In 16 years, will I feel the same about the Obamas as I now feel about the Clintons?

[Bleacher Creature]

My first time voting in a Presidential election was for Bill Clinton in 1992. I remember absolutely adoring them -- to the point that I still get goosebumps whenever I hear "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac. With the notable exceptions of being angered by his support for NAFTA and his decision to sign the welfare "reform" bill, I defended Bill Clinton every step of the way in the '90s. It's so strange now to feel animosity toward them, but I really do to a certain degree based on some of their most recent antics.

Now, every time I feel inspired by Barack and Michelle Obama, every time I think about how much they are a breath of fresh air, I can't help but remember how I felt in 1992. We had a young, charismatic nominee ready to take over the party with an extremely intelligent and strong-willed wife who was attacked by the wingnuts for not being a typical GOP Stepford Wife.

Anyway, just throwing that out there.

[Mister Ed]

1. I'd say that's the least of our worries right now. n/t

[Bleacher Creature]

6. Not worried. Just wondering. It's strange to watch things come full circle.

[bunnies]

2. No.

Youre smarter now and have better judgment. My first vote was Clinton in 92 as well. No comparison.

[justinsb]

3. A worthy question: Let's elect him twice and find out the answer! n/t

[onehandle]

4. Maybe. Bill Clinton was the "Big Dog" around here for years.

I suspect that in 16 years when corporations still rule and the world is getting worse, Obama will be blamed by the "Democrats" at Democratic Underground.

I won't. Just like I don't blame Bill Clinton and have fond memories of the 90s.

[TheDebbieDee]

14. I have fond memories of the 90s as well.............

I went back to college to improve my self. My children were younger and I felt that they had long, happy promising futures ahead of them.

The repukes have turned all of our futures to $hit and I'll never forgive them or any of their unrepentant, fundy, hypocrite enablers that used to call themselves republicans/independents and now call themselves Democrats.

[AZBlue]

5. Doubtful and here's why:

Even at that time there were rumors about them - we just chose to ignore them, collectively & individually. There are no such rumors about the Obamas now and I would bet that there never will be.

[dorkulon]

7. "The true test of competence is performance." --William S. Burroughs

Only time will tell.

[MonkeyFunk]

8. Probably

it's impossible for him to live up to the idealized image many of you have of him. Many here seem to think he's something different than a centrist mainstream democratic politician.

he's not a magical "lightworker", he's not a progressive firebrand, he's just a talented politician. And a lot of people are going to be very disappointed when they realize that.

[geckosfeet]

9. I voted for Clinton cause he was dem and was a clear better choice

than any republic candidate - especially _bush and _dole.

I am voting for Obama because he is clearly a better choice than _{McSameAsBushOnlyLamer}.

I don't adore any of em.

one edit: Well - maybe I adore Michelle Obama.

[MrSlayer]

10. It depends on if he totally sells out or not.

Let's see if he actually wants to do something about the corporate fascism and war profiteering or if he's just another neo with a new way of selling the shit sandwich.

[Poll_Blind]

11. Totally. If he sells us down the river like the Clintons I'm sure we'll come to hate him.

  But from everything I can perceive about the guy, he's the real deal. At this point, it would take more faith to believe he's lying to us than telling us the truth. He is a man of his word and a man of action.

PB

[madaboutharry]

12. The Clintons and the Obamas have a very different

way of being in the world, their character is different. It will unfold differently. There will more than likely be disappointments, but very different ones.

[saracat]

13. If he disappoints, it will be worse because so much more is expected of him.

[anonymous171]

15. Depends on how he governs. nt

[Eric J in MN]

16. Bill Clinton had a Republican House for the last 6 years

...of his term.

Obama will have a Democratic House for 8 years (if Obama is elected president.)

[vaberella]

17. No you won't!! I'm part of a movement called Progressives for Obama. We're watchdogs.

What I've come to see is that the reason the Clintons piss us off so much is not really because of all their policies it's also in relation to Bush's election and reelection. We were negligent of our nation under Clinton.

I think we were all extremely inactive and we saw the Clintons as some sort of messiah. Because of this, as a great poster said, we just sat around "stroking our cocks" and expecting them to do the work. We forgot that in order to have the government work for us. We have to be watching them and reminding who they work for. We are not just idiots on the ground and the goverment a separate entity. We have to be directly involved.


The Clintons brought us to a safe zone and then we saw how gullible we are. We have to separate the charisma to see the realiety and Obama is a man who can fail. We need to make sure that doesn't happen. So we have to as active as we were during the campaign remaining so in his 4 years as leader.

[Exilednight]

18. Obama will either be a huge .......

success, or a huge failure. There will be no middle ground for him.

The only thing I'm really hoping for from his Presidency is a restoration of transparency, getting rid of many of Bush's signing statements, and ending the war in Iraq. These are the biggest factors that made me choose Obama over Hillary.

I was never a huge Bill Clinton fan. A lot of his accomplishments were overblown or misrepresented by him and his administration. Bill took the safe path instead of fighting the good fight. He folded on DOMA, don't ask don't tell, and health care reform. NAFTA, though he didn't negotiate it, he still supported it and it cost our country millions of jobs. He appointed Supreme Court Justices that are unfriendly to unions and workers rights, and pro-corporate. The biggest myth is his balancing of the budget and building a surplus, when truth be told - people do not realize that the government keeps two sets of books, the unified budget and the on-budget - he still ran a deficit of somewhere around 300 billion.

[AllentownJake]

19. Depends on your expectations

If you think he's the messiah than yes you will be disapointed. If you think he's going to do the best job he can make the best decisions he can make and sometime make mistakes than no you won't.

He's a human being and he has the same failings as all of us.

[scheming daemons]

20. The Obama's aren't as narcissistic..... and I hope it stays that way....

I, too, became a HUGE Bubba fan in 1992.

I thought it was the coolest thing when he played Sax on the Arsenio Hall show (he was polling a distant 3rd behind Bush and Perot at the time, and that appearance began to turn things around).

I remember... how FUCKING cool? This guy is like a normal person.



I'm getting the same feeling from Obama..... and I hope he handles the reins of power better than Bill did.

[jasmine621]

21. NAFTA was inevitable. The legislation pre-dated him and his veto of it would

NOT have held. the intention was to have it work better. He even said so at the time. same with the Welfare to Work Act. His intention was to later fix some of the problematic things in the law but alas.....Monica....and you know the rest. We seem to forget that the message of hope and change has always been part of the Dem party campaigns dating back to JFK, RFK, Jesse Jackson, and WJC. This is not a NEW message, just a new and vibrant messenger. I have very fond memories of the Clinton era of the 90's. I was especially proud to see the number of minorities and women he appointed to his cabinet. We get angry when we think of Lonnie Guiner but I think Clinton knew what a divisive fight that would mean.

I stil believe Clinton's Presidency was a success and helped many families on the road to prosperity. It only took people's own greed and lust to by into economic failures that followed. Yes many people did not come out of poverty during that time but many, many did. And no one has been able to rid any nation of its poor and sick. Not even Gahandi.

[apocalypsehow]

22. It passed 61-38 in the Senate: in what sense would a veto "not have held"?

You do know that it takes 67 votes to override a veto, don't you?

:shrug:

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Occam Bandage]

24. Yes.