Reply #84: I much appreciate what you have to say about following blindly.

[Jackpine Radical]

I don't think of myself as a blind follower; certainly I was very critical of much that Bill Clinton did, and I didn't leap to Obama early because I thought him too "centrist." However, at this juncture, I think it's premature to judge his administration before they have actually done anything. I admit to being perplexed by some of his appointments,but I don't know at this juncture that the ensuing policies will follow the patterns we think we can anticipate from observing the opening lineup. If this were any other administration, I might be willing to join in that game with full gusto; however, so far, Obama has always seemed to be operating at a greater depth than a lot of people give him credit for. Sometimes the actions of a whole cannot be predicted from an analysis of the behavior of the parts.

If we end up in a prolonged Iraq war, if we dig ourselves in deeper in Afghanistan, then I'll be back on the picket lines. If the rights of any minorities-ethnic, spiritual, sexual--are diminished, then I will speak for them. If the rich are fattened at the expense of the poor, if the corporations win out over the people so that there is no decent universal health care, if the environment is sacrificed on the altar of greed, then i will be with you on the barricades. Until that time, however, I will feel like some kibitzing idiot on the sidelines yelling at Boris Spassky for having pushed that particular pawn.