In my December endorsement of Senator Obama on the Huffington Post, I made it clear that I didn't agree with him on every issue. This was another way of saying, "he's not as liberal as I am." What attracted me to supporting Senator Obama, however, wasn't that he was going to be this watershed liberal/progressive savior. Instead, supporting Senator Obama was always about, in the simplest terms possible, 1) having a president we could be proud of, 2) having a president who could inspire the necessary change we need to roll back the Bush darkness.
Don't be afraid of Senator Obama's political maneuvers here. He's in the midst of a campaign that hinges on a wide variety of familiar, but also brand new variables. And if we can keep our liberal eyeballs focussed on the big picture and hold on to the ideas that attracted us to the senator in the first place, he will make us proud next year.
Oliver Willis wrote a similar message here. And PsiFighter37 from Daily Kos reminds us:
Russ Feingold may have been the lone voice standing up to the first Patriot Act, but he voted for the confirmations of John Ashcroft and John Roberts.
Paul Wellstone was a strong liberal voice in the Senate, yet he voted for DOMA and the Patriot Act.
Dennis Kucinich, aside from being on the political fringe, was a lifelong pro-lifer until he decided he wanted to run for president.
Chris Dodd may do quite well on constitutional matters, but he voted for the Iraqi war, the Patriot Act, and is too beholden to the big banks and the hedge funds which he oversees from the Senate Banking Committee.
Howard Dean may have generated the first Internet-powered campaign and spoke out forcefully against invading Iraq, but he was a centrist governor who reluctantly allowed for civil unions in Vermont (and only because by a court decision, he was forced to).
Sherrod Brown is widely liked for his populist pitch, but he voted for torture in 2006. [Bob adds: In my forthcoming book, I also note that Brown takes money from one of the nation's biggest polluters.]
I won't even bother to recount how many times Jim Webb or Jon Tester have disappointed us, despite getting substantial support from the local netroots scene to help them score upset victories in their respective primaries.