Last summer, when the Obama administration backed up Israeli piracy against the Mavi Marmara -- a stance they're maintaining and extending pre-emptively with regard to The Audacity of Hope -- I sent e-mail to the White House criticizing the policy. I didn't even get a derisory form e-mail in response. (At least my congressman sent me a form letter defending a related but different aspect of US policy. Vive l'automation!) The only acknowledgement I got was to be put on the Obama organization's mailing list, and ever since then I've been getting regular begging letters from them.I've replied only to the recent "Have Dinner with Barack" sweepstakes, which offers a chance to sit at a table with him if you donate $5 to his campaign. It would almost have been worth the fiver to have a shot at being face-to-face with our butcher-in-chief, but fortunately no purchase turned out to be necessary. Like any commercial sweepstakes, there was an option for those who preferred not to donate, and I availed myself of it. I don't expect to hit the jackpot, but if I do, you can be sure I'll report here.
Anyway, I got the latest begging letter today. There'll be organizing going on in my city for the Fourth of July! The e-mail listed time, location, and local contact person, and asked me to RSVP. I turned the 1 in the "People Who'll Be There" field to a zero, and wrote a comment explaining why I wouldn't be there, but (surprise!) the RSVP would not accept a zero. So I changed the zero back to a 1 and edited the comment. Come Tuesday, I suppose I'll get plaintive e-mail asking what went wrong, why wasn't I there? (Maybe I should pass by the literature table wearing my "Too Left For Obama" t-shirt.) It's going to be a long election season.