New Game - Kick Obama To The Ground

[kentuck]

Although the polls suggest otherwise, it seems like everyone wants to kick the new President to the ground for one reason or another? For what reason would you like to give him a good swift kick in the pants?

Would it be because he listens to the wrong people, such as Geithner and Summers, on our economy and banking problems? He seems to be tone deaf to other opinions. The same people that got us into this dilemma are the ones that are giving him advice on how to solve the problem. You know this is not going to work and it makes you very angry.

Or would it be that he has not addressed any of the causes that got us into this mess, such as repeal of the Glass-Steagal Act or the re-instituting of the regulations to prevent it from happening again? What is he waiting for?

Or is it because he seems to have lost touch with the concerns of those that voted him into office? Or that he seems to be more concerned about the big banks and Wall Street than those folks that have lost their jobs on Main Street?

C'mon! Give him a good kick. Get it out of your system!

[meegbear]

1. Is this today's obligatory "Why Does DU Hate Obama" thread?

[Xipe Totec]

3. Apparently so.

I would consider myself lucky, it it was one per day.

[snappyturtle]

4. No. There are others. I don't think of these threads as hateful.

I just can't sit here and remain silent about gross disappointment. To say nothing is wrong. imho

[tekisui]

2. It's the nature of the American Presidency.

Once elected every decision(or non-decision) is an opening for those out of power on all sides to criticize. It is an incredibly tough job to navigate those waters. Even when a president is in the right, the criticisms will flow. There is no getting around it.

[Autumn]

5. It's a spin off game from

The kick supporters to the curb game.

[MarjorieG]

6. Obama said he had to make the best decision of bad options, and having to support the financial

market as perpetrator and savior isn't getting the understanding it deserves. Even the recent regulatory fixes have to get through Congress, and aren't nearly as toothless as critics would like to claim. I suspect we'll go back and revise, but does anyone seriously think caps on executive compensation would survive. Obama is pragmatic, ruthlessly, to the disillusionment of many wanting magic wands, and executive orders, a la Bush.

[Fire1]

8. What many supporters don't understand is that Obama was

never the candidate of choice for MANY of these naysayers. Therefore, there is no rationality in many of their discussions. They intend to bitch and moan the entire four years no matter what he does or does not do! Bottom line.

[alarimer]

9. I had to hold my nose to vote for him.

The adulation of someone who was NOT a progressive and who was NEVER going to do the things they wanted him to do made me sick. He made promises that every politicians makes, with no intention of EVER keeping them, same as any politician. Why then are we (those who voted for him, some of us very reluctantly) now not supposed to criticize?

Our primary process (and of course the huge amounts of corporate money in the system) makes it impossible to vote for a candidate I would actually want to see win. And it gives us candidates who will win, rather than candidates who might actually do some good. So I vote for the lesser of the evils or I don't vote at all.

But Obama so far seems to be far too cautious. What we needed was FDR; what we got was Woodrow Wilson, an okay guy but someone not nearly bold enough to accomplish what he actually wanted to do.

[Fire1]

11. I rest my case. n/t

[Forkboy]

13. Voting for a different Democrat doesn't make an argument irrational.

Your first point doesn't lead to the second. People who voted for Kucinich, Clinton, Edwards, Gravel, Dodd, Biden, Richardson, Vilsack are just as rational as Obama voters, and just as often. The fact that some people didn't vote for Obama doesn't affect the viability of their argument one way or the other. The facts do, not what other Democrat they chose in the primaries.

[Fire1]

15. Voting for another dem is usually not the argument of

irrationality. The viability of their arguments are compromised when they expect so much 'change' in such a short period of time. I, like so many other supporters, are anticipating permanent change not temporary legislation that can be overturned at the whim of the next republican president. This kind of legislation has to be voted on and approved by Congress, which requires just slightly more political maneuvering and time. People whine about the 'direction' he's taking the country. How the hell can one determine 'direction' when the details of legislation/bills are still being negotiated and determined? That's strictly a rhetorical question that really doesn't require an answer but I'm sure you'll provide one, anyway. My assessment still stands.

[Divine Discontent]

14. I'm sure that when you have complaints in life, they're not bitching & moaning

and for clarification, who bitches and who moans? I just enjoy seeing the "bitch" word be used so frequently on DU.

President Obama was not my first choice (why others don't refer to him with that title is beyond me, he deserves it), and he's made some great changes that effect things over time - but on some of the bigger issues he's literally seeming afraid to shake things up. There are NUMEROUS decisions by the Admin. in the Justice arena alone which are disturbing where they're defending the B*sh Admin., let alone a plethora of other issues that people could grill him against, like Gays in the military being fired daily (this is huge to the people being fired, think of their plight? and he promised to end DADT) as just one example.

[Political Tiger]

7. He's lazy! He's had almost 6 months and this is all he's done:

* Signed executive orders to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, ban torture and end the CIA’s secret overseas prisons and define treatment of Detainees.
* Reversed restrictions on stem cell research.
* Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Reducing discrimination based on gender, age, religion, or race.
* Signed an executive order reversing the ban that prohibits funding to international family planning groups that provide abortions. Gag rule revoked (Mexico City policy).
* Creates the White House Council on Women and Girls "to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families."
* Reverses U.S. position on LGBT Issues at the UN: At the "Durban Review Conference," U.S. supports language condemning “all forms of discrimination and all other human rights violations based on sexual orientation.”
* Signed executive order requiring federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change.
* Reversed a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives.
* Signed executive order preventing federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.
* Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners.
* Established a credit card "bill of rights".
* Expanded loan programs for small businesses.
* Extended and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.
* Expanded eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP).
* Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners.
* Created a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans, and installed Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman.
* Appoints Vice President Joe Biden to Oversee Stimulus Plan Payouts.
* Granted a reprieve to Liberian immigrants facing imminent expulsion.
* Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq.
* Allowing Caskets to be photographed when the return from Iraq with family approval.
* Released nine previously secret internal Justice Department memos and opinions defining the legal limits of government power in combating terrorism.
* On Arab TV Network, Obama Urges Dialogue.
* Gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administration.
* Bars independent contractors from conducting interrogations of terror suspects.
* Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba.
* Ordered the release of nearly a quarter of a million pages of records from the Reagan White House that were kept from the public during a lengthy review by President George W. Bush.
* Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program.
* Released presidential records.
* Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
* Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors.
* Invites gay families to the Easter Egg Roll as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.
* Created a White House Office on Urban Policy.
* Increased funding for the NEA.
* Appointed an assistant to the president for science and technology policy.
* Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps.
* Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees.
* Investment in all types of alternative energy.
* Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars.
* Support for high-speed rail.
* Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes.
* Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits.
* Stop raids on medical marijuana dispensers.
* Appointed more than 60 openly LGBT persons to positions in the executive branch.
* Issues Presidential Proclamation for Pride, proclaiming June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.
* Signed a mercury reduction pact with 140 other nations.
* Signed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act to curb wasteful spending by the Pentagon. Intended to price contracts and budgets lower; may potentially save billions of dollars in defense.
* Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, which serves to protect two million acres of land and creates a new system of land conservation for the Bureau of Land Management.
* Phase out government payments to crop producers making more than $500,000 a year and eliminates subsidies for cotton storage to help trim the U.S. budget deficit.
* Cut funding for a proposed U.S. nuclear storage facility at Yucca Mountain.
* Restored Endangered Species Act Provision requiring U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species.
* Signed the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act designating two million additional acres of public wilderness areas the highest level of government protection from logging and other forms of commercial use and development.
* Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act which will expedite the search for cures and treatments for millions of Americans living with paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, stroke, MS, Parkinson's and many other diseases and disorders.
* Establishes The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women both during and after their military careers.

[Mrs. Overall]

10. And Bush had spent how many days on vacation during his first five months?

Obama is working his ass off. Might not be as fast as some people would like, but I believe he will end up being more "progressive" than some of us are expecting.

On Edit: Thanks for posting this list of what Obama has done.

[Gman2]

12. Grow a spine, FDR ASKED for his ass kicked.

Obama CANT do this without all of us kicking his ass. The tepid insults registered by lefties are done with a feather. I'll start it off.


Hey Obama, breaks over, get to work. And no more brownnosing.

[midnight]

16. I want to see this President go for a touchdown for the poor in

this country. We can't afford to see this man get kicked down. I want to see him adequately balance our bailout money already distributed, he can do this, he is a smart man. He knows how to bring the best together. Let's get this done. This country needs to get working again. Many need a job. There is just so much work to do in this country that everyone who wants a job should be put to work with good family paying wages. Can you imagine if BOA can give some guy 5 million in a bonus how many family salaries that would cover? Those are our tax dollars!

Close corporate loop holes that make working Americans pay for their big salaries. And I know we can give everyone in this country access to the best medical treatment. Just remove the paper pushers. AKA insurance co. We can multitask and bring these wars to an end. Over a million innocent people killed-outrages!

Let's end it. P.S. we all need to work hard to make sure we move in the best direction for America. But don't think that those of us who are going through the constant effects of consumer fraud, identity theft, illegal wire tapping, maimed service members blocked from their benefits are trying to knock President Obama down. What they are trying to do is be heard so that they too can be elevated up like the bankers, and corporate America.