Saturday, July 12, 2008

Digby says it well

Unlike Digby, I was taken in by Obama's personality, as much as by his message. But I had read his books and studied his legislative record, so while I knew him to be somewhat centrist, I was okay with it. As a socially liberal/fiscally conservative progressive, I have a couple of center-right tendencies on certain issues, and I actually liked those contradictions in Obama. But why I am now turned off and have stopped supporting (donating to/volunteering for) his campaign is that I feel completely betrayed.

Up until the end of the primaries, I was convinced that he was indeed principled and not triangulating, and that he wasn't afraid of standing up for any of his principles. Sure, he may not be much of a fighter in the sense that he didn't go looking for fights, be he did seem proud and strong enough to stand his ground. I don't know where that guy went, but this General Election Obama is not the Primary Obama that I worked so hard for in the primaries.

And I did work hard. I manned the phones, I donated money I could barely afford to give up, and I flew across the country to volunteer in Texas. I did that because Obama seemed proud that he had the support of the netroots, and activists on the left. He certainly wasn't dismissive of us like Clinton was. So it did indeed come as a shock when he reversed his position on FISA, and it really hurt when he attacked MoveOn.org. I genuinely feel like he got what he wanted from us, and has now hung us out to dry.

I still believe that Obama must win, because a McCain presidency would be absolutely horrible for this country. But Obama is going to have to win without my help, as he certainly seems to be okay with. But if he wants my support, he's going to have to earn it.

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