> I consider
> Obama a war criminal in making because I consider the presidency an
> institution that maintains U.S. dominance and there is simply no way to
> maintain U.S. dominance without supporting atrocities, starvation,
> repression...
> And yet, let me confess, I will probably take the 5 minutes it takes me to
> walk down to my polling station and vote for Obama. Simply because the
> people in power now are some of the worse gang of authoritarian terrorists
> the world has known.
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You sound very confused, Jerry. Those intending to vote for Obama, including on this list, believe that his foreign policy will be less dangerous than the Bush administration's, relying more on multilateral economic and diplomatic pressure and compromise than on unilateral military aggression and threats to pursue US interests. So do the Cubans, Iranians, Palestinians, Chinese, Russians and others who have also indicated a preference for dealing with Obama than McCain. They may or may not have the illusions you attribute to them. It remains to be seen whether the Bush administration will prove an aberration or the first overt expression of an empire in terminal decline forced to maintain control by predominantly military means, no matter who is in charge. But it's clear few if any Obama supporters would knowingly, like yourself, support someone they knew was a "war criminal in the making" destined to perpetuate "atrocities, starvation and repression" - all the while pretending he was somehow, inexplicably, a lesser evil than the "worst gang of authoritarian terrorists the world has known".
Most to their credit would stay home rather than vote. The few who stayed loyal would lack any basis for holding him accountable. Maybe it would be more consistent and principled for you to stay home, and to give Julio, Charles, Max, and others the benefit of the doubt for encouraging support for Obama on the basis of his pledges to change course, and for being prepared to later hold him accountable if he deviates from them. If you know of better openings to develop opposition to US foreign policy at the present time, I'd be interested to hear about them.