Going forward

In this little corner of the Internets the watchword is WATCH. Closely. As I've said already, I have no faith or hope in the man who is now President and this is a good thing. My expectations can be easily met, and, I suspect, will be. Some already have been met. That inauguration thingy was too pricey but did seem nice. The speech was okay.

If Obama turns out to be a truly transformative leader I benefit, you benefit, we all do. Win/Win.

Along the way, those of us who refused to "get on the Obama bus" now have the obligation to see as clearly as possible, to own what we already know. The man did not emerge from the ether yesterday. He got where he is with brutal tactics and calculating deceits. Not exactly new, but he did raise the bar. Aspects of these characteristics may benefit him as he deals with Pelosi and that lot.

For anyone who feels the need to "give him a chance" I support that. I don't feel this need. I want proof.

He's failed the trust test 1000 times over the past year. At every single moment when integrity was called for Obama chose duplicity. The Wright speech was as close as he came to showing some integrity. But then he ditched the old grump a week later anyway.

I won't be shaking the etch-a-sketch simply because he was sworn in. Real liberals don't do blind allegiance.

One of the reasons pro Clinton blogs were a treat and relief all year was because they supported and defended her while never letting her off the hook. I knew I disagreed with Clinton's war votes. The Obama pods knew he fudged his Iraq stance every 3 months and decided not to take in the information and deal with it - but instead to lie and pretend reality was, in fact, not reality.

The Obama Blogs and Media Machine attacked Clinton and ignored Obama's reality. They often slipped into moral depravity. Kos allowed - it seems encouraged - death threats against the Clintons, incitements to rape, and all manner of other vulgarity. Huffington was a caldron of blind hatred and shiny delusion. Avorisis sold his soul. Andrew Sullivan tried to - but came to find he does not have one. Poor Andy. Olbermann made a joke about killing Clinton.

Ha. ha.

The trolls who got off on alighting at those places, punking the Clintons, and working into dithers of Obama rapture are in for rough sledding. He's not what was sold. What he actually is is still open to question. And it may not be so bad. What he will be to many is disappointing. Most Pods began frantically making excuses the day after the election. In those pockets of the Left where integrity, principles, and consistency still matter the Obama party has long since dispersed.

Though this blog and many bigger ones directed fury at the Obama charade - lines where drawn in the sand. Anger was in full bloom. The murderous fantasies of spoiled children were not.

BHO does not fit any of the usual labels. Though this may sound appealing and revolutionary about now- it is not. Core principles matter. I have no idea what his are, or if he has any. Liberal and conservative are nouns. Moderate is a verb. To say Obama is moderate is to imply an action or way of being. It is not a statement of core beliefs.

Splitting the difference is not a core principle. It is a tactic. The Carter, Bush 1, and Clinton presidencies all suffered when a lack of core principles was exposed or principles were betrayed. Bush 2 believed in a thing or two along the way - but his anti-curious shallow personality resulted in an ossifying stupidity as the first years of the Iraq war and Katrina proved.

If President Obama demonstrates leadership skills and integrity, takes intelligent action, and proves he belongs where he now is - I will applaud. The campaign and transition proved that he was shrewd and supported by many. Nothing else. As far has I can tell, even after the speech yesterday, is that he believes in "unity". Before November he believed in "hope".

Yeah, well. Who doesn't?

The bar is so high for me, and my expectations so low, precisely because I watched closely all year. So far, all he brings to the party are slogans, speeches about unity, and, since winning, a congenital compulsion to split the difference in all fights. Oh, and a lot of very powerful folks behind the scenes who do have expectations.

Investments are like that. One expects a return.