Political Frustration

Yesterday was one of those days that causes me to find politics frustrating.  First President Obama, along with Congressional leaders, announced an accelerated schedule for producing a health care bill.  This is a good development and it means that the chances of getting a health care bill through Congress are getting better.  One of the reasons I am a Democrat is the party's commitment to increasing health care coverage and this announcement is a good development towards that goal.

Then President Obama reversed an earlier decision and decided to block the release of photos that show the abuse of detainees being held by the U.S.  Sadly, President Obama defended his actions by using some defenses that must have been left over from the Bush administration.  This coupled with the Obama administration's announcement that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has connections to detainee abuse and the Pat Tillman cover-up,  is slated to become the commander of forces in Afghanistan.  To me, this is proof that President Obama is taking ownerhip of many of Bush's policies and the march of empire continues on unabated.

In one day, I went from from feeling optimistic about the possibility of Congress passing a landmark piece of progressive legislation to despair over watching President Obama letting the march of empire continue.  Frustrating.