Anyone who’s been reading any of my posts on this site would know that I’m pulling for President Obama to be successful (more importantly, I’d like to see this country setting a proper example to its own citizens and the rest of the world), I think the Republican party as it is presently constituted should be no more than a bad memory, and that I believe hardly anything is more important, for the long haul, than investigating and prosecuting those culpible for the legal transgressions of the Bush administration. In the process of all this I’ve started getting somewhat egotistical as if I’m some kind of journalist with an impressive audience of one (although, according to my ISP my audience has numbered as high as 49 and often times is in the twenties). I guess it’s that journalistic wannabe in me that makes me want to write the “you’ve heard it here first” type of “article.” Well, tonight I’m going to give that a shot.

As a person who has little “discretionary” income, it was unusual for me to be sending then Senator Obama money as he campaigned with the backing of somewhere approaching, by November, 5 million individual donors via his web “domain.” Even when he inexplicably voted for the unacceptable FISA bill I wrote to him expressing my displeasure, and then getting a response assuring me that he would “fix” this once he was elected I was concerned. I was skeptical then (I’m 61 and haven’t seen too many politicians that are true to their word, so for me seeing is believing) and I’m even more skeptical now. So, tonight after feeling one red flag after another, I’m going to paint the possible scenario where the Obama “bubble” bursts. I REALLY HOPE I’M WRONG. I honestly don’t want to be able to point people to this site and say “I told you so.” However, if you happen accross this site and read this post and agree with my scenario, please write to President Obama and encourage him to “do the right thing” as his administration evolves. OK, I’m sure if you’ve made it this far it’s time for me to explain the “red flags” I’m seeing that are concerning me about the direction of our 44th President after only one month in office.

I know he promised to engage Republicans, but I hope that “promise” doesn’t supercede the promises he made to the faithful who were largely responsible for getting him elected. Red flag number one: This isn’t the first thing that has raised my eyebrows, but all of a sudden it has made it to the top of the list. Against the backdrop of a military that can’t even define our mission in Afganistan, and our own country on the brink of economic collapse, Obama sends an additional 17,000 troops to Afganistan. This is disconcerting. Our original reason for invading this country was to “get” the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. While I believe we still have a “right” to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, this continued occupation of Afganistan with no stated purpose seems to be more of the American policy of almost saying the lives of our troops are of such little value that we will put them in hostile environments with success being that they survive their “tour” of duty. PLLLLEEASSE President Obama, don’t get caught up in all the fabrication of the Generals who still believe we can “nation build” in Iraq and Afganistan. I certainly thought I was voting for a President who had the guts to stand up to the military industrial complex in this country and who had common sense about where our troops would be deployed. Now, I understand that one of your campaign promises was to finish the search for al Qaeda and bin Laden, but this doesn’t sound like its intended for anything more than getting us mired deeper in the country that bankrupted the Soviet Union in the eighties. I hope i’m wrong here, but just the same, RED FLAG.

And I guess the reason the 17,000 troops in Afganistan is such a “red flag” is because of the reporting that the 16 month exit from Iraq is not going to happen. I certainly haven’t seen any sign of troops coming home as of the first month in office. Now, if it’s that difficult to get them out of there, I believe something should be happening by now. This is RED FLAG number two. I can virtually guarantee you that as soon as Obama announces that he’s not going to get ALL the troops out of Iraq in the 16 month period that he promised it will become evident that he will be getting more Republican support and less Democratic. If you’re on the Democratic side of things, this will be terribly discouraging. Again, I really hope I’m wrong here, but I’ve seen sufficient signs to call this a red flag. Obama had better be very careful here, I’m not sure whether he should be willing to trade his “base” for a few Republicans who might “come over” if he leaves American troops in Iraq indefinitely. But there’s more ………

I earlier mentioned the FISA bill Obama supported during the campaign – you know, the one which let the telecoms off for conspiring with our federal government to be virtually spying on any American the “decider” wanted to spy on – without a court warrant. This is RED FLAG number 3. It has been reported a couple of times, enough to get my hair up, that now President Obama doesn’t want to “give up this power.” Uh Oh!? If these reports are true, THIS IS BAD!!! George W Bush was not a constitutional lawyer and was (supposedly) relying on legal oppinions (everyone knows they were fabricated by lawyers lacking integrity) by his so-called legal counsel – but Obama has no excuses if he goes down this path. The government needs to get out of the business of spying on its citizens and FAST!!! This is another area where I believe President Obama is risking the support of a large part of his “base.” I’m sure there are a lot more baby boomers such as myself who will become beyond cynical if Obama doesn’t fulfill his promise to roll back the abuses of the Bush administration. However, I’ve already heard quotes from a couple of his staffers saying that President Obama doen’t want to “erode” the powers of the President.

This brings me to RED FLAG number four. One of the things that has so many Americans frustrated about our government is the incredible and open abuses of power of the Bush/Cheney White house. They assumed way too much power. I just concluded, based on some of Obama’s comments during the campaign, that this was a no brainer. Once he was in office, he would work to roll back these abuses and help to restore the legitimate concept of the three equal branches of government. I have watched many times in my lifetime how power can change people and I’m hoping, almost desperately, that Obama fulfills his promises to restore the office of the Presidency to its rightful place in this triumvirate of power. But I’ve heard some alarming comments in this area as well. For example, the White House counsel doesn’t want Karl Rove to go before Congress and claim (absurdly) executive privilege from the previous President regarding the firing of the nine Attorney’s Generals. His point was evidently that they would possibly have to side with Rove, because they don’t want to “weeken” Presidential powers. The thing that bugs me about this is that they are talking about powers they only have because of the arrogance of Dick Cheney, who I believe was the architect of the abuses of the previous eight years. I would hate to see the Democratic Congress have to take Obama’s White House to court to prove that these claims are baseless. And does anyone really believe that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi would have the stomach to fight Obama when they wouldn’t stand up to Bush. WE NEED SOME LEADERSHIP HERE, AND IT NEEDS TO COME FROM THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF!

And the final RED FLAG. The persistent reluctance to encourage investigations of what everyone knows was a rogue administration who broke one law after another and who it could be safely said of, “If their lips are moving, they’re lying.” I have been saying this for months, but I believe it with all my heart, if these thugs aren’t prosecuted they will return on the scene and we will be writing these same kinds of articles all over again. Remember, many of the perpetrators in Bush 43’s administration were also part of Iran/Contra or Watergate – the last two Republican scandals where virtually everyone got pardoned and came back like bad nightmares. PLEASE PRESIDENT OBAMA, LET’S PUT THESE PEOPLE TO REST ONCE AND FOR ALL!? I’m beginning to get the idea that Presidents are like doctors in the sense that they “stick up” for each other. It’s like my hip that was put in wrong – there’s not much I can do about it because one doctor wont’ testify against another – it’s just grin and bear it – you know tough it up! Well, I really hope that isn’t going to be what we get from Mr. Obama. I REALLY HOPE I’M WRONG HERE – BUT THAT’S A LOT OF RED FLAGS!!!