Obama’s FISA opportunity

Keith Olbermann Anchor, 'Countdown' • Profile

The Democratic leadership in the Senate, Republican knuckle-dragging in the same chamber, and the mediocre skills of whoever wrote the final version of the FISA bill, have combined to give Sen. Barack Obama a second chance to make a first impression.

And he damned well better take it. The Senate vote on this tortured and reckless piece of legislation has now been postponed until after the 4th of July break. The Democrats, completing their FISA experience, a collective impression of Homer Simpson falling off a cliff and hitting every bramble on the way down, didn't exactly plan this fortuitous delay.

Last week, the vote on their cave-in was imminent. But, while arguing over a piece of housing legislation, about how many mortgage lenders can dance on the head of a pin, Republicans dithered so long about protecting their constituents, the banks, that the Senate calendar got backed up.

This, in turn, gave Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid some time to think.

There was one among his group, chosen to run for President, who had loudly assailed the idea of handing a get-out-of-jail-free card to corporations who had approached definitional fascism by breaking the law in concert with the Bush Administration.

But this Senator had suddenly realized, that to the large group of voters who operate with an information base that would make Cliffs Notes look like the Encyclopedia, if, in the final vote, he stood against FISA, he would hand them a rock with which they could hit him over the head, a rock wrapped up in a piece of paper reading:

"Obama voted uh-uh… thing terror stop." Thus, Sen. Obama, was born your first second chance.

Sen. Reid was kind enough to help you out by composing an amendment that would keep FISA, which you rightly endorse, but strips out the telecom immunity, which you rightly oppose.

It's a protest, a decidedly lame one, but in our daily world of political transactions, voting for the amendment when it has no chance of passing and has been in essence constructed as pure Obama CYA, that is a petty crime.

Whether it will do more to harm your premise of "new politics" than to your credibility as an immunity-opponent, is for you, Senator, to assess.

And live with. It would be sweet to have a pure, politics-free president, but the last of those retired from office in 1797. And while we've all quoted the farewell address of "The Father Of Our Nation" for 211 years now, nobody seems to want to remember that its point was to urge his children that: whatever you do, for God's sake, don't form political parties, some day they will kill you.

Anyway, Senator, your problem here isn't the backlash about telecom immunity, and it isn't really about your political fluidity on the FISA bill.

Your problem is what happens even if this plays out according to plan next week:

• You vote for the anti-immunity amendment
• The anti-immunity amendment fails
• You vote for the FISA legislation
• The FISA legislation passes
• Senator: The Republicans still run against you with the 'elections-for-dummies 'message: "Obama voted uh-uh… thing terror-stop."

Because, inside the obscenity that was Charlie Black's comment about how a terrorist attack in this country would be good for his boy John McCain's chances for election.

Inside the inhuman calculation that Benazhir Bhutto did not die in vain, she helped McCain in the New Hampshire primary. There is a sad and cynical reality. The Republicans can scare some of the people all of the time, and they can scare all of the people some of the time. This is all they are right now. Nobody ever said it better than did Aaron Sorkin in his script for the movie "The American President":

"Whatever your particular problem is, friend, I promise you, Bob Rumson (and for Rumson, read "McCain") is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: Making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it."

More from NBC News broadcasts Town still struggling with Matthew Shepard's death Economic turmoil takes center stage on Meet the Press   Lockup extended stay: Under pressure   Doc Block: The hunt for the 'Texas 7' Hardblogger: Who won the town hall debate?   More kids forgo bus, walk to school

MORE FROM COUNTDOWN W/ KEITH OLBERMANN

Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann Section Front

Guilt by association Among McCain’s houses, some glass Terrorists? It's Palin doing the pallin' Does Muthee make Wright look tame? Sarah Palin is the new George Bush Is SNL making a joke of McCain/Palin? Letterman blasts McCain 'Late Show' snub Keith pays on his promise Palin’s energy expertise not evident Palin resurrects Iraq-9/11 falsehood Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann Section Front   Add Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann headlines to your news reader: