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People, we are talking about politicians. They are a certain breed, even the best of them. They may be terrifically idealistic but this idealism coexists with the harsh reality that people with money and power will try, and in many cases succeed, to manipulate them. That's just life. For your own sanity and integrity, it's probably best not to be too carried away in your enthusiasm for any one politician, or you will find yourself having to rationalize their less savory votes and their occasionally egregious policy mistakes and their out-and-out corruptions.
That said, I think our country is desperate right now for even a highly imperfect Democratic presidency. I'm with all those who say that no matter who the Democratic candidate is, it's important for us to vote for that person and try to end this prolonged Republican nightmare we've been living under.
An early poster provided a link to this terrific Ken Silverstein article from Harpers. Silverstein, by the way, is one of the most experienced, smartest, and rational reporters in Washington, D.C. I'm reposting this link as a person who voted for Obama here in Maryland but did so with a fairly lukewarm attitude. I think he is very smart and has more genuinely progressive plans and views than Clinton but is, like all major politicians today, beholden to corporate masters. So in my mind it remains to be seen whether his genuine progressive/reformist impulses can weather the reality of our pay-to-play political culture.
Those who really do hold highly idealistic views of Obama will be offended by the article. Those who understand and accept the big-money-driven reality of politics may actually admire Obama for being extremely savvy and smooth, for linking the ideals of young progressives with the horsetrading/kickbacking requirements of our American corporate oligarchy in an almost seamless way. In any case, it's a very, very good read:
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2006/11/0081275
