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I’m pretty cynical about politics in general, and US power politics in specific, but even I have been surprised at how quickly and completely Obama has moved to make Bush policies his own… and with only sort of a half-nod at putting a friendly face on them.

So far we have

• war in Afghanistan, crossing the border into Pakistan (which I guess we’re supposed to call “AfPak” now)
• indefinite (read, lifetime) imprisonment of “terror” suspects
• domestic surveillance that can never be challenged in court
• threatening the UK to keep them from revealing what we did to one of their countrymen in Guantánamo
• massive giveaway of public money to private corporations, with no accountability

This is why I’ve felt that a liberal President is more dangerous than a conservative one. With a right-winger in the White House, at least there’s the possibility of a challenge from the left. But when the President is one of their own, liberals sit on their hands even if they object. And this benefits neither Obama nor the left.

Obama might be doing a lot of these things because he genuinely believes in them, or he might be responding to what he perceives as political pressure. Either way, though, he’s going to keep making these moves as long as there’s no real resistance to them. That’s just political reality.  And that’s exactly what we saw throughout the Bush years: the Leader made a move, and his followers rushed to endorse it.

With so-called progressives in the media praising Obama for his “post-partisan” mindset, and his desire to “look forward, not backward,” Obama is totally empowered to carry on most of the Bush policies while refusing to charge anyone for – or even investigate – the worst abuses.

I can’t see any way it could ever be any different, even if the Democrats nominated a saint for President. The realities of power politics make “change from within” an empty slogan, regardless of what the Imams of Hopeandchange are preaching this weekend.

My feelings about Obama remain the same: in his ceremonial role of Head of State – our constitutional King – I’m still kinda proud of him as our first national leader of color and as an often inspirational speaker. As Head of Government, though, he is perpetrating evil acts, as have all Presidents of the United States. It’s as dangerous as hell for progressives and liberals of whatever stripe to let their regard for the man – or the symbol, whatever – keep them from protesting, and working to reverse, his actions.

Update: add “don’t ask, don’t tell” to the list…