well, that's just great.

[sophiaserpentia]

Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and - in a move sure to cause controversy - support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.

from Obama Vows To Expand Bush's Faith-Based Programs

This comes on the heels of Obama's stated willingness to vote for a bill that contains an immunity provision for telecom companies who helped Bush eavesdrop illegally on the phone conversations of who-knows-how-many American citizens.

Comments

[tantra-cat.livejournal.com]

Oh boy....I can understand tacking to the middle, but he is really starting to drift over the line now.

Re: point #2 did you see olberman's special comment last night? There may be a way out on that one.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

I suppose he was tacking for the middle, but he's wound up far to the right of where any of the other Democrats running for president would have gone. And i don't think he's done yet.

Yeah, i watched Olbermann's comment this morning. I'm underwhelmed. It's like scraping a little bit of positivity out of a whole bunch of crap, along with the added sinking feeling of, this is what we get to look forward to now.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I resolve this in a fairly simplistic way: he's having to position to deal with the standard Republican attack methods so until the election, I'm not really going to worry about his voting - because his history prior to becoming a candidate is solid.

Also, we well know what McCain will deliver, so not like that's an option.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

I wish this conventional wisdom would die already, because no one respects obvious pandering.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

It's not so much conventional wisdom in my opinion so much as a need to respond to a method of campaigning that Reagan used successfully and that has been a Republican blueprint ever since. That dual-pronged approach of fear and macho posturing. Sadly, it sells and so the dems are on the defensive.

Obama has shown he has integrity when it counted but idealism right now is probably simply not practical unless we want 4 more years of the same.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

If he wants to look like a real "candidate for change" then maybe he should campaign differently and have some faith in the message he sold to America during the primaries... the message which had already given him a fairly clear lead over McCain. He should have pulled McCain to the left to him, rather than lurching to the right to meet McCain.

After what he's been saying over the last two weeks he's left all his core supporters wary.

[lassiter.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I resolve this in a fairly simplistic way: he's having to position to deal with the standard Republican attack methods

It's called throwing the election to McCain. The Republican faithful are not gonna vote for the darkie Muslim lib'ral no matter what, so Obama (Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale) lose thousands of votes by moving rightward, while not gaining a single vote.

And if the radical right somehow became so enamored of Obama's newfound conservativism that they ended up supporting him, then...why would any progressive even bother voting for him?

What Obama is doing is guaranteeing a McCain victory in November.

[lassiter.livejournal.com]

I suppose he was tacking for the middle, but he's wound up far to the right of where any of the other Democrats running for president would have gone.

I disagree. Hillary, for one, has always been in favor of telecom immunity and FISA, and is herself a long-time member of a fairly scary fundie cult.

[alobar.livejournal.com]

Obermann sold out. He is just another shill for the Democrats.