"Obamabots", the "Professional Left", and total fabrications

Lately, I've contemplated returning to political blogging. (I haven't told Michael Hussey this, and I'm sure my return would be much to his chagrin because it means I'd end up causing a lot more trouble here.) For some reason, I find the Left's current split between Obama partisans and detractors intriguing and I wanted to spend a few months, during the beginning of the 2012 campaign cycle, exploring this issue.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Obama and much of my criticism would be viewed under the light of me being a member of the "Professional Left". I don't think Obama is a fighter, and he doesn't have the vision to use the bully pulpit provided to him by the Presidential Office to change the job description of that office; as well as public opinion.

Many of those called "Obamabots" deride my opinion, and claim that the Presidential bully pulpit does not have the power to influence Congress. I'm not sure what rock these people lived under during the Bush Administration, but it must have been a really, really large hunk of granite -- Bush (or Bush's cabinet, if you opt not to give the man credit) knew how to use the Presidential office to display leadership, influence the public, and eventually get their agenda rammed through weakened Democrat opposition in Congress. The Obama Administration, quite frankly, is clueless on how to use the bully pulpit to achieve progressive victories.

Regardless though, when push comes to shove in November, 2012, I'll likely give Obama my vote again. I remember the mantra on the Naderite hard left in 2000 that there wasn't a difference between Bush and Gore, and, well, they were wrong. I'd rather have a weak Democrat in office than a Republican of any stripe.

But I would not like to get involved with political writing again because I can't take the stupidity and dishonesty of politics. Case in point, let's look at a tweet from Dan Choi -- who would be one of my allies if I chose to go back into political blogging and throw my lot in with the "Professional Left":



Perhaps this tweet was sarcastic -- Choi doesn't mention such in the tweet, nor does he note the intent of this tweet elsewhere on his Twitter feed -- but that doesn't matter. Choi attributed a quote to Obama that the President never said. In case you missed this class in first grade, this is called a "lie". And people who willfully tell lies to defame their opponents are "dishonest". And you should not trust a dishonest person.

I no longer trust Mr. Choi.

Whenever I express my opinions about our president's actions, and how disappointed I am during his occupancy of the Oval Office, I do my best to stick to the facts. And when I say "our president", this counts for both Republicans and Democrats -- I defended Bush from lies, too. And I fucking hated the guy. But when you build a case against a politician, if you veer away from facts and base your opinion on fabrications, then you really need to step back, assess your actions, and ask yourself if you're a fucking asshole.

I don't trust fucking assholes.

Unfortunately, the political game is full of frustrating fabrications. Choi's statement is a small drop in the ocean of dishonest politics. So, regarding the future of my career as a political blogger, I'm still opting out of it because I don't want to spend countless hours countering the endless parade of lies. There is nothing gained intellectually from this charade. Personally, instead of returning to political blogging, I'd rather expand my base off knowledge by researching other topics.

But, while pondering a return to the blogging realm, I thought it best to highlight the dishonesty of one who I should naturally be allies with to tell myself that, you know, perhaps it's best not to return.