My Liberal Identity:
You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or neo-hippie. You believe in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
Dividing And Conquering
What can a presidential nominee do when controversial bills contrary to his stances arise, bills that involve national security or other hot button issues? You can:
A) Stick to your guns and please your base
B) Receive a good smearing from your competitor that may influence swing voters to move towards your opponent.
Now, quantitatively speaking, if you want the White House, what do you do?
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) today announced his support for a sweeping intelligence surveillance law that has been heavily denounced by the liberal activists who have fueled the financial engines of his presidential campaign.
In his most substantive break with the Democratic Party's base since becoming the presumptive nominee, Obama declared he will support the bill when it comes to a Senate vote, likely next week, despite misgivings about legal provisions for telecommunications corporations that cooperated with the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program of suspected terrorists.
In so doing, Obama sought to walk the fine political line between GOP accusations that he is weak on foreign policy -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called passing the legislation a "vital national security matter" -- and alienating his base.
"Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program," Obama said in a statement hours after the House approved the legislation 293-129.
This marks something of a reversal of Obama's position from an earlier version of the bill, which was approved by the Senate Feb. 12, when Obama was locked in a fight for the Democratic nomination with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
Folks, don't buy the media spin. Either way, Obama and we, the Democrats, lose, so really, the only thing to do is cede the piece in order to press on, waiting for a better opportunity to counterattack. We have to be patient. Our candidate is going to have to become something of a contortionist as the race slogs on.
It's a matter of trust. Wait. November is coming. Wait. Hold judgment until then. Who do you trust, Obama or the Washington Post, who labels anti-telecom immunity supporters liberal activists? Does anyone still believe the media tilts left? That's right out of the Fox playbook.
