Well, you got your lesser evil. Now all we can do is hope that he will do less evil than he did in his first term. Bitter experience, and a nodding acquaintance with history — and human nature — mitigate mightily against such a hope, but we are where we are, and that’s all we’ve got.
In any case, I am eagerly looking forward to seeing how all our super-savvy lesser-evilist progressives “hold Obama’s feet to the fire” in the months to come, as they promised so solemnly to do. You remember, don’ t you? How they savagely condemned anyone who so much as thought about not supporting Obama, while pledging to unleash their righteous rage at his crimes and follies — just as soon as he was safely returned to the White House. I’m sure they’ll come down hard on him. Why, I can see it all now…..
“OK, now the inauguration’s over, let’s get to work. First of all, these drone attacks are criminal atrocities killing scores of innocent people. We can organize a protest march to–“
Super-savvy prog: “Hush your mouth! We can’t undermine the president right now. We’ve got to help the Democrats get control of the House in 2014! Or do you want the evil Rethuglicans to keep blocking everything? Wait until after the mid-term elections, then we’ll put the pressure on.”
***
“OK, we took back the House in 2014 with a slate of anti-abortion, pro-war, entitlement-slashing, deficit-hawk, Blue Dog Democrats. You said it was the savvy thing to do, the lesser evil to replace the anti-abortion, pro-war, entitlement-slashing, deficit-hawk Republicans. NOW can we go after Obama — for the state terrorism of the drone campaign, the ‘extrajudicial’ murders, the ‘disposition matrix,’ the torture and imprisonment of the truth-teller Bradley Manning, the support of the brutal coup and murderous repression in Honduras, the fracking, the off-shore drilling, the ‘Grand Bargaining’ with Social Security and Medicare, the protection of CIA torturers, the global arms dealing, the growing prison population, the growing economic inequality, the ever-more draconian ‘security apparatus’, the bail-out of the oligarchs and the–“
Super- savvy prog: “Bite your tongue! We can’t undermine the president right now! It will hurt the chances of his Democratic successor if we make Obama look bad! Or do you want Paul Ryan to be president? What kind of selfish moral purist are you?”
Oh yeah, they’re really gonna make Obama sweat. Things will be different this time around. I can’t wait!