The Obama Campaign: Politics and Sinking Ships

Hi Folks...

I've stayed away from this list (TexasforObama) for a little bit, in part because of some minor disappointments with Obama in recent weeks, but more so because of the feuding and flaming that's gone rampant in here over those same few weeks - some of which I may even be responsible for. For that part, I apologize - outright, without condition.

However, now that the primary is over (perhaps...), and the real work begins, we seem to be falling upon one another like a pack of crazed rats on a sinking ship. Granted, the ship may have sprung a few righteous leaks (apparent position shifts), but I'm confident that the bilges and pumps are working as advertised, and the ship is nowhere near sinking -- listing, a little, maybe, but not yet sinking...

You have some problems. I have some problems. We have some problems. Your and my hot-button issues likely aren't the same, any more than our reactions to them (or threats to them) would be the same. The things you're willing to overlook may indeed be my hot-button issues, and vice versa. None of them are "petty," from our admittedly limited, subjective perspectives; nor are they "pretty." But, it takes all kinds to form a coalition -- us.

All that said, are we so willing to trash such a bright and hopeful campaign, just at the moment when the real work becomes evident? If so, then likely we will get a McSame in the White House, eight more years of the same, and possibly even WWIII - all the worst elements of the Bible and Nostradamus, if Iran is dragged into the morass - if you believe in that sort of thing...

We promised to reach out to Hillary and her supporters with consolation, assistance and inclusion, but we haven't done it. Rather than helping their wounds heal, we've let (even encouraged) them to fester and explode. Look at the list: Were we really healing the rift, our membership should be growing phenomenally. Instead, we're steadily declining. Why?

We promised to include Independents (rudderless), disaffected Republicans (the enemy), and even Reagan Democrats (traitors) into the fold and merge agendas. Have we? Really? When?

We promised to reach out to the other side of the aisle, to forge compromises and build bridges for further communication. But, whenever Obama does it, or when one of us even suggests it, the rest of us fall all over ourselves to level the first broadsides (back to the sinking ship analogy), at Barack, and at one another in the list, as we rush to take hot-button-issue-driven sides. Coalitions are about compromise, but apparently, we'll have none of that...

So, what's left? Do we stand, granite on marble, holding tightly, desperately, to one or two personal hot-button issues, while the rest of the country sinks into an abyss beneath us? Last I heard, neither granite nor marble float real well. Are we willing to work for the greater outcomes we all need, or, to complete the ship analogy, will we still be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, with its fantail in the air, while McSame takes the Oath of Office? Your call.

Cheers...
San Antonio, Texas USA