So, I was pretty happy with the Iowa results, and I like Obama — WAY more than Clinton. Some of that follows from his campaign, his rhetoric, etc. Some of it’s a function of stuff he did in Illinois, and of my personal political quirks and preferences. (For instance, he’s been supportive of instant runoff voting, which is a concept you only know about if you’re really paying attention to the deep flaws in our structures of governance.)Odds are very high that I’ll be voting for him on March 4th.

But after tonight’s debate, and the re-hash of talk of bombing Pakistan and such, I feel compelled to post some left-critique of Obama. Paul Street is an author and Iowa resident and Edwards supporter. He’d certainly argue that Obama is better than Clinton, but deconstructs some of Obama’s more dubious rhetoric and policy positions in important ways. Here’s “ Why I’ve focused on Obama: Seven Points.”

The left shouldn’t give Obama a pass — and given Edwards’s strong Iowa showing, Obama will hopefully realize that there’s space enough for him to stand up for the left-leaning principles that I still hope underly his politics and ambition.

(I’ll say also that I don’t trust Edwards — I do like his recent rhetoric, but the correlation between political rhetoric and action isn’t so tight, and there are enough hypocrisies in Edwards’s personal life — hedge fund leader, super-rich, gazillion dollar estate clear-cut out of the North Carolina woods — that I don’t think he should be fawned over either. Basically, I’m a curmudgeon.)

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