Yeah, I'm a flip flopper

So I said some things about Obama two years ago.

Barack Obama is thinking of running.

I'm going to clue you all in on two things, in case you haven't noticed

One: The main reason everyone, myself included, loved him in 04 is that his charisma was in such sharp contrast with John Kerry's.

Two: The concept of him as a candidate is the flip side of the coin John McCain has been sitting on ever since he didn't win the primary in 2000. The concept of such a mainstream candidate is far more enticing than either would offer in practice. It's no wonder as soon as the two of them started working together in the Senate they found themselves in a pissing match. Fuck that shit.

Anyways, he's said that religion belongs in the presidential discourse, remember? Because that's done such fucking great things for our country. To his credit, at least in comparison with the fucker on the other side of the metal disc, he never appeared with Falwell.

In retrospect, expecting a fully fleshed out platform for a presidency at a time when he was merely considering his options was probably a bit bullheaded on my part. Since then he's shown me that he does, in fact, stand for something. And no, I'm not talking about "CHANGE." That there may be supporters of his who are rapt by his presence even though they can't name three things he's about is not a valid political argument. His policies have been clear, and they aren't the politics of centrist for the sake of centrist. And despite the statement about religion, he hasn't ceded any political capital to Jesus-based interests

As for the contrast between him and Kerry... I was still pretty pissed at the time. I maintain that we would be talking about a re-election campaign for Kerry and Edwards if Kerry had openly and notoriously called the Swift Boat campaign what it was. Watching Kerry speak at the Obama rally in Boston last night, I wondered just where that power he seemed to be channeling was four years ago.

So, as if it mattered I wholly retract. His support of non-coercive universal healthcare, open government, and net neutrality among much else has earned him my support. Beyond that, I'm just glad that there's someone I can get genuinely excited about. Does his coming into the race as an insurgent within the Democratic Party have a lot to do with my support for him? Probably. But there is no way in hell I would vote for Clinton. Support censorship in any form and there is no fucking way you will ever have my support.

Today is both Super Tuesday and Fat Tuesday. I strongly urge you to grab some beads and head to the polls.