Obama, Stay the Course!

Read this New York Times Op-Ed piece! It clearly and concisely tells you what's up.

If you can't open it, I've added it below. The DNC's 'Terry McAuliffe mind-set' ruined the campaigns of Gore, Kerry and Senator Clinton and now the legions of McAuliffites who have surrounded Barack Obama are doing their damndest to undermine the possibility of his Presidency. They've turned this man we thought was a lion into a little lamb and they're leading him to slaughter. There's a well sourced rumor of Machiavellian proportions running around that what's going to happen is that his base support will be so demoralized they won't have the vital conviction they'll need this August to withstand a McAuliffite push to persuade disenchanted delegates on the floor of the convention to make a resurgent Hillary Clinton the Party's nominee! Obama's the 'presumptive' nominee, remember. The operative word is 'presumptive'. The tortoise is still running. If you're someone close to Barack Obama print out a bunch of copies of this New York Times Op-Ed piece and paste it on his fridge, on the door of his plane, on his kids' foreheads! Make him memorize it. His heart and soul is being gutted and ours with it.

From the Times' July the Fourth op-ed page:

New and Not Improved

Senator Barack Obama stirred his legions of supporters, and raised our hopes, promising to change the old order of things. He spoke with passion about breaking out of the partisan mold of bickering and catering to special pleaders, promised to end President Bush's abuses of power and subverting of the Constitution and disowned the big-money power brokers who have corrupted Washington politics.

Now there seems to be a new Barack Obama on the hustings. First, he broke his promise to try to keep both major parties within public-financing limits for the general election. His team explained that, saying he had a grass-roots-based model and that while he was forgoing public money, he also was eschewing gold-plated fund-raisers. These days he's on a high-roller hunt.

Even his own chief money collector, Penny Pritzker, suggests that the magic of $20 donations from the Web was less a matter of principle than of scheduling. "We have not been able to have much of the senator's time during the primaries, so we have had to rely more on the Internet," she explained as she and her team busily scheduled more than a dozen big-ticket events over the next few weeks at which the target price for quality time with the candidate is more than $30,000 per person.

The new Barack Obama has abandoned his vow to filibuster an electronic wiretapping bill if it includes an immunity clause for telecommunications companies that amounts to a sanctioned cover-up of Mr. Bush's unlawful eavesdropping after 9/11.

In January, when he was battling for Super Tuesday votes, Mr. Obama said that the 1978 law requiring warrants for wiretapping, and the special court it created, worked. "We can trace, track down and take out terrorists while ensuring that our actions are subject to vigorous oversight and do not undermine the very laws and freedom that we are fighting to defend," he declared.

Now, he supports the immunity clause as part of what he calls a compromise but actually is a classic, cynical Washington deal that erodes the power of the special court, virtually eliminates "vigorous oversight" and allows more warrantless eavesdropping than ever.

The Barack Obama of the primary season used to brag that he would stand before interest groups and tell them tough truths. The new Mr. Obama tells evangelical Christians that he wants to expand President Bush's policy of funneling public money for social spending to religious-based organizations -- a policy that violates the separation of church and state and turns a government function into a charitable donation.

He says he would not allow those groups to discriminate in employment, as Mr. Bush did, which is nice. But the Constitution exists to protect democracy, no matter who is president and how good his intentions may be.

On top of these perplexing shifts in position, we find ourselves disagreeing powerfully with Mr. Obama on two other issues: the death penalty and gun control.

Mr. Obama endorsed the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the District of Columbia's gun-control law. We knew he ascribed to the anti-gun-control groups' misreading of the Constitution as implying an individual right to bear arms. But it was distressing to see him declare that the court provided a guide to "reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe."

What could be more reasonable than a city restricting handguns, or requiring that firearms be stored in ways that do not present a mortal threat to children?

We were equally distressed by Mr. Obama's criticism of the Supreme Court's barring the death penalty for crimes that do not involve murder.

We are not shocked when a candidate moves to the center for the general election. But Mr. Obama's shifts are striking because he was the candidate who proposed to change the face of politics, the man of passionate convictions who did not play old political games.

There are still vital differences between Mr. Obama and Senator John McCain on issues like the war in Iraq, taxes, health care and Supreme Court nominations. We don't want any "redefining" on these big questions. This country needs change it can believe in.

This morning's news in the Washington Post is that he's revised his positions on abortion and troop withdrawal! His supporters are being sent to hell in a handbasket and it has to be stopped!

Comments

[punch]

Obama is really starting to disgust me, He's starting to become a corporate stooge what happened to CHANGE, god this is depressing

[Marlyn]

Donald Sutherland, you are so right. But this shows how naive Obama actually is. He shouldn't be listening to the Clinton "brain trust".

[JJK]

I doubt very much he's listening to the "Clinton 'brain trust'" on anything other than fundraising. His people despise her people and it strains credulity to think that they are all of a sudden taking direction from Clintonians.

I do, however, think what Obama is doing now is a mistake and I have said so in several posts out here.

I think this more likely comes from nervous folks in his own camp. Axelrod and Daley are pragmatists, not idealogues. If their internal polling suggests that he is vulnerable to a McCain/527 attack that he is out of the mainstream and "out of touch," then they're trying to innoculate him now.

The other option is that this was Sen. Obama's plan all along. Pander to progressives to get the nomination and move to the middle for the General election, a strategy that failed for Dukakis and Kerry and is worrisome now.

[serena1313]

The misinformation coming from the media is disgusting! They continue to twist Obama's words.

Obama's faith-based agenda in no way resembles Bush's:

"Now, make no mistake, as someone who used to teach constitutional law, I believe deeply in the separation of church and state, but I don't believe this partnership will endanger that idea -- so long as we follow a few basic principles. First, if you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can't discriminate against them -- or against the people you hire -- on the basis of their religion. Second, federal dollars that go directly to churches, temples, and mosques can only be used on secular programs. And we'll also ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to those programs that actually work."

Iam glad he decided against campaign financing. The GOP 527s are spending millions to smear Obama.

With the exception of FISA, which he addressed, Obama remains consistent.

I agree having HRC advisors onboard are counterproductive in some respects.

[booksnmore4you]

For a much more rational take, by Andrew Sullivan who is not an actor but holds a PhD in political science from Harvard, see

Obama’s cunning capture of the centre ground
Slowly and subtly, Barack Obama is wiping out every reason to vote for McCain
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article4275040.ece

[soundfury]

Yes, but is it happening at the expense of his base. My advice to his base is: stick with him. This shall pass. He is a far cry from GWB.

[nomobull]

and who is his base exactly not just one group

[sharonh]

Andrew Sullivan is an O groupie and will justify anything he does or says, or does not do or say; as well as vilify all who are not O. I think he is a good-looking man too, and yes, he speaks well, but why is this the criteria for our prez? Why don't we have more and better choices?

[FearlessFreep]

"Why don't we have more and better choices?"

Ask the Nader-haters.

[carolinemiranda]

That Obama does not fulfill the fantasies of the New York Times to have its hopes raised and to “change the old order of things” should not surprise anyone who looks realistically at political ambition. Obama’s support of telecommunication company exemptions from FISA may depress trial lawyers looking for deep pockets, but the exemption is only fair, considering that Sutherland certainly would not support holding Internet providers liable for postings or camera and sound crews and equipment manufacturers liable for defamation in a movie.

Funneling public money for social spending to religious-based organizations is routine in government grants. Would Sutherland favor restricting government funding of arts and educational organizations that produce works with a political or social message? The New York Times’s tears over the Supreme Court decision affirming Second Amendment rights to poor minorities to defend themselves, and Obama’s opposition to the Supreme Court’s softness for child rapists, should be applauded. It appears that Sutherland and the New York Times want Obama to overcome the divisive, angry chasms in this country by following a strictly far Left agenda – a strategy that would further separate and alienate the country.

[nomobull]

not true and they are not exempt from criminal prosecution

[Jazz42]

Mr Sutherland.
I completely agree with your assessment Mr. McAuliff. I think the Clintons are behind the problems Senator Obama had last week. The Americam people are not going to buy into it this time.

[soundfury]

This is a setup pure and simple to throw O's base off, and the worst part is...it's working.

[YankeeCanuck]

Obama may look to Sens Dodd and Biden for guidance on remaining true to his principles. I want him to win too-- but I don't want to watch him turn into a suit.
While I may think Mr. Sutherland's theory on "presumptive nominee" is a bit outlandish, American politics never cease to amaze.

[footsore]

Hey Don,
I agree with you! i have been howling for years over the influence of the DLC democrats within the Democratic party. They are the ones that have hamstrung our party for years. i, personally, find nothing more offensive than someone telling me that in order to win "I" need to be more like "them". (move to the center).
Yet, now we see just that happening to Barack. When will we be able to purge these closeted republicans from our ranks and again become the true Democratic Party?
footsore

[TheShoveler]

Donald ("Mr. X"), this is every bit as good as anything that Oliver Stone and Zack Sklar came up with, and you did it without any ghosting. Congrats!

[BlueOnBlue]

I recommend reading Andy Borowitz's blog post from a few days ago as a counterpoint to this....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/liberal-bloggers-accuse-o_b_110371.html

Andy's headline was "Liberal Bloggers Accuse Obama of Trying to Win Election."

[BarryChamplain]

Yo Blue:

How, exactly, do you figure that Obama's supporting yet another, more slippery FISA bill... this time, with civil immunity for telecoms (thus ensuring that there's no court deposition record of the Bush administration's ever engaging in illegal wiretaps PRIOR TO 9.11, THANK YOU)... will somehow "win the election" for Obama?

I didn't know making the telecom lobby's dollars pay off was somehow ragingly popular, among America's middle-of-the-road voting public.

This is BS narrative, that all these unacceptable, BUSH REPUBLICAN POSITIONS are somehow going to help Obama. Before he adopted them, HE WAS BEATING MCCAIN.

Read Mr. Sutherland. If they're trying to implode Obama's base, they're doing a damned fine job of it.

Let's see him "win" without THEM.

[BlueOnBlue]

So, who would you prefer to win? Obama or McCain?

Those are the only two choices. Protest votes or sitting on your hands and not voting are votes for McCain.

[Jacksonian]

Since the primaries wrapped up in June, the actions of the Obama campaign have been not just inexplicable but genuinely unfathomable.

Here's a candidate who's entire campaign is based on, "Change We Can Believe In," who's, "Fired Up and Ready To Go," and who promises a new kind of politics. But overnight he has gone from the "change" candidate to the "change my mind" candidate in a move to the center which screams politics as usual.

Don't the folks running his campaign get it?

Obama's success in the primaries occurred because of, not in spite of, his exciting, innovative candidacy. A country tired of the tyranny of the "Decider" and his GOP henchman, worried about the economy, sick to death of the war in Iraq, and furious at the illegal spying programs of the Bush "Justice" Department yearns for change, Real change. Not, "throw your base under the bus," change as soon as the nomination contest ends.

Linking a vote for John McCain to a third term for George Bush was brilliant, succinct, and sufficient. If Obama said nothing else during the next four months, that alone would get him elected. Why modify or reverse or waffle on your positions? Especially core principles-- read: FISA & the Fourth Amendment.

Please, if it's not broken don't fix it.

[Marlyn]

A country tired of the tyranny of the "Decider"

Now we're going to have the "Uniter".

[soundfury]

What if suddenly before the convention H's surrogates start pushing her as the nominee, and she ends up challenging his nominations at the convention after all. Would you vote for her in November?

There's something rotten in this and you're all falling for it.

[Heidfeld]

All of you people who think Hillary is somehow "behind" all of this are crazy. Obama is sitting down and doing these interviews/speeches on his own. Nobody is forcing him to say or do anything.

If he really was who he said he was, he would have no problem speaking his mind and sharing his true beliefs when questioned on these issues, when voting, and when giving an interview to a christian magazine.

The man is a fraud, and there is nobody to blame for it but the man himself. That so many of you could not see that from the start... well that is your problem. You got hustled and now you have to deal with it. But the convention is still a month away... there is an out clause. Whether you like Hillary or not, at least you know who she is. Biden is out there as well.

[idabamaho]

The Obama campagn is tossing aside what got him the nomination. The movement is not necessarily about change. It's about removing the corrupt and morally bankrupt old guard. The old guard that has us now debating torture, discussing preemptive war, debating whether or not a phone company can listen to your phone calls, debating if it's ok to snatch people off the streets and ship them to a foriegn prison.

Just who is he trying to win over? Someone who spends their afternoons listening to Glen Beck and Sean Hanitty?

Let's take one example, Faith Based Initiatives. Ok, I understand the grassroots community based approach to poverty. But why "Faith Based"? Why not "The Office of Community Based Initiatives" and NOT disenfrachise every American who is offended by the word "faith" in government programs.

How about another example: George Bush has enraged left, right and center with the confounding statements like "I will listen to my commanders on the ground". Then after getting their opinion, he fires them if they don't agree with Bush's vision to basically turn Iraq into an American colony and engage the US in teh middle east for hundreds of years. (if we last that long) Now we have Barack Obama saying the exact same thing, "I will listen to my commanders on the ground". Ok, maybe Barack really means it, but why the choice of words? Who is he trying to appeal to. Rush Limbaugh?

[Marlyn]

why "Faith Based"?

Obama should help communities center around SCHOOLS, and not churches. Our schools are greatly in need.

[MrRex]

Every once in a while we poor voters get an education-whether we want it or not!!!
This great political mind-Mr. Donald Sutherland- is giving us an unintended education into the power of one man running for POTUS.
Many of us wrongly believe that the POTUS is one man/woman acting independently w/o the affects of others. When in truth the POTUS is but a hand puppet of all of the interests that operate against the interests of the common man; ie. the oil industry, the military-industrial complex, the pharmaceutical industry, the agricultural industry, the financial industry.... all have their talons in any candidate. McCauliff t.all represent "politics as usual".Candidates say what they have to to be nominated and then go on to say anything they need to be elected.
We voters hope and pray that someone will come along who can bring change and stand independently from those who would act against us. Many youngsters and old folks from the 60's saw BO as such an independent agent. Now they are learning that he has all the earmarks of a poitician something they thought wouldn't happen. BO wil win this Fall..... a trained seal could beat a Republican this year, but it will not be the victory of the "new" over the "old".
How sad we've been duped again!

[AlexVonHussein]

I believe Obama is doing fine. The MSM is behind this all. They listen to Mccain now the Left wants to eat it cake and have it. I trust Obama 100 % and he need to shake the Hype from Primaries and prepare for the Fall. They dont give him credit where its due

He has changed the financing system, out maneuvered the Repub. on Fisa , and he is going after their territories. The MSM is working to Republicans talking points and you are buying to it!

Obama is Grand!
He has met Church leaders, Blue collar initiatives in Ohio
He has set up Voter registration drive
Supporters have held 4000 house meetings and discussed the issues.
He went to summer parties of July 4 was beautiful in Montana
He wrote a post about his position and he has brought activism back
He has not sent people to make the talking points, the mccains and MSM make fools of themselves

He is busy campaigning while you watch MSM and Mccain spin it. I wonder why

Guys keep eyes on the ball. Give Obama a break!!

[rlarkin]

"The MSM is behind this all."

...?? The MSM isn't even talking about this! If you get most of your news from CNN you would think anyone cared.

[tyrdofwaitin]

Obama may disappoint in the short term , but I have faith in the audacity of his campaign; he hasn't come this far to self-destruct. Rather, hang on and have faith: I believe Obama is several chess moves ahead of the rest of us!

[MrRex]

What an article!!!!
Doesn't this candidate have a sense of history.... a mind of his own? To ascribe any problems he may be having to the efforts of others, says more about the candidate than those trying to affect him. But in honesty BO made much of his campaign a whine about some issue being raised against him. His religion was off limits, his past associations with Wright was off limits, his race was off limits, his wife was off limits....and anyone who brought them up was unfairly attacking him.
Didn't people see the pattern? No, now surrogates are carrying his water, trying to blame others for his changing of mind on Iraq or support of FISA.
Change is not always what we need.

[mccabe49]

Are you kidding me? Where have you been hiding under a rock? nothing has been off limits in regard to attacking Barrack Obama. On the other hand Tefelon John has been given a free pass and everything is off limits in regard to McCain . I think you have things backwards

[ckdogs]

At this and place in time, change is exactly what we need! Loss of civil liberties, energy, global warming, war, tanking economy - Obama at his worst is better than our current administration.

[paixa3]

From an independent, ditto to your poste.

[pithy]

Sen. Obama has not once "whined" about anything. Unlike the current resident of the White House, who pounds and sulks and mocks, and slaughters the English language in the process, Sen Obama has a style, grace and NUANCE that neo-con numbskulls are constitutionally (sadly, pun intended) unable to process.

I will be eternally grateful when this embarassment of a president, this Jeb wanna-be (who never amounted to a hill of beans before the Bush clan got desperate to enhance their legacy and chose George Gumby Bush as successor,) is assigned his earned place in one of the outer rings of the nether world.