So how is that working out for you? Let’s see: Ford, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and finally the Dark Lord. I guess we’re still in the ‘two steps back’ phase.”

Actually, most of us who are not of the MTV generation half expected the Earth to be a pile of smoking ash by this point, so, overall, we're not doing too bad. Some also remember Jim Crow laws, illegal abortions, Apartheid, sexual harassment in the workplace being legally acceptable...

And, Orwell's 1984 is close, but isn't here yet, and it is already 2008, letting you make your asinine commentary on a medium that was built by thousands of working scientists making thousands of discoveries working incrementally. Which is always the way of progress.

Grasshopper, sententious language is not the equivalent of wisdom. The fruits of the ants labor are all around you, but you are too blind to see it.

Look to the Right, and notice that those who yell loudest about their principles are usually those who don't truly believe in them themselves (and get caught in public toilets soliciting sex). Hypocrisy is rightly something to be righteously angry about, but at some level, we are all hypocrites.

And look to history. Washington and Jefferson did more to advance the cause of freedom and individual rights than just about anybody.

And they both owned slaves until they died. Look closely at any of the glorified champions of the past, and you will see that they are just fallible human beings. Principles are a Platonic ideal, something to strive for, but only a fool truly expects anybody to live up to them.

And remember, the first and last successful third party in American history were the Republicans. There were few more noble attempts at a better society than the Communist revolution in Russia, but in a society used to dictators, within 30 years they got Stalin. What a party is called is meaningless. You are always working within the system. Whether you understand that or not, is your own ignorance.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SenatorObama-PleaseVoteAgainstFISA

there are currently over 2100 members of this group. If you go to My.Barackobama.com and do a search on Groups with most members, 10 are listed, in 10th place is New Jersey Action Team with 2769 members. The top group is Obama Action Wire with 13267.

This is called testing the candidate. If we make the top 10, will he respond?

If we make #1, will Obama cave to his base?

Instead of takin your name off, why don't you join

http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SenatorObama-PleaseVoteAgainstFISA

there are currently over 2300 members. If it gets to ~2800, it will be in the top ten of groups, and will show up when you ask it to Show Me Groups with most Members. The top group has 13279 members.

If the most active Group on his own website is the one asking him to stop FISA, will he respond?

This is a test of the Obama's main claim.. that this is YOUR campaign, not his...

(Hmm.... I wonder how people would bet on his response (or lack thereof))

Many Democrats support Bush policies because they believe in them. Others don't believe in them but are persuaded that they must support them in order to be re-elected. Still others have no beliefs at all other than their own re-election and do whatever they perceive is most likely to achieve that.

They also sometimes support things the Repugs want in order to get reciprocal support on things THEY want. It's not all about getting re-elected all the time, despite the way the media and many people on this comment section seem to think. In fact, for the VAST majority of them, re-election is pretty much a non-issue (even in these times, the incumbent is almost always a shoe-in if they just go through the motions).

It's horse trading. And they have decided FISA is a bargaining chip rather than a priority.

Also, do not think that your Senator has read what the House passed. Most have not. They are BUSY people, and do not have time to read every single piece of legislation. They rely on their staffers to do that, or they rely on committee members.

Do you really think Obama read the legislation before commenting on it? It's 114 pages and plenty of Constitutional lawyers seem to agree that it is not an easy read. Try to imagine everything that goes into his day. Lobbyists do not buy politicians, they buy ACCESS... a chance to be heard. Look at the daily schedule of the Senate and all the committees etc.

Obama has claimed to be a Uniter, not a Divider. What that says to me is he will generally try to compromise rather than confront. Virtually all Republicans are for this, and a substantial number of Democrats. Think of what that means to a "Uniter"

(note, none of this is to say that his position is defensible and his actions laudable, just that thinking that politicians only think about how something will affect their personal or party's chances in the election is naive in the extreme)