Wise Words from the Field

If you haven't already, I recommend that you put Al Giordano's The Field on your daily blog rotation. His reporting on this momentous election has been both entertaining and informative. Without he reasoned and tempered words, I am pretty sure I would be one of the biggest Chicken Littles out there.

His latest post, regarding the whole blow up on the left about Obama's vote on the imperfect FISA bill, is yet again an excellent piece of advice for us panicky political newbies. I disagree with Obama, although I can understand his motives. I don't think he is abandoning his principles on the matter, I just think he is doing what most politicians tend to do. He is making the best of a bad situation, and trying to keep the eye on the big prize.

I have no doubt that Senator Obama will be a much better President than Bush (or McCain) when it comes to obeying the Constitution. For the first time in a long time we might actually have a President who believes in and works to preserve the cherished balance of power that makes our system of government operate fully. Nothing he has done so far shows him to be anything but an intelligent, honorable person who will use reason and facts, instead of beliefs and dogma, to make decisions as our country's leader.

I wish he had still voted no yesterday on the FISA bill, but I can see some advantages in the political arithmetic for him to vote yes. It isn't as if he was the driving force behind this lackluster bill, he was just a high profile senator voting on it. Like it or not, there are a fair amount of Democrats who don't stand united with their left-leaning colleagues on this issue, and no amount of wrangling by Obama (or Feingold, Durbin, Dodd, etc...) on the issue was going to get those senators to change their mind. Most of the Democrats who voted for this bill in both houses of Congress will still be there in January, and it would be helpful to create some political capital. After all, the next President will have some tough battles to fight.

When you disagree with Senator Obama, the best way to enact change isn't to threaten to take your ball and go home. Its to get organized, and take it to the people. Make it as difficult as possible for Senator Obama to ignore your voice, without taking your eye of the big picture. Understand that Obama isn't a die-hard left-winger, and that sometimes he might listen to those who disagree with you as well. And above all, realize that Senator Obama is still a much better alternative to Senator McCain.

To paraphrase his famous 2004 convention speech, we are neither red states nor blue states, but the United States of America. We are a diverse nation, full of people who fall across the entire political spectrum. We shouldn't be so concerned about ideological purity as we should about figuring out what works, and what creates a society that is both free, prosperous, and effective.