You Can't Always Get What You Want - Democratic Underground

AZBlue

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Sun Jun-29-08 05:03 PM
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You Can't Always Get What You Want

by Joseph A. Palermo

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the greatest, most progressive president of the 20th Century. He also tried to stack the Supreme Court and imprisoned 112,000 Japanese-Americans without due process.

(snip)

John F. Kennedy is often lauded as the greatest president of the post-World War Two era. He launched a terror campaign against Cuba, defoliated large swathes of South Vietnam, and was slow in responding to the civil rights movement.

(snip)

I disagree with Barack Obama's support of this legislative attack on the U.S. Constitution...Obama says he disagrees with the Supreme Court's ruling striking down the Louisiana death penalty statute. I've always opposed the death penalty...I also wanted the Democratic Congress to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. And I wanted Congress to cut off all funding for the Iraq war.

To quote the great 20th Century British philosopher, Sir Mick Jagger: "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

But we still need Barack Obama to win in November.

What Obama has done is obvious: He has attempted to neutralize the Republican attacks. If he voted against the FISA bill the Republicans would have an opening to claim that he is unfit to be Commander-in-Chief because he voted to tie the hands of the president in the epic struggle against terrorism. If he comes out against the death penalty too strongly they'll say he's "soft on crime." And if he opposed the high court's ruling on handguns the NRA and the gun nuts would be energized beyond belief...

The gap between the rich and the poor is wider than it has ever been in American history; the economy has tanked; people are losing their homes; we're in the midst of an energy crisis; the war in Iraq is draining the Treasury; the Constitution is in tatters, and so on, and on and on.

Some among the Left Netroots now seem to want Obama's head on a platter for his recent capitulations....The Left demands "purity." But Realpolitik demands that Obama placate Wall Street to a degree. And we all should recognize that the United States of America is going to continue to be an Empire no matter who is president.

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Obama has an uphill climb, even with all his successful fundraising, because he is African American and must overcome deep and entrenched racism. (There are a number of racist websites that have popped up targeting Obama and just wait for those white supremacist 527s.) Obama can still lose this thing.

But we might have a chance of electing the most progressive candidate the American political system will allow. After he's elected we will hold Obama's feet to the fire. There will be disappointments. But what's new about that? The Left is always disappointed. At least with Obama we have the potential for real progressive change. The alternative is Bushism without Bush.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/you-cant-always-get-what_b_109675.html

We have two choices in November: McCain or Obama. That's it. Those are our only two choices. You can wish your candidate was still in the race, bemoan the lack of a third party or dislike both those options. But, these are the only two options we have. Only. Two.

And which of those two do you think will better reflect your opinions and how you want this country to go from January 2009 forward?

You may not agree with everything your choice says, thinks or does. No, actually you WILL not agree with everything they say, think or do. Unless you yourself are on the ballot, that will never happen. What will happen is this: we will have a McCain presidency or we will have an Obama presidency. Which one will you work for?