Yes, This Is Sickening, But...

...such is politics. It shouldn't be but it's the current reality and proves just how far we need to go to move beyond the repugnance in which we are engulfed. Or maybe this proves just how immature and unprepared the Obama team really is for leading a nation of men and women, of all races. Honestly, I'm shocked at the raw bullshit being spewed forth by Obama's National Co-Chairman Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

Melissa has a great post up at Shakesville on this subject, and some of the comments reminded me so much of my reactions to things lately, I had to take a step back for a second, deep breathe, and then I wrote this comment:

Here's my opinion and feel free to disregard it; I'm sure I will, probably in the next 24 hours.

Don't be too hasty to make decisions based on one incident, and jump ship from one candidate to another.

I've been doing that for years, and this year is no exception. I started off a Kucinich supporter because I tend to vote my convictions (or support a candidate who shares the most of my convictions since I rarely get to vote for them--they tend to drop out before my primary) and I've already gone from Kucinich to Edwards to Obama, back to Edwards, and now I'm straddling the fence... finally.

Not only can this have the tendency to drive you insane, it becomes illogical given that more incidents are likely to happen between now and whenever this crap gets wrapped up.

Keep in mind the pace at which these folks are scrambling for votes, their lack of sleep, the media attention, their schedules, and the attacks coming from all directions on a constant basis.

Who among us hasn't snapped under such conditions and said something we regret saying? And yes, we usually apologize and move on. And yes, these candidates tend to avoid apologies in favor of twisting it in some way to indicate it was taken out of context, was misconstrued, or whatever. Because apologies make a candidate look weak and out of control I guess. Unpresidential.

Sure, it's all bullshit. And absolutely, we need to push them on it when they fuck up.

I still maintain that defending against misogyny is an integral component of comprehensive progressivism -- and he's not doing too well there at the moment, to put it mildly.
Melissa McEwan

Amen to that. I try to remind myself of what these people might be like in the calmer environment of actually running the country and pushing for legislation rather than what slips of the tongue might piss me off and make me want to bail. While Obama’s camp might be making Hillary look pretty damn good right now, just keep in mind which candidates are most likely to resist the heavily patriarchal corporate behemoths that control us.

While we may feel good about ourselves right now for supporting a candidate and ditching another because of a disagreeable verbal misstep, we should consider the long-term ramifications of our decisions and whether that, in the end, isn’t going to be a far greater disservice to our causes.

PortlyDyke correctly pointed out that this wasn't just a misstep but a calculated "strategy trying to spin the tear-factor." And that makes it far more disgusting, and unfortunately for Obama, far more memorable. Had it come directly from Obama himself rather than the surrogate Jesse Jackson Jr., then the Obama campaign might well be cooked as of today, as far as truly progressive men and women are concerned. Obama needs to address this disgustingly adolescent manipulation. Soon. The clock is ticking.