I voted for Obama. But I am going to follow Cornel West's lead when Dr. West stated that "If Obama is elected, I will dance and celebrate for a day. The next day I will be his number one critic." Dr. West's speech can be found here: http://www.cornelwest.com/photos_video.htmlI was happy Obama won. I enjoyed the historical nature of the moment. I have great hope that we will move on from the disatrous administration of the Bush White House. But I'm not going to give Obama a free pass. No responsible citizen should. Obama deserves a fair shake and the patience of the American people as he deals with our economic woes and difficult geopolitical environment.
Despite his immense failures I can also acknowledge that Bush had some positives. His cabinet and top advising staff was the most ethnically diverse in the history of our Republic. His choice of Justice Roberts to the Supreme Court was an excellent one. The Federal Abortion Ban was a step in the right direction.
Nothing disgusts me like straight ticket voting. No offense to the Geico guys...but a Neanderthal could pull the lever for a straight ticket vote. Neither party deserves unswerving and slavish loyalty. Both parties have numerous examples of corruption and malfeasance in their ranks.
A brief rundown of names of powerful party members prosecuted or investigated for one crime or another...
The G.O.P.: Ted Stevens, Larry Craig, Tom DeLay, Scooter Libby, Mark Foley, Bob Livingston and Jack Abramoff.
The Democrats: Dan Rostenkowski, Barney Frank, Gus Savage, Tim Mahoney, Daniel Inouye, Jim Wright and Bill Clinton.
I'm not going to elaborate on the crimes or misdeeds perpetrated by this rogue's gallery. There are many more names you could add to both lists. You can google their names if you wish. My point is that blind loyalty to either party is asinine. It is the duty of the democratic citizen to critically analyze both parties and hold them accountable. Party members on both sides of the aisle often scramble to make excuses for people within their party who are guilty of corrupt behavior. Why? If you hold the guilty accountable then your party will be stronger in the long run.
I've mentioned Jim Wallis's phrase in prior posts and I'm going to repeat it now: God is not a Republican...or a Democrat.
