Go ahead and flame me -- I never expected Obama to work miracles

[LuckyTheDog]

Obama has been more successful than I expected. I am amazed that anyone who was paying attention in 2008 expected him to be less of a centrist than he has been. And so far, the amount of change Obama has delivered has exceeded my expectations for this point in his presidency.

The Obama presidency is -- if it is to achieve its potential -- going to be an eight-year project. He'll get only four years if the base decides to be pissed off enough to hand the country back to the GOP. If the base decides to stay home this November, two of those four years will be spent bogged down in gridlock and, more than likely, a partisan attempt at impeachment.

Did anyone think reform and change were going to be quick and easy? Folks, THIS is our chance. If we blow it, we'll could be in the political wilderness for the next 10-12 years -- or worse. The teabaggers could get the keys to the castle and with them, the chance to really screw things up. If they screw thing up badly enough, our very republic could be at risk, which could mean something far, far worse than any of us want to imagine.

That's just my opinion. Like I said, flame away. But I am worried about what could happen if Obama fails -- that is, if we LET him fail. I am very, very worried.

[HipChick]

1. Amen...K&R...

[LuckyTheDog]

3. Thanks... I seem to be getting a lot of un-recommends

Oh, well.


:nopity:

[KansasVoter]

2. I agree, but I expected more. Maybe I had too high of expectations, but.....

I will work for him in 2012 also!!! I want him in office over anyone else.

[uppityperson]

4. k&r

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

5. I totally agree. n/t

[Lisa D]

6. Well said!

I hope people have eight full years to complain about him :hi:

[MadMaddie]

7. No flame here!

It's a matter of managing one's expectations of a person or events.


He is not perfect and he has accomplished a lot. There is still more to accomplish but sometimes it just takes time.

[LuckyTheDog]

10. I am amazed at the number...

...of "recommend" votes that have disappeared since I posted this.

Look, I can understand why some other progressives are impatient. But, seriously, I think Obama has done amazingly well, considering what he has been up against.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

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

[HipChick]

23. +100..Divide and Conquer ...

[HipChick]

24. +100..Divide and Conquer ...

[Turborama]

35. There's actually a *Conservative* website that monitors DU from their *Cave*

I wouldn't be surprised if there's several infiltraitors (misspelt on purpose) from that site here.

Admin should cross check between IP addresses crossing from the Cave dwellers to DU to make sure.

[JTFrog]

101. There's also a so called liberal site that monitors DU and bashes the admins and members daily.

Should we be cross checking IP's from there as well to make sure?

[DevonRex]

113. +100

[mitchtv]

49. dream on

the paid atendees are strickly from DLC

[smalll]

60. Yep. DLC. That's where I'm getting the big bucks from.

:shrug:

Make easy money from home! All you need is a computer and an internet connection! Ask Me How! (I get nice little referral fees for new people I get signed up to work in the internet-commenting saltmines for our Overlords!)

[Skip Intro]

69. Been called that myself several times here. I am concerned.

Who isn't?

[EFerrari]

79. LOL

[regnaD kciN]

19. I think this is as good an example as any...

...of why the "unrecommend" option should be given a worthy burial.

[sandnsea]

It's getting to be a very serious problem

We really are being sabatoged. It's quite sick.

[Turborama]

91. According to the Top Tens, this thread has had 73 Recs

As of posting: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=greatest_threads&topten=1

[Bonobo]

8. Watch "Yes We Can" again and tell me Obama was presented as just another politician.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsV2O4fCgjk

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
Yes we can. Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores
and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can. Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized;
women who reached for the ballots;
a President who chose the moon as our new frontier;
and a King who took us to the mountain-top and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality.
(yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can...)

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can. Si Se Puede
(yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can...)

We know the battle ahead will be long,
but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way,
nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
We want change!
(We want change! We want change! We want change...)

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant.
We've been asked to pause for a reality check.
We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. We want change!
(We want change! I want change! We want change! I want change...)

The hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA;
we will remember that there is something happening in America;
that we are not as divided as our politics suggests;
that we are one people;
we are one nation;
and together, we will begin the next great chapter in America's story with three words that will ring from coast to coast;
from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can.
(yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can...)

[scheming daemons]

11. And none of that said that he was an uber-progressive.... he's a moderate

And he has given us great change from how the Bush administration operated, just like he promised.

[LuckyTheDog]

12. Yep (nt)

[OnyxCollie]

36. !

:rofl:

Did Obama restore habeas corpus, end the wars, restore FISA, end drone attacks, close Gitmo, or close Bagram? No, silly. He didn't promise to do that.

What did he promise to do (that was worth anything) that was different from bush?

[datasuspect]

18. call me naive

i just expected that he would restore the rule of law and roll back the Bush junta.

[sandnsea]

26. yes WE can

Some of you didn't hear that little word.

Get the fuck off the computer and go DO SOMETHING. Anyfuckingthing. That's what Yes We Can means.

[Smashcut]

120. FAIL

Yes we can do what - oppose many of the policies that the purveyors of "yes we can" are putting in place?

Please.

[treestar]

106. That's nice, but why did you think he would get anything as a result

other than the office of President?

[scheming daemons]

9. Careful... opinions like this are getting people tombstoned now

Don't dare defend the President too vociferously.

:sarcasm:

[uppityperson]

34. No, that was a combination of

sockpuppetry and insults.

[spoony]

102. Only if you combine it with jaw-dropping homophobia

Like calling gay people "self-centered" in their locked DADT survey thread.

[branders seine]

13. me either

but I did expect him to try to at least pretend to live up to his campaign rhetoric, which he has not done.

I did not expect him to negotiate away most of every major issue in return for let's see... (carry the nine, seven and sixteen)...ZERO FUCKING VOTES.

[regnaD kciN]

14. No flames here -- you're absolutely right...

I don't think Obama was a "centrist" in policy, but in personality. He truly thinks he can bring people together. Unfortunately, that was the same approach Jimmy Carter had -- only to find that, while such an approach might work well in international relations, it is no help at all when you've got an opposition party whose only goal is to destroy you so they can seize power anew.

Still, I think the Obama administration has done far more than anyone could have reasonably expected. From staving off a genuine, full-fledged depression to getting health-care and financial reform passed, he's really done an amazing amount. The problem is that, when confronted with dead-set opposition from the other party and somewhat less dead-set opposition from factions within his own party, Obama's temperament is such that his solution is to compromise and accept less than he (and we) wanted in the first place. This has the effect of enraging his progressive base, who, all-too-often, don't realize that the choice was between compromise and having your proposals go down in flames while maintaining your "purity." And, to be honest, after seeing eight years of our previous president (and twelve prior years of his father and Bonzo) come out with the most outrageous proposals, and have them sail into law, it's understandable that the reaction might be "but why don't we hold firm and get everything we wanted, just like Reagan and the Bushes did?" (The obvious answer, by the way, is that "Democrats are the party with legislators who are willing to show their 'moderation' by voting for the other side, while Republicans never do so.") So, at best, we have a "glass half empty" feeling...which all-too-easily can deteriorate into a "glass totally empty" feeling without any basis.

While others will complain about every time we've gotten less than the 100%, I would like to point out that we've really accomplished a great deal of positive change over the past 18 months over where we were at the end of the Bush administration...and where we'll be if we allow the Republicans to claw their way back into power on the basis that we haven't yet gotten everything we wanted.

[SargeUNN]

16. thanks nice to meet a member of the Reality Based Community

I agree I knew Obama was who we have seen mostly and really am pleased he has done as much of what I wanted done as he has.

[sendero]

17. Either your expectations were exceedingly low..

.. .or you are not smart enough to know its not rain thats running down your leg.

[scheming daemons]

22. Or maybe you should wait the four 4 years instead of giving up after 18 months

...

[SargeUNN]

32. or maybe you aren't being fair

I told my listeners as did Mike Malloy, Jeff Farias, and others during the campaign that Obama was not a liberal but a moderate. I heard his statements about Afghanistan and checked his history to be able to give an informed view. Meanwhile the right was saying he was the most liberal senator, that he was a socialist and such, so guess many on the left decided we progressive show host didn't know our candidates as well as the right did because so many are so shocked that Obama isn't a liberal. Meanwhile, we are ready to quit because Obama isn't what the right told us and what we progressive voices told you were true just angers people who should have known better to start with. Obama has done some good things and to deny it not being real, to find fault with his decisions is fine, but to give up on him is a sign we can't do our part. Dreams have to be tapered with reality and too many are not doing that.

[sendero]

37. Reining in the banks..

.. and actually reforming the health care system are not "liberal" or "conservative" ideas.

They are things that any person of integrity of either party or persuasion would want to accomplish.

The old "Obama is not a liberal" argument is tired and stupid. Right and wrong are not based on a political continuum.

[SargeUNN]

38. excuse me but didn't

Bush start those programs BEFORE Obama came in? As for you lame statement Obama is not a liberal statement being old, that is not sensible. That is like I am tired of people telling me to not expect my dog to look and act like a cat, it should by now. How smart is that. Sorry but you aren't very convincing just sound sour.

[sendero]

41. You just sound..

... like another garden variety idiot, but life goes on.

[SargeUNN]

47. actually you aren't too informed because

if you have read any of my post in the past you would know what you just said is about as off the mark as you can be. I have done progressive talk for over 3 years, and was part of the Nova M radio network, asked to do a show by the network people because of my work on Katrina and my knowledge of the issues. I ran a successful website called UnreportedNews.Net and was a regular correspondent on the Mike Malloy show. Maybe you would be better off to save your stupid remarks and learn who you are making wrong statements about. It really doesn't make you look too informed or your information very reliable when you make yourself look so bad with such remarks.

[SammyWinstonJack]

81. +1. nt

[zipplewrath]

20. I expected him to keep campaign promises

Closing gitmo, not just a change of address and making it permanent.
No cadillac taxes.
No mandates.
Out of Iraq in 16 months
DADT in the first 100 days

It's not so much what he hasn't done, although that's bad enough. It is what he HAS done that is so objectionable. It started with Warren and he's been piling them up from there. It's not that he hasn't done anything, it is that he has chosen Spector over Sestak, Lincoln over Halter, and never called Lieberman, but flew to Kucinich's district. It's that he had coddled the bigots in the DoD, and been completely silent on emerging issues of gay marriage.

And a presidency is really about 6 years or so, after that he becomes relatively lame duck. And he's already 18 months in. At this point one has to realize he's accomplishing what he wants to accomplish. He's backing the candidates he likes. And he's moving the legislation he wants through congress. And it's going to be 6.5 more years of this.

[scheming daemons]

25. He has already fulfilled an amazing number of his campaign promises... and he has 2.5 years...

....to work on the rest.

[slipslidingaway]

46. He cut a deal with Billy - "Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices.

Allow consumers to import safe drugs from other countries.

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf

Of course he also told us, before inauguration, that we would need to look at entitlement spending in order to reduce the deficit and then created the deficit commission by executive order.

[zipplewrath]

93. And broke alot too

The problem of course is which ones were more important to a particular voter. Closing gitmo (in fact, not just changing addresses), ending wars, DADT, mandates, public options, cadillac taxes, these were more important to some than others. One's view is going to be based upon which promises he keeps, and how well, rather than some pure numbers game.

[SargeUNN]

33. actually he has kept most of them

you are confusing what you wanted with what he promised. Check the record and you will see he has kept many of his promises and working on others.

[zipplewrath]

94. And broken important ones

Not all promises are created equal. He has back peddled, ignored, or outright broken promises on some of the issues most important to me.

[HughMoran]

59. He's done amazingly well

I'm not perfect, so I'm not one to make such comments - that would be arrogant.

[zipplewrath]

95. Depends upon what is important to you

His approach to the whole Gitmo situation has be an abomination, not to mention protecting the toturers from prosectution.

[scheming daemons]

21. People need to be reminded that a presidential term is 4 years, not 18 months

At the end of 4 years, if he hasn't come through on most of his promises, THEN it is time to maybe look elsewhere.


GIVE THE MAN HIS 4 FREAKING YEARS.... A large chunk of the "progressives" on this site are like children.

[metapunditedgy]

76. Hey, I just read that talking point on another thread. If *real* HCR takes 4 years, that's fine.

Do you think Obama is going to revisit HCR and stand up for a robust plan this time?

[DevonRex]

115. And he's one man who has to deal with the House and Senate

and the Judicial branch as well. Not a miracle worker. Dems don't do lockstep. Never have, never will. GWB was handed something resembling heaven when he took office. Obama was handed something resembling hell over and over again.

[mdmc]

27. I voted for Clinton

so I wasn't at all disappointed in Obama to date..

[emilyg]

31. Et tu?

:hug:

[Skip Intro]

50. To be honest, I do wonder how things would have gone to this point had she been the one to beat M/P.

Because she would have, maybe just quite as handily but she would have. But would the health care debate been the debacle it was allowed to become? Gotta wonder. Would the gulf oil spill been allowed to be the albatross around her neck? I don't know. But I have to wonder.

The primaries are long gone and we have the president we have. I'd venture to say, in partial response to the OP, that it isn't just Dems on DU that are showing some buyer's remorse with Obama. Many were mesmerized by the campaign and the imagery. For many, he was promising rainbows. He said himself he was a blank slate on which people place their hopes and dreams. He is what they wanted, whatever that was. I heard him say realistic things during the campaign. But many seemed to be blown away by the vagueness of the campaign. And odds are, they're not going to show up this November.

So back to Hillary. I have to wonder, would we be, as a party, in the shape we're in right now had she been elected? As irrelevant as it is, I wonder.

[BootinUp]

63. Wouldn't have been much different.

Obama has assembled a good team, Hillary would have too. The repukes would have treated her about the same.

[Skip Intro]

67. But would her response have been different?

One of her campaign points was that she'd know how to handle the repukes. Given the health care effort during Bill's term, and how she was chewed up and spit out in their pr campaign back then, I'm not certain it would have been different this time around. She's the one who talked about the great right wing conspiracy. She's the one that talked about the right wing machine. She said she know how to take them on, how to battle them, that she had battle scars to prove it. The way the health care debate 2009/2010 went, I have to wonder if she didn't have a point there.

[BootinUp]

90. Their styles are different

but the republicans know how to say no in lots of different ways.

[zipplewrath]

96. I wonder too

I wasn't a Hillary supporter, for many reasons. But as soon as Obama started assembly a cabinet, my impression was that we coulda had that with Clinton. It was looking very much like Clinton's third term. My guess is that we'd a had a weak public option, probably with STRONGER mandates, no cadillac taxes, but the same basic sellout to Big Pharma. Strangely, probably a different approach to Israel, considering she is SoS now. Bank bail outs would have probably been the same. Gitmo would be closed, although I'm not sure how it would have played out. DADT would probably be roughly right where it is. Ditto with DOMA and NAFTA. I don't know what her taste for prosecuting torturers would have been. I'd guess not much more enthusiastic than Obama. I suspect the stimulus would have been significantly different, along with the first budget in general. I'm dubious the stimulus would have been much larger though, which is what was needed.

[mdmc]

100. I meant that I voted for Clinton in 92 to end the raygun revolution

so by 2008 all I expected was a slower embrace of rayguns revolution then Palin would have given us..

[treestar]

105. It would have been the same

Keeping all other variables the same. If she'd made Obama SOS, he'd have done a great job with that.

She'd still have Liberman and Nelson to deal with.

[TreasonousBastard]

28. No flames from here. Did I hope he would get...

more done?

Sure.

Did I EXPECT him to get more done?

Not really. Just not in the cards for now.

[SammyWinstonJack]

82. Sadly it's never in the cards for us lesser people, is it?

[Oregone]

29. Yeah, he is meeting most my expectations now too

I wasn't under any grand illusion things were going to work out, or that any one person was the magic answer to work them out anyway.

[havocmom]

121. +1

[FreedomRain]

30. logged in to rec this

... and who's to say the R's didn't decide to let him win, just so he could gather the blame for all their failures.

But yeah, it's been about as good an Admin so far as I could expect given the corporate control of the country.

[Lindsey]

39. NO flame from me, LuckyTheDog. Not at all. I agree with you

completely. And might I add, your post was very well thought out. I can't tell you how enraged I've been with so many people at DU who have bashed our President. It blows my mind. He's done so very much after eight years of complete Hell.What were people thinking?????????????????? How in the world could anyone prefer a Repug. over Barack Obama? He's had to clean up the biggest mess since the Depression. What in the Hell were people expecting? It's so very, very sad that so many people here at DU have had the attitudes they have. I simply can't believe it. Thank you for your post. You have earned a great deal of respect from me and I am very grateful.

[katandmoon]

40. "if we LET him"? Who's the one who picked Rahm, Sumner, Geithner, Simpson? Who didn't give Johnsen a

recess appointment? Who backpedaled on the public option so that HCR made insurance companies stocks skyrocket? Whose White House tried to weaken the Wall Street reform bill? Who put MacChrystal in charage of Afghanistan knowing that he was a fucking liar? Who continues Bush's illegal wiretapping program, who claims the power to murder American citizens with no by-your-leave? Whose DOJ has given the criminal regime of Bush/Cheney a total pass on its crimes? Whose DOJ prosecutes WHISTLEBLOWERS instead?

Obama, that's who. O-B-A-M-A.

And you're saying he'll fail if "WE" let him? Like he gave "US" any say in it? The hole he's digging is of his own making and he is not at all interested in listening to any calls for him to stop.

Put the responsibility where it belongs -- on Obama himself.

[slipslidingaway]

64. Did Geithner see the financial problems when he was head of the NY Fed...

yes he talked about having circuit breakers in place to cushion the blow - guess that was us.

:(

[Art_from_Ark]

73. Really--

And what were two of the biggest issues of the campaign?
The war and the economy, I seem to recall. So who does Obama appoint to corresponding Cabinet positions? Retreads from the bu$h misadministration, that's who. He also nominated another Republican, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, to be Commerce secretary, for crying out loud. And he appointed a Cheney buddy, Alan Simpson, who has no stake in the success of Social Security, to co-chair the Catfood Commission.

[Smashcut]

124. THANK YOU

It's a little late to claim that Obama has just been "done to." He's the one making these decisions, and a lot of them have been absolutely wrong.

[slipslidingaway]

42. Never expected miracles, but also did not expect him to marginalize...

and silence the not for profit, universal HC advocates, he could have furthered the knowledge of the American people in relation to other HC systems.

"I see we have the "Little" SP advocates up here..."

And he pretended that he was different ...


From a speech just before the election - "Enough is Enough..."

"And we are tired of watching as year after year, candidates offer up detailed health care plans with great fanfare and promise only to see them crushed under the weight of Washington politics and drug and insurance lobbying once the campaign is over.

That is not who we are, that is not who we have to be, enough is enough, it time for us to change."

Newport News - October 2008

And a couple of months later he abandoned key elements of his plan and made deals with lobbyists.

:(

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf

[NNN0LHI]

43. What we need to realize is that about a half million rocket scientists voted for Nader over Obama

These folks are extremely invested in Obama and us along with him failing. Damn invested. And naturally a lot of them post to political web sites like this one. And when I say extremely invested I mean it. Its like a sickness.

I always assume that this is the group who seem to get their jollies attacking President Obama and Dems in general.

What people who are susceptible to these rantings don't understand is that the ones stirring the pot are well off enough financially so that nothing will change for them even if Palin did become president. Otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.

Don

[Bonobo]

44. This is a bit of a strawman because it implies WE expected miracles.

But it was not miracles I expected.

As radically as Bush moved the country, I expected a stronger push back.

But we are still enmeshed in wars, surveillance, torture and corporate welfare.

Thai is not asking for miracles.

[madokie]

45. Neither did I

I like the fact, no I'm proud of the fact that I voted for him both times, once in the primaries and then in the general. No way can he be everything to everyone and only someone who doesn't pay attention would think that he could be. My suspicions is that most here who find fault with his every move are still sore that Hillary didn't win.

recommended

[guitar man]

48. I'm a little dissapointed

I'm still supportive but I wish they would bring up EFCA , it's one thing I was really hopeful about, getting some clout back for the working stiffs.

[quiet.american]

51. Nicely said. We fail him, and then would blame him for failing.

And what does that failure on our part look like? A constant circular firing squad.

[Skip Intro]

52. How do we fail him? nt

[quiet.american]

54. Read my whole posting, not just the subject line. nt

[Skip Intro]

57. OK then, who is "we?"

[quiet.american]

61. Answer: Just take a look at the Greatest Page for a clue.

Edited to add further: Just take a look at this place in general since the election of Barack Obama. Circular firing squad.

[Skip Intro]

68. So people on DU have failed Obama? Or, do you see DU as a microcosm of the Dem party?

[quiet.american]

70. I see how attitudes at DU can at times be reflected out in the larger progressivesphere.

After all, many DU'ers belong to real-world organizations and spend more time cheering Dem icons who are taking aim deserved or not at the President, than giving a thought to Republicans who are actually obstructing his administration (refusing to vote on appointments), stumping up violence against him (teabaggers, Michelle Bachmann, et al.) and using obscure procedural maneuvers to shut down the business of Congress.


Edited to change "that" to "and"'; and for typo

[Skip Intro]

71. Do you argue against dissent?

[quiet.american]

72. No. nt

[havocmom]

123. Lookout, you just stepped into your a circle of your own making

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

78. What kind of delusions of power does one have to have

to associate political discussion with the failure of a presidency?

That's magical thinking.

[quiet.american]

86. Why am I not surprised at the jumping to conclusions after reading just my subject line?

Edited to add, and if you did read further, you badly missed the point.

The point is, just as much, if not more, energy needs to be spent calling out Republicans as visiting verbal fisticuffs upon each other.

[EFerrari]

110. Actually, I read your post and you are drawing false conclusions

about my reading.

[havocmom]

125. one has to wonder at those who view The Most Powerful Man In The World as so delicate

One might wonder why there is such virelant words against discussion and dissent. One might wonder about the rapid rush to defend TMPMITW against the slightest of criticism. Seems sorta disrespectful, doesn't it, that some think he is so fragile and at risk that only constant praise and agreement can keep him from tottering off the ionic column and being replaced by a fool from Alaska who didn't see the Russian spies coming as she sat on her front porch screaming at the reporter next door.

[paulk]

53. I think the concern is that the situation between Obama's

campaign and when he took office had deteriorated to the point where his "centrism" was not the path to follow. We needed strong and bold leadership, leadership that questioned the status quo - not the sort of consensus building that is his forte.

[quickesst]

55. If you'll notice.....

...a lot of those on the left who are constantly bitching, pissing, moaning, and whining about Obama are the people you allude to expecting "miracles". Realists understand that these are for the most part, people who voted for Obama on very short-sighted criteria. He's articulate, and he's black. Those of us who voted for him because he was the clear choice over any who opposed him in the GE, understand that being president of such an overwhelming monster left by sheer incompetence from the last clowns in office will not be a quick fix. I actually feel sorry for those who are inadvertantly helping the gop gain back the power that the left fought so hard to rid this country of. They will continue though simply because their ideological ego will not let them see the long view. President Palin will thank us.
quickesst

[madamesilverspurs]

56. Here's to reasonable expectations!

I'm not worried about Obama failing, but I am very much concerned about the Republicans' stated goal of bringing down the Obama presidency. They've already demonstrated their intent to hobble him and obstruct his every effort; they're fully capable of preventing action and then accusing him of inaction. I don't agree with everything he's done so far, but I trust him far more than I will ever trust ANY Republican.

As for getting flamed for your opinion, Lincoln was right when he said that 'you can please some of the people some of the time...' - but I don't think he would have applied that to today's DU.


-

[FreeState]

58. Im mostly happy with him - on Civil Rights though I am not n/t

[Skip Intro]

62. I disagree with you, but I'll K&R just because I don't want to bury your opinion.

How does it go? I may disagree with you but I'll defend your right to speak your mind? Something like that.

Bla bla bla I'm so noble...


Anyway, K&R.

[Bluebear]

65. >if Obama fails -- that is, if we LET him fail< . . . yes it's all OUR fault.

:eyes:

[jonnyblitz]

74. and we must all be getting PAID to criticize him!!

they just can't believe that everybody doesn't adore him like they do, so we must be getting PAID!! :rofl: :rofl:

[treestar]

107. There are enough accusations of his supporters being paid on DU

To make that post's content a bit ridiculous.

[Sheepshank]

66. Regarding this Presidency, I had no idea....

.....that the Reps would prove to be *such* obstructionists. How naive was I? At every turn, with every policy, with every appointment, with every attempt at economic sustenance, at every point, all the time, every time, en masse. Yet still, Obama manages to eke out incredible accomplishments that would never have happened under GOP Palin/McCain. That was the realistic option for POTUS. McCain or Obama. If there is anything I am disappointed in, it's not what Obama hasn't done. I stand truly amazed that he has been able to accomplish anything of any significance at all in this climate.

[donheld]

75. Sorry I'm disappointed

[metapunditedgy]

77. So do you think Obama PROMISED miracles in his campaign? n/t

[EFerrari]

80. This "you expected miracles" stuff is really old. n/t

[defendandprotect]

83. "The miracle" is now threadbare . . .

so are the Pink Pony, the Magic Wand, Superman, Chess player --

it's only been ________ months --

No Democrat here is looking for Obama to fail -- we're looking for him to do the

right things so he can SUCCEED!!

Had Obama worked for Medicare for All, Dems would be in power for the next 40 years!!

[flamingdem]

84. Hoping (realistically) for a repeat in 2012. Obama has accomplished a great deal.

He deserves that time to make things right(er).

[Luminous Animal]

85. I'm pretty sure that everyone would agree that they did not expect Obama to perform

biblical magic tricks.

The best I had hoped was for Obama was to change the trajectory of America ala Ronald Reagan... but in a different direction.

"Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and a way that Bill Clinton did not," he said, describing Reagan as appealing to a sentiment that, "We want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0108/Transformation_like_Reagan.html

A lot of democrats defended Obama for that remark. They read it to say that his administration was going to be a transformative political experience in which we could all engage. Well, it turns out, not so much. While a case can be made that Reagan did change the trajectory of America (for the worse, in my opinion), clearly a case can be made that Obama has done no such thing.

[Number23]

87. Number23 is happy to be your 23rd rec.

Wonder what the final tally will be. ;)

[Hekate]

88. Rec #22 here! Oh wait--I think it's going backwards.

yeesh

[Hekate]

89. The Obameter sez Obama has broken Four-Tenths-of-One-Percent of his promises. OUTRAGE ABOUNDS!!!!!!

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

Actually it is .037% -- even less.

But wotthehell wotthehell. Let's all just do what Democrats do and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Obama was supposed to do it all himself, because the rest of us -- our job was done after we cast our votes. :sarcasm:

[deacon]

92. Agree and thanks for posting this. And, I'm shocked that the GOP

with their record of the last nearly 10 years now even has a chance to pick up a seat given that:

They ran down the country to near ruin.

They gave us 2 wars.

They cut funding for first responders as they were telling us they were protecting us.

They said deficits didn't matter.

They ignored vets.

They were and still are against stem cell research.

They are loaded with sex scandels.

They side with BP.

They side with ALL insurance companies.

They are heavily against any financial reform.

They are loaded with bigots and racists.

They offer zero ideas.

They stare the unemployed in the face and tell them "screw you!" (which is interesting too, because their arguement is like them saying there are plenty of jobs out there, the stimulus has worked so get a job now...)

They are against everything.

It's madness and I don't get it.

[BlueGirlRedState]

97. No Buyer's Remorse Here

I'm proud to support my president. He's not too popular here in the middle of Texas.

My Republican co-workers bitch about the cost of health care, and blame the economy on him. I say, "Give him time."

[uponit7771]

98. Amen!!! He's exceeded My expectatioins

[JoePhilly]

99. Absolutely correct ... and we can't let the GOP get back in power.

[EstimatedProphet]

103. The elephant in the room:

Maybe Obama hasn't been as successful as everyone wanted. Maybe he hasn't been successful enough. I think he could do better, personally. But who would have been more successful than him? Bernie Sanders? Dennis Kucinich? Keith Olbermann? Don't make me laugh. In 18 months, the Obama administration has managed to get a healthcare through congress. Fine, it isn't that good of a bill. SO WHAT? There has never in the history of this country been a comprehensive healthcare bill, and in this case there has been a sizeable proportion of the population that was convinced the entire concept was Of The Devil. Name me someone who would have done better. Name me someone else who could have done anything at all with what Obama had to work with.

[treestar]

104. I'm with you. Obama said it was not going to be easy.

Because he knew it would not be. So he is in there fighting.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

108. I expected him to govern like a centrist politician and escalate a lost war.

Which he has and is why I didn't vote for him.

[Diane R]

109. Happily recommending this one. A voice of sanity, lacking on DU lately.

[dem mba]

111. We'll keep the Presidency for 8 years

Congress, not so much. But there is nobody within the GOP with the skills or political force to topple Obama in 2012. Not Palin. Not Huckabee. Not Romney. Not Pawlenty. The GOP is more enthusiastic than we are, but they are also much more fractured.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

112. I never expected miracles and in fact, when I voted for him, hoped I was

wrong about him. I was ecstatic when he won (I posted on DU at the time) and then, the moment he selected Rahm as his COS, I knew I was right all along. He hasn't "disappointed" since......

[TBF]

114. I expected that he would at least not give away the farm -

the continued private delivery of health care and attempt to privatize schools and social security are of grave concern. You're right that we shouldn't be letting him fail. We need to be in the streets of Washington demanding better service from these politicians.

[DevonRex]

116. K&R. Thanks for saying it. nt

[LWolf]

117. LET him fail?

He seems determined to do so.

I, for one, am not going to be defending him from my spot under the bus.

I never expected him to work miracles, either. I never expected him to take this country in the right direction, and he hasn't. He hasn't even tried.

What will happen if one neoliberal president fails? We'll get another neoliberal. Or we'll get a neoconservative.

Any way it plays out, we're screwed.

[smiley_glad_hands]

118. K & R for reality. Some would rather bitch about President Palin it seems. eom

[Bluebear]

127. Oooh scary President Palin. I haven't heard that before!

[Smashcut]

119. Sorry, Bill Clinton Part II was not what we needed at this point in our history

But that is what we got. I never believed Obama was anything different, but even I'm astounded by how many times he's done exactly the wrong thing and favored all the wrong people.

This "Obama's not a miracle-worker" BS is so beside the point, not to mention it's trite and it's been shot down too many times to count.

[ismnotwasm]

122. It was very apparent to me he was moderate

I wish he'd do a thing or so differently yes, but all in all he's doing a very good job. The attack Obama machine is working in both camps. Conservatives hate him, much of the military hates him, and if you go by DU (I actually don't) more progressives than not hate him.

I never see it as a good sign when conservatives and progressives agree on a candidate. It makes me feel like taking a shower.




But, I suppose, He's either doing something very right, or very wrong.

[CakeGrrl]

126. k/r

The Republicans can't wait to get back in power and fuck everything up even more royally.

Will Democrats sit on their asses this fall for whatever reason and let them sneak back in?

People can bitch and moan all they want to about holding their noses, but until it gets easier for progressives to win a majority of the electorate, or until they figure out a way to do it, it's the Dems we have or the increasingly off-the-rails Republicans.

[jeffrey_X]

128. I didn't either, but expected more distance to be created between....

our government AND lobbyists, special interests and corporations.

[Scurrilous]

129. K & R

:thumbsup:

[bvar22]

130. K&R ....for Low Expectations !!!

Low Expectations means never having to say you're disappointed!!!
:party: