Obama Democratic Gut Check

Forget about the lack of a public option in the health care act. Forget about not closing Guatanamo Bay or not stopping the torture of terrorism suspects in custody. Forget about the appointments of Turbo Timmy Geithner and Larry Summers to lead his economic team. Forget about defending the Bush TARP program. Forget about the criticism of the "professional left." Forget about the failure to extend middle class tax cuts and to impose slightly higher rates on the richest Americans.

No, less than a month before the election, Barack Obama will get to prove his Democratic bona fides-- or not-- based on whether he signs or vetoes H.R. 3808, a Wall Street bill to help the country's (world's) largest banks escape the massive mortgage document fraud that they and their service provider subsidiaries have perpetrated in illegally foreclosing on tens of thousands of homes of middle class families.