Blah Blah Obama Blah Blah

Sincere question: am I the last person in America who gives a damn about civil liberties anymore? All the coverage I've seen regarding the ongoing Democratic convention focuses primarily on jobs and the economy -- "The economy is better now than it was four years ago. No, it isn't. Yes, it is. Well, it would've been worse without Obama." The cover story in this week's Economist discusses the Obama presidency to date, and with the exception of a brief throwaway mention about killing Bin Laden it, too, is economy-exclusive. Even Obama's Republican opponents focus their attacks on "The economy sucks plus OMG gays in the military," with a side order of "How DARE he not promise to give Israel all the financial or military support they want."

Am I the only one still bothered by the fact that Americans cannot travel within their own national borders without submitting to sexual molestation at the hands of a TSA flunky? Am I the only one who opposes the notion "American citizens can be imprisoned or even killed, solely on the president's say-so?" Am I the only one who remembers his broken promises to close Gitmo or tell the Department of Justice to stop prosecuting sick people who treat their symptoms with marijuana? The only one disturbed by the notion that a humiliating strip-and-spread 'em search may now be inflicted on anybody arrested even for the most minor of misdemeanors? The only one disturbed by the thought that the NSA effectively has carte blanche to listen in on our phone calls and read our emails without even bothering to get a search warrant? The only one appalled by the fact that he's more vociferous about punishing whistleblowers than Bush and Cheney were?

Apparently so. And the American left-wing -- traditional champions of the oppressed and the underdog, so long as they're being oppressed by a Republican -- ignores all this in favor of cooing "Ooh, Michelle is so stylish." Yeah, well, so was Eva Peron.