Who do you believe is going to be proved right in four years

[ProSense]

[saltpoint]

1. Voted '1.' Obama is still greatly underestimated by his detractors.

[madokie]

2. I will

:-)

[ProSense]

5. Forgot to add that one.

:)

[ZombieHorde]

3. Hard to say since many of the people who like Obama like him for different reasons and many of the

people who do not like Obama dislike him for different reasons.

[BlooInBloo]

4. 1, with the caveat that he needs to get a lot better on gay issues.

[iamjoy]

6. Everyone Will

People will see what they want to see and that will be what most matches their expectations. I do not believe that the changes will be so dramatic and so consistent that there is no room for interpretation. If you don't believe he represents real change, you can point to any health care plan short of single payer as a failure on Obama's part. If the government is spending more money things are "worse" even as others can look at the fact that more people are insured and say that Obama has made things better.

Health care is just an example. What metric are you using, the Dow Jones Industrial average? The foreclosure rate? Unemployment? Iraq?

[ProSense]

8. No, this isn't about spin

or a single issue. Not everyone will be right. Maybe it will take longer than four years to determine, but there will be a general consensus, as with FDR. There will still be critics (after all, the GOP is still out there). This is about an overall rational assessment: Many of the right things, made things worse or upheld the status quo.



edited typos

[Marr]

7. All can claim to have been proven right. I mean really,

it'd be hard to do much worse than his predecessor. So whether he operates like a DLC Democrat or a legitimate liberal, both groups will claim to have been proven right. The DLC types will point to the DOW, liberals will point at the millions without healthcare.

The only group who will have to make the claim without evidence is the right, but that never bothers them anyway.

[ProSense]

9. The DLC already tried that strategy

It failed miserably, which is why they are where they are.

[Double T]

10. The NEW independent democratic President.

[ProSense]

11. Who?

Lieberman?

[Double T]

12. WHO is the question.

please...Joe is NOT the answer.

[JDPriestly]

13. Actually, I'm looking at four major "change" factors

1) Will we at least get a public option for health care? If not, there is no meaningful change on health care.

2) Will those who authorized torture be brought to answer and, as a corollary, will the law on torture by tested in the courts and clarified by the courts as to what is and is not torture? Feinstein's committee is investigating and holding hearings on this now. Whether Obama's administration fulfills its promise of change in the culture of D.C. depends on whether we get accountability on this issue.

3) Will we achieve energy independence and begin to address the damage we are doing to the environment? Obama has made a lot of promises on this. We'll know how well he keeps his word by the results.

4) Will Obama get rid of laws that reward outsourcing? He promised to do this. He needs to deliver. In addition to keeping his promise, given the rising joblessness that was not yet an issue during most of the campaign, a measure of performance related to this fourth factors is whether Obama can create jobs overall in the U.S. -- good paying, challenging jobs for Americans.

If Obama wants to be re-elected, if he wants to hold the majority in Congress in 2010, he has to succeed in effecting change in at least 3 of these factors. And with today's fast-as-you-can-type internet communication, the change will have to be for real. No longer can a politician fool Americans with a lot of hot air and lies. That's the lesson that all politicians must learn from the Bush fiasco.

So, a fourth of the first two years of Obama's term is almost over. Obama does not have much time left. Promises of hope will not get Democrats elected to Congress in 2010. I wish Obama well, but he is going to have to push the right-wing Democrats in Congress a lot harder than he has so far. They have to understand, especially those who chair committees like Baucus, that they will lose those great leadership positions unless they back Obama's proposals for change. It's up to Obama to tell them that in no uncertain terms. For example, he needs to tell Senator Baucus, Senator, if you want to remain in the lead position on your committee after the 2010 committee, you have to support at the very least a public option for health care reform.

[liteworker101]

14. Madonna is the new wave of poplar music...

[Oregone]

15. Me.

If you want to know what I think, follow me tweets on #putdowntheiphoneandgetafuckinglife