t. It was vaguely reminiscent of when Bush claimed to be trying to avoid war with Iraq, when it was clear nothing was going to stop him from invading. And I don’t like being reminded of that mess.
Second, I’m disappointed that he has decided to support the FISA compromise bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecom companies that broke the law. I hope that he holds true to his pledge to filibuster the bill if immunity is not removed - but judging from how he broke his pledge to seek common ground on public financing, I’m not holding my breath.
And third, I’m disappointed with the way he is condemning Muslims. His campaign has made an effort to squash the rumors that he is a Muslim in a way that is insulting. The fact is that someone who would vote against him because they thought he was a Muslim would probably vote against him anyway. He should clarify that he is Christian, but always add, “and so what if I were a Muslim? Because their retarded beliefs are just as stupid as those of Christians and Jews.”
Okay, maybe he should leave that last sentence off.