Reply #43: Hi Frenchie

[Tom Rinaldo]

While we worked closest together politically between 2004 and 2007 we did so with a delicious understanding of both the limits of our abilities to influence the direction of our nation through political activism AND an appreciation that citizens giving voice to our personal truths, as small a statement as any of those can be in a nation of 300,000,000 people, still truly matters.

We, and I mean now a much larger pool of activists than just the two or us or of all Clarkies then, I mean all political activists who decide to get involved since 2004 and to speak our minds about the future of this nation and the leaders who can take us in a positive direction, WE all found that we do have voices and our voices are most powerful when we ground them in our hearts as well as minds.

Yes I agree with your summary. Neither of us ever believed that Wes Clark or Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would ever be the perfect mythical leader for America, they all would fail in some ways in each of our eyes, though in which ways they did might differ from eye to eye. We knew that the Democratic Party had to get back on track fighting for the true interests of the great majority of Americans, and from among the choices we seemed to have at any given time, both you and I made choices to support viable candidates we each thought would best help Democrats do that.

So this has always been about something larger than a single Democratic leader, potential or elected.

Here is the hardest part to put in words. By getting into the trenches and working our butts off we also learned that the influence we each have on the in flow of political thought in this nation is potentially much greater than we earlier had imagined. That was all part of the larger netroots awakening. Even when I was firmly inside Wes Clark's camp I knew that what I literally said or far more often wrote, would sometimes actually be considered by General Clark. Because ultimately he, just like you and I, is an individual who ponders various choices which, though all consistent with his overall values and beliefs, still could differ significantly, tactically if nothing else. Good leaders always need to hear the voices of those they seek to lead.

I support Barack Obama for President in 2012 Frenchie. I believe he is inherently a good man who always has our ultimate better national interests in mind, even when he is convinced for political reasons that it is not always feasible to move unswervingly toward them. But beyond that, and even more to the point. I think it would be a huge setback to the interest of most working Americans and the world beyond if Republicans are allowed to regain control of the Presidency at this time. And I am convinced that any effort to undermine Obama now by challenging him for the Democratic nomination would only increase the chances that a Republican will be President in 2013.

But though I support Barack Obama for President now without hesitation, I think it would be a mistake to go silent on advocating changes that I believe would be beneficial not only to our nation, but to the ultimate effectiveness of his time spent in office. I see no contradiction in that. To those who say "who are you to think your opinions on such weighty matters are worthy of anyone's serious consideration?" my answer is simple. I am a citizen in a Democracy. Clearly I am not a Presidential counselor, I don't carry much weight. But neither do the rain drops that carved the Grand Canyon.

I am a voice in a chorus that asks our President to speak more firmly, even confrontationally at times, for the values and programs of the Democratic Party at a time when the Republican Party has declared an all our ideological war against us. I may be wrong of course, but I believe his reelection will be made more certain if he does so, and he will find many more people moved to move mountains on his behalf if he does.