Let the disappointment begin!

Obama backs the FISA bill "compromise." As Kevin Drum points out, it's not just the immunity for the telecom companies that makes this a bad bill.

I suspect this is just the beginning of many progressives' disenchantment with Obama. It will only get worse once he's in office. Especially in domestic policy, Obama is far more centrist than progressive. In foreign policy I think we can look forward to some real changes, but in domestic policy I'm not expecting anything revolutionary. Which is too bad, because the country could sure use it.

Stay at home

Not that I think world travel, per se, is a bad thing. But this is a bad idea: Obama considering world tour ahead of August convention. A quick tour won't shore up his foreign policy credentials--it will just give the GOP and the media an excuse to talk about how skimpy they are. (Even though all the people with the right credentials were totally wrong about Iraq.) Moreover, the election won't be decided on foreign policy issues. The economy is circling the drain at the moment. Obama should just stay home and talk more about domestic issues. How many people are more afraid of Islamofacism than of losing their job or not being able to pay their bills? Finally, the McClatchy article speculates that Obama would receive a warm welcome in Europe. Maybe, but that won't do him any favors in the election. It will just feed the meme that he's an elitist, more foreign than American. Forget it, Barack--just stay at home.

P.S.: In fact, you might consider a special tour of the Midwest, where the flooding has been terrible.