Are you happy with the "change" you voted for?

[kentuck]

What did you expect?

Are you disappointed with the President and the Congress? What would you have them do?

What are you going to do about it?

[annabanana]

1. I always knew he was to the right of me, so many of his decisions

have not been shocking. I was, however, hoping to see a little more action on the DOJ front.

[GoCubsGo]

68. That's mostly how I feel, but...

Under the current economic circumstances, I am not surprised to see that little is being done on the DOJ front. Bush left a huge, huge shitpile, with lots of stink bombs buried within it (e.g., "burrowed" personnel.) It's going to take decades to sort it all out and clean it up. Speaking as one of the many millions without jobs or health insurance, I don't care so much about what the does regarding the DOJ as I do about getting another job and some health care. I expect him to spend most of his time dealing with those two issues, and less on Judiciary issues--for now. In fact, I PREFER he deal with those two issues. I hate that DOJ issues have to take a back seat right now, but for many of us, it's a matter of survival that he focus on economic issues right now.

[annabanana]

69. gotcha GCG. . I have a coupla

20 something kids that could use work & health bennies too. I quake in fear every time one of them gets behind the wheel, as careful & sober as they are.

[ananda]

2. I didn't vote for change.

I voted for the lesser of two rightwing evils.

[Warpy]

3. Obama is right of center and I knew it

so the "change" I voted for is that he wouldn't keep making everything worse.

So far, he's exceeded my expectations in that a few things here and there have gotten marginally better.

However, I still hope the continued pressures of unwinnable wars, depleted treasury, and increasing unemployment and desperation will all combine to drag him to the left.

He's an intelligent man. He'll be able to tell which parts of his own conservative bias are working and which are not.

All he has to do is persuade those old boys in Congress, especially the Senate, to do the right thing, too.

[impik]

11. RIGHT TO CENTER????

He is the most Liberal president in decades. Decades. In his first 10 months he has done more than any other president since FDR.

I swear, this place is nuts.

[Neecy]

14. lol

[hfojvt]

28. your own statements are a little over the top

and you call 'this place' nuts.

The most liberal President in decades. Decades plural, so go back 20 years and Obama is more liberal than Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr. and Clinton. Seems pretty obvious that a person can be to the left of those 4 without being very liberal.

Done more than any President since FDR in his first ten months? I am sorta hard-pressed to name all these impressive accomplishments, and I notice you do not name any.

Stimulus bill? Not that impressive and many 'compromises' were made just to get one or two Republican votes in the Senate.
Lilly Ledbetter act? SCHIP expansion? Both of those were on the burners, passed after 2006 but vetoed by Bush. Not exactly something that he pushed and pushed for.
Healthcare reform? First, it has not passed yet, and second, what is being proposed does not look that impressive. Obama gave his 'you lie' speech to Congress, but did not go to bat for the public option.

So what is so impressive again?

[Selatius]

44. I think LBJ would disagree with you. nt

[Echo In Light]

77. The idea of individuals steering Empire via their personal whims is part of our political mythology

[bjobotts]

42. I don't care what Obama ran as, as a progressive there's some things I expect from him

[bjobotts]

43. One biggie he just accomplished is he got over 1000 lobbyists out of DC advisory committees

[bjobotts]

46. He got HC reform going thru both Houses (40 yrs of trying) and pumped $ into education

[bjobotts]

48. He surrounded himself with some lame advisers but got a SC Justice appointed

[bjobotts]

51. Did U want the long or short version answer to your querry?What did U expect for comments

[bjobotts]

54. Could go on all day and night but only 10mo in office and the sick dems are being exposed more than

the good ones. Out of 60 senators how many are just useless to the people and are owned by special interests?

In the House we could do without the Blue dog obstructionists.

Bitch in the right ears, vote...and stay informed so the real truth gets spread...and try to bring insight to the issues.

It is about all of us now as we are at the 'make it or break it' point in American history...all matters have reached the boiling point and must be dealt with if we are to survive. It is now...it is crucial and we are fighting a battle with narcissists who only think in terms of what is good for them.

A corporatocracy vs our Democracy. There is no longer 2 sides to what could happen...just 2 sides of coping with it and one group of people are only concerned with themselves and offer no new plans or ideas to help us survive and stand in the way of progress and growth...and then there is everybody else.

Yes there are some bad bribed bought and paid for dems but overall they are the only party that is on the right track that is big enough to contend with the obstructionist party of hypocrites. 8 crucial years of corruption and lies that nearly brought the country to it's knees and yet some still want to include them in our recovery...when they haven't changed one bit. When Obama follows anything they've done then he's going in the wrong direction. When he refuses to hold them accountable he is in the wrong. And when he allows them to continue to obstruct and divide the country with hate and fear...he is merely being 'constitutional'.

But I will hope he will get more progressive advisers than Rahm Emanuel and Tim Geitner before they cost him and many other dems the elections.

[Vinca]

4. No.

In fact, after reading the latest Matt Taibbi article in Rolling Stone, I'd like my vote back.

[movonne]

17. And then would you vote for mc cain???

[Stinky The Clown]

45. Up your strawman

[bjobotts]

58. Oh no , the singing fat lady has been stabbed in the back.

[piratefish08]

78. I read the article last night. The deck has officially been stacked against us.

we're fucked.

[Vinca]

80. Thanks for reading the article before commenting.

I would never in a million years vote for a Republican, but this article made me want to throw up.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. I Expected Obama To Use His Unsurpassed Oratory Skills To Pull Us From The Far-Right Cesspool

I expected "Democrats" in Congress to grumble but move from the Right in measures.

I expected the Republicans to do just what they're doing.

In all, I expected some important reform of the financial system - there hasn't been such a need and opportunity in 80 years! And I expected meaningful health care reform.

I got nothing. More importantly, *we* got nothing. Zip. Bupkis.

What will I do about it? I'd be happy to take to the streets, to protest, to do whatever as long as there's critical mass. However, as the sole earner in a household with a handicapped child, I'm not in a position to organize such an effort. I'm also willing to campaign for a Democrat from the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party to be the nominee in 2012, e.g., Howard Dean.

[scarletwoman]

60. That's what I hoped for, too. When he spoke about "uniting" the country, I hoped that he meant

he would actually explain the truth of how we've been fucked over by slimy, amoral bastards who lie and exploit the fears and anxieties of the American people to advance their own agendas of ripping all of us off and enriching their friends in the MIC and Big Finance.

Instead, we got a stupid superficial appeal to "bipartisanship", without anything resembling an honest analysis of how right wing policies -- like tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, "Free Trade", outsourcing, banking deregulation, etc. -- have destroyed the working class.

I'm well aware that he can't just wave a wand and "change" things, but the LEAST he could have done is speak about what really needs to be changed in some specific terms beyond a catchy campaign slogan.

But I realized we were fucked as soon as he picked that DLC asshole Rahm Emmanuel for C.O.S.

And taking single payer off the table right from the start of the health care "reform" process just drove home the uselessness of counting on Obama for authentic "change".

sw

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Now Why Would This Be Unreced? It's A Simple Question!!!

What are the unrec-ers afraid of? They can't abide by the possibility of any criticism of Obama and Congressional Democrats?

[NYC_SKP]

26. I didn't rec or unrec it, but suspect that putting the word change in quotes suggests doubt in Obama

but who knows.

:shrug:

[Stinky The Clown]

47. First they came for the unreccers. Then they came for the pom poms.

[bjobotts]

56. We have an 'un-rec troll.Everynight comes throu and unrecs everything no matter what it is

[bjobotts]

57. I try to come back through and rec them all back but this troll isn't reading or commenting on them

[ZombieHorde]

65. I think there are people who unrec without even threads. Some long threads are unreced within

seconds of posting.

Whether they unrec all threads, or threads by certain posters, I am not sure.

[TicketyBoo]

7. Happy? No.

But I'm not surprised that more hasn't been accomplished.

Things in Washington move at a snail's pace.

What is frightening to me is the venom that's spewing from the right-wing nutjobs.

That has to be distracting to everyone, but especially to Congress. It's hindering things. That's evident.

[Neecy]

8. I view it as a lost opportunity

In his first 100 days, while he had a huge approval rating and a disorganized, dispirited Republican party he could have accomplished a great deal. He had the support of the country and a clear mandate for change.

All of this - squandered. It was an historic moment and it was wasted.

He's better than McCain by far, so I don't regret my vote. But I expected better.

[kentuck]

10. In hindsight...

maybe they could have chosen their legislative battles differently? Should cap and trade have been pushed through so quickly? Should there have been more debate on the bailouts of the banks? Should there have been a different type of "stimulus" bill? Should there have been more attention to the deficits? Should there have been less an effort for "bipartisanship"? etc?

[Neecy]

13. At the very least....

Dismantle the crap game on Wall Street, put some expectations and restrictions on the institutions that received billions of our tax dollars, and target the stimulus in a much broader way. Stop the electronic spying and the vacuuming of our data, close Gitmo and stop the insanity in Iraq.

The bizarre groveling for bipartisanship just let the Republicans back in the game. There was just no excuse for it, given the overwhelming rejection of Republicans in 2006 and 2008. People didn't *want* to do it their way, because they knew the failures of the last eight years.

[Raineyb]

23. Well for starters he could have done actual health care reform (rather than this health

insurance "reform" we've got going now) by starting with single payer as his starting point. Instead single payer was taken off the table and negotiations were started from a compromise position which has made the pending legislation even weaker from there.

This push for bipartisanship was a complete waste of time. It was obvious since 2007 that the Republicans had NO intention of cooperating at all. All this bending over backward to get one lousy Republican vote at a time when we didn't need it was useless.

[scarletwoman]

61. Well said. I totally agree -- a lost opportunity. (nt)

[onehandle]

9. Yes. I liked President Clinton's terms and I like Obama so far.

I predicted that Obama would be more like Bill Clinton than Hillary or John Edwards would have been before the election and I was right.

Do I wish he would move faster on some things?

Yes, but I have a realistic sense of political reality.

[dysfunctional press]

12. i'll let you know when i see some substantive change.

[usregimechange]

15. Mostly

[frebrd]

16. I can't say I voted for change ..........

because I never expected it to happen. I was just voting for the "D".

I'll have to give that some thought next time.

:(

[EFerrari]

18. I didn't vote for change, I voted for the Democrat.

He's performing as expected and I know better than to be disappointed.

Do about it? What can I possibly do about it? I'm not a lobbyist for Big Pharma or insurance or defense or oil or, you get the idea.

[Scruffy1]

70. Well said

He's performing about as expected. Any real change will not come through our two party system, but through the people of the United States of America. Expecting one man to do our work for us is rediculous. If you want real change you will have to put out a lot more effort than just spending a half hour every four years voting. The progressives need to build a movement of their own starting at the community level. A block vote of even 5% becomes very important to politicians. Our politicians are currently in a position where they can have their cake and eat it too. The D guarantees them our votes no matter what in general elections. The real battles are in the primaries like Donna Edwards or my own Congressman Keith Ellison. It seems that people of color are forming the vanguard of the battle
against plutocracy if for no other reason they have no reason to pander for votes they're not going to get otherwise. Yes, I like Obama because I think he's a decent man and has great leadership skills. And no I don't agree with much of his politics, but then I'm a RED. Just getting a person of color elected helps crack the racism that the plutocracy has used so well to screw us for eons.

[jtrockville]

79. Agreed.

[pinto]

19. I didn't vote to get happy. I voted to elect a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President.

We have both, however razor slim our margin is in the Senate.

I expected a lot of legislative hurdles, assumed Republican recalcitrance and stonewalling from day one, dissent from the factions in our party on particulars along the way and some drawn out debates, within the party and outside of it.

Am I disappointed? No.

What would I have them do? Stay with the national discussion, represent their constituencies, look to the big picture, ignore the media pundit buzz, speak up and keep working.

What am I going to do about it? Continue to press my POV with my representatives. Press my POV locally. Work for a Democratic capture of our local House seat. Work with local organizations pushing a forward looking agenda.





My point is - a campaign slogan isn't a legislative agenda.

[DJ13]

20. I expected more FDR/LBJ but we got Carter instead

For the record I actually liked Carter, but at this time we needed someone with more balls that would stand up against the corporate interests than the overly bipartisan Obama is turning out to be.

[endless october]

21. somewhat.

although a continuation of war and the patriot act are very disappointing. as is the corporate health care "reform" bill.

[HamdenRice]

22. Thrilled! Pretty much exactly what I voted for!

But then again, I wasn't voting for the Martians to arrive and rapture me up to a paradise with UFOinich.

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. Yes

I am.

[Old Codger]

25. Really

I had high hopes, but I also know better, no one person can do everything we need done... it takes all of government to accomplish what is needed. The president is supposed to lead, in this I am disappointed .. but I have been around long enough to know better ..... Too high of expectations... don't go there..

[TexasObserver]

27. No. I was expecting some real change, as promised.

[old mark]

29. Realistically, yes. I want Obama to be less conservative, but I understand

that he is a hell of a politician and that our congressional system is a cesspool. I will not judge him seriously till after his first term is nearly completed, and I think those who do are very shortsighted and naive.

mark

[Tesha]

40. I think you 'll be safe to judge him after we lose the Congress in 2010. (NT)

[old mark]

76. We will lose only if dumbass Democrats fail to vote.

I expect we will gain seats in 10 no matter what the Republicans and those democrats gulible enough to believe them say.

Vote first, complain later.

mark

[WeDidIt]

30. I'm happy as a clam. Getting more than I thought possible

and I'm going out in 2010 and voting straight Dem yet again.

[kentuck]

31. I will say this....

If there was ever a need for change, it was after the disaster of the last eight years. It was not a simple case of desiring change. It was absolutely necessary. So far, the Democrats have not delivered.

[Turbineguy]

32. If I look here and on Faux News

I get unhappy. But if I look outside and at what's going on, I'm fairly pleased.

[certainot]

33. doing as well as can be expected considering 1000 radio stations get to trash dems 24/7/365

while call screeners make sure no one but ass kissers can call in and most dems never hear the trashing because it gives them headaches when they listen to it.

[quiller4]

34. I am not disappointed with the President or with Congress. n/t

[C_Lawyer09]

35. I expected way more

I now realize that as long as we have this "bought" two party system, very little change is actually possible. I'm through wondering where the fight is within the Democratic party, it has been gone for a long time. Harry Reid is spineless with a capital S. The Democrats are in bed with the lobbyists just as the Republicans are and were. I was sold a bill of goods on the bailout. It won't happen again. I'm voting third party, whomever champions the issues I feel are most important. I will work at the grass roots level to make third party access to the state ballots easier to obtain than the goat rope maze that it currently is.

[LWolf]

36. I didn't expect the change I wanted to see from Obama.

I'm sorry that I was correct.

[bobbolink]

73. Very good way of putting it.

I'm sorry too.

I would have celebrated being wrong on this one.

:(

[Tesha]

37. I always knew he was a corporate shill so I'm getting exactly the chains I expected.

He was my seventh choice out of eight for good reason.
Once nominated, I supported him of course, but I would
have preferred a far more progressive Democrat as my
candidate and it's now obvious to many more folks why
that was important.

Tesha

[Freddie Stubbs]

38. Yes. Obama ran as a moderate and is governing as a moderate

[PSzymeczek]

55. It has taken us nearly 30 years

to get to where we started from on January 20, so I know it's going to take a long time to get to where we need to go. We need to start nudging the center leftward.

[L0oniX]

39. Same shit ...another face.

[Kitsune]

41. Obama and the Dems in congress have done something 8 years of Bush & Republicans couldn't.

Completely and utterly destroy my faith in this country and my hope that anything will ever get better than this. Such an opportunity to fix all the things wrong with this country, an unprecedented majority, pissed away on making it illegal to refuse to pay protection money to the health insurance mafia.

I'm sure I'll have a ton of people getting on my ass for not thinking Obama's perfect, but I'm sorry. I can see no way forward that doesn't lead to us all being completely fucked. We elected someone who represents Goldman Sachs and Blue Cross, not Americans.

[AlinPA]

49. I'm mostly OK with Obama now, but Congress is a big disappointment on health care.

Getting the troops out of Iraq is going too slow for me. His attempts at "bipartisanship" are not working. The republicans are winning the media message now but that can be improved.

[G_j]

50. why are the neocon war criminals getting a free pass?

that was square one for me.

As for the rest, I expected much status quo, but there seems to be more of that than even I expected.
Some of Obama's appointments have been horrible!

[Kaleva]

52. I did not expect nor did I desire a 180 change in direction

I expected, given how our government works, incremental change and that's what we are getting and it's fine with me.

[dorktv]

53. Yes

I voted for the President because of the fact that MY America is the not the hate filled nasty place that Sarah Palin believes it is.

And nothing about that has changed-even with the teabaggers.

[Berry Cool]

59. I'm way happier than I would have been had I voted for change

and gotten McCain instead.

[Honeycombe8]

62. I'm waiting for a year to pass before passing judgment. nt

[Hekate]

63. It's Congress I'm disgusted with, disgusted beyond measure. Obama has not been there a year...

... and the idiot MSM started calling it "a year" based on the date of his election instead of his inauguration. Of course the same MSM whooped and hollered over the "first 100 days" meme until I thought I'd kill the tv.

From me, Barack Obama gets several years. We don't elect people for 100 days or one year or whatever the artificial deadline of the week is. We elect presidents for 4 years and then they get one more shot at being elected for a second term. Time is necessary, especially after the destruction of the past decade.

I may be disappointed in several things, but he's gotten a helluva lot done even so. Plus every single day he has to get up and deal with a House and Senate that are being dominated by a minority party that wants zero-zip-nada to get accomplished at all. I direct my ire to those folks.

Nice to see you offered a forum for all the disgruntled folks to air their grievances in. I'm sure it's therapeutic. :eyes:

Heakate

[Skidmore]

81. What Heakate said expresses my

sentiments exactly. It is Congress that deserves disdain and then I fault the citizens who place so much on one man and not on the group of representatives elected to make the laws.

[Raine]

64. No, I expected at least a slight change in direction

but as a talking media head said ... "different driver, same direction". I haven't seen even the littlest change toward the left.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

66. Of course.

But then again, I'm not some seedy right wing troll or pathetic Naderite loser.

[Angry Dragon]

67. kick and rec

[Unvanguard]

71. No, but my disappointment is more with the public than with Obama.

I expected him to have an easier time of it than he has; I probably foolishly neglected to consider the likely political consequences of the economic disaster. In terms of his actual policy proposals, though, I got pretty much what I expected.

[bobbolink]

72. Nope, but I'm not surprised. It was all just words, and anyone paying attention

could see that.

And, it's still just words.

Soon, the power of the speeches will fade, and the disillusionment will settle in, and it won't be pretty.

It's already showing up in the sagging numbers, but the cheerleaders will just bash anyone who tries to send out a warning that the '10 elections are in danger because the words are losing power.

[kentuck]

74. I think the "change" may have been intercepted?

By the events. First, starting with the collapse of our financial system. Secondly, with the continuation of the wars. Third, by taking advice from the experts on Wall Street and the Fed. Fourth, by believing that it was possible to work in a bi-partisan way with the Repubs. All together, it created a perfect storm that blocked any visible change. The healthcare reform was for political reasons only. It was a campaign promise that had to be kept. Everything else was co-opted by the MIC and the Big Banks and the declining economy.

[mvd]

75. Congress - very disappointed (especially the Senate)

The Congress is letting the will of a few Democrats and the Repukes dictate policy too much.

The President - somewhat disappointed, but my grade is still in the B range. I don't agree on Afghanistan. I expected that he would focus there, but didn't expect escalation and a time line for withdrawal 8 years from now. Also expected we'd be making more progress on getting out of Iraq. Definitely expected more of an effort to restore civil rights. Expected a different economic team. Also, the bipartisanship rhetoric has been too much; the Repukes are wrong on policy and it has been proven over and over again. They will oppose the President anyway. But there have also been many accomplishments:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/19/805925/-90-Accomplishments-of-Pres.-Obama-Which-The-Media-Fails-to-Report....

I'd add the recent announcement banning lobbyists from advisory panels.

[NuttyFluffers]

82. no. this. yes. something productive for the 98%. vote my conscience, never lesser of 2 evils again.

think that about sums it up. thankfully i'm with Barbara Lee, Boxer, and Feinstein, so i'm in a good position. would like to replace Feinstein but alas, that won't be for a while yet.