In which I admit my ignorance

People, as you probably know, have expressed a certain amount of frustration over President Obama's actions related to queer rights, the economy, clearing the air about the Bush administration's war crimes, and so on. To some extent, I agree. Yes, it's not okay to sit by while your cabinet members write memos comparing same-sex relationships to incest. I do think there has to be a certain amount of privilege involved in giving up on Obama this quickly (a thought that came to mind while I was sitting in the Medici Cafe in Chicago a week or so ago while the employees went about in T-shirts that said "Obama Ate Here").

But then my past self gave me a reality check: There's a war on. When I decided to commit some time (and not as much as I should have) to campaigning for Obama, it was because I thought it was morally compelling to elect a candidate who would try to end the war in Iraq. I didn't think any other issue mattered in comparison, and in fact, I still don't.

That said, I haven't been following the news too well. So I don't really know at this point whether Obama has done a better job of working towards ending the war than Bush would have.