A Canadian Liberal's view of the US

[NJmaverick]

Sometimes an outsider can better see the forest for the trees.

In short:

1) It's pretty exciting to watch the US change bit by bit for the better since Obama was elected

2) I'm quite baffled at the despondency amongst Democrats (at least online), and am beginning to wonder if the habit of piling on your own candidate and party can really be cured

3) I think Democrats tend to spend too much time just trashing Republicans like Palin and the rest for fun, and don't spend enough time reflecting upon the fact that yes, these people could be running the country again. "So-and-so FAIL interview on Fox News" and "GOP shrill says RIDICULOUS thing on talk radio" is mildly entertaining, but I rarely see those posts concluding with any sort of call for action.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/3/898694/-Let-me-explain-something-to-you-about-Obama.

[lamp_shade]

1. First rec. Oh well... lotta good that did.

[NJmaverick]

3. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

[elocs]

12. If the OP was so important to give a Rec, why isn't it important enough to actually discuss it?

DU Rec/UnRec obsession is silly.

[NJmaverick]

15. What would you like to discuss?

[jaxx]

2. K&R but it didn't show up.

It's good to see that the President is appreciated. Looks like the 'despondent' do not like that.

[NJmaverick]

9. It would be even better if he was properly appreciated by those living in this Country

[MrScorpio]

4. Sometimes an outsider's POV can be very insightful

This is one of them

K&... Rec?

[cowcommander]

5. "...if the habit of piling on your own candidate and party can really be cured"

If DU is any indication, never. We are our own worst enemies. :(

[NJmaverick]

6. Sadly, you got that one right

[SpiralHawk]

7. You can usually depend on a Canadian liberal to

say the kinds of things Canadian liberals say...

[Electric Monk]

8. Wow, that's deep.

:applause:

[SpiralHawk]

11. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

[stray cat]

10. Progressives really are not progressive when it comes to ideas or tolerance

both conservatives and progressives are open only to the point of their own bias

[elocs]

13. Now THAT is exactly right. A very, very spot-on observation. Thank you. n/t

[NJmaverick]

14. True pragmatism is often a key element of being a progressive

as one often needs to muddy one's self in real world politics to get things done.

[Kahuna]

16. They seem not to tolerate pragmatism or compromise. Those are

baaaad words. :scared:

[kentuck]

17. I think what the Canadian may not understand...

is that many people, supporters of the President and the Democratic Party, were not ready for "bit by bit" improvement. They saw the need for dramatic change, in order to save the country. "Bit by bit" is only going to slow down our demise, not stop it from happening. They wanted to change it - not just slow it down. If you drown slowly or drown quickly, it doesn't really matter. You are still dead.

[NJmaverick]

19. What one wants and what is possible are often two distinctly different things

[kentuck]

24. And what you view as possible is not the same ...

..as what someone else might view as possible. Do you agree?

[NJmaverick]

27. No doubt that is true. The question is who has the more realistic view

I figure with my experience in politics/government, my love of history and my age, and no incentive to prove myself right by seeing our President or the Dems in Congress fail, I am more likely to have the realistic assessment. Still I have no doubt most people think they have the more realistic point of view.

[kentuck]

28. Your desire not to see the President or the Dems in Congress fail...

may be clouding your point of view? Just because they have a "D" by their name has little to do with reality.

[NJmaverick]

31. The D shouldn't be an issue, but to many critics it's a huge one

I look at the nation now and what it was like after Bush and the GOP got done with (back in 2008) and I see big improvements.

[kentuck]

32. I see improvements...

but the size may be relative to our viewpoints. Personally, I feel much better going to bed at night knowing that we don't have a moron in charge.

[NJmaverick]

33. Fair enough

[Scurrilous]

18. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Marr]

20. Sometimes an outsider's opinion can be interesting. But only when they agree with you.

I could post plenty of much more critical viewpoints from foreign observers, but I suspect you'd shrug them off as irrelevant or ill-informed. Since, you know, they're outsiders.

[NJmaverick]

21. The irony is you are shrugging this one off because it doesn't agree

with your point of view.

[Marr]

22. No, that was my point.

[NJmaverick]

23. So you agree with the points made?

[Marr]

29. No, I don't.

This person seems to assume that Democrats are "piling on" to Obama because of something in our DNA, rather than actual, concrete policy decisions he's made. It seemed to me that Obama had broad, strong support from the base when he got in, and has slowly lost various constituencies, one decision after another.

What's more, while I would agree that a lot of energy is wasted in gasping at the latest Conservative media outrage, I don't think you can pin that on any one group in the party. Party loyalists seem to love it as much as anyone, and regularly insist that everyone should spend their time channeling hate and fear of Palin rather than criticizing elected Democrats.

[NJmaverick]

30. The President won by 52% and his current popularity is a couple of points lower

your suggestion is not supported by those numbers.

[bullwinkle428]

25. "Rarely any call for action"???? - EPIC FAIL on the part of you and the Canuck.

[NJmaverick]

26. LOL! If you say so

[JonBenet Ashcroft]

34. President Palin, VP Rand Paul

Yay

[Edweird]

35. Anybody can call themself a liberal. That doesn't mean anything.

Posters here claiming to be liberals post RW crap all the time.