I voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and given the political philosophy of today's Republican Party I would make the same choice again if it were available ... uninformed racists, religious fanatics and divers other cuckoos have taken charge of the GOP.
Having said that, I am deeply disturbed by our president's stated positions vis-a-vis Syria in particular and American imperialism in general. He, like Bush before him treats the constitution like (in words attributed to Bush) "... just a goddamned piece of paper!"
The first inkling I got that Obama might not be committed to constitutional justice was in January, 2009 when he refused to investigate Bush's crimes, saying; "... we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards." ( http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/us/politics/12inquire.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 )
Since then he has not rescinded Bush's most egregious assumed powers (extraordinary rendition, torture, invasion of citizen's privacy, illegal invasion of foreign countries ... etc.) Indeed in many instances he has expanded those assumed powers.
While I applaud his efforts to bring reasonably priced comprehensive medical insurance to millions of otherwise uninsurable people, I condemn his recent war-mongering posture with regard to Syria.
An attack on Syria is a clear violation of international law; treaties that we are a signatory to. Whatever the Syrian government may or may not be guilty of should be litigated by the UN Security Council and/or the International Court of Justice where evidence (insofar as it exists) would be presented and a determination made as to the guilt or innocense of the Syrian government and what punishment would be appropriate. Obama has assumed the role of international judge, jury and executioner. An unprovoked attack can only end in political and economic disaster for America, which, unfortunately, is already viewed as a pariah by much of the civilized world.
The democratic government established by America's founders is incompatible with the reality of American Empire. It seems that Obama is more enamored of America as an imperial super-power than as the democratic republic of our founding.
The thesis for Chalmers Johnson's book, Nemesis, is that democracy and empire are incompatible. A nation must choose between one or the other - as the two cannot co-exist.
He writes: "Over any lengthy period of time, successful imperialism requires that a domestic republic or a domestic democracy change into a domestic tyranny. This is what happened to the Roman Republic; that is what I fear is happening in the United States as the imperial presidency gathers strength at the expense of the constitutional balance of governmental powers as militarism takes even deeper root in the society."
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