Obama has no one to blame but himself for his predicament

[woolldog]

* his fault if he loses. Not the left, not his race, not DU, not even the GOP is to blame.

[ProSense]

1. The President

saved the auto industry.

"his fault if he loses. Not the left, not his race, not DU, not even the GOP is to blame."

When he wins, he will have done so with little to no help from people with that attitude.

[woolldog]

17. He did indeed save the auto industry.

No criticism from me on that. He started to go astray with all the tax cuts in the stimulus a d his attempts to be so god damned bipartisan, watering down the effectiveness of everything since.

[ProSense]

22. Oh

"No criticism from me on that. He started to go astray with all the tax cuts in the stimulus a d his attempts to be so god damned bipartisan, watering down the effectiveness of everything since."

...bullshit!

Senator Franken: The importance of the Reocovery Act

Tuesday, Sep 28

M. President, I rise today to discuss something I regret. I regret that Democrats have allowed the word "stimulus" to become a dirty word, one we avoid using. The President spoke a few weeks ago about his new plan to invest $50 billion in new infrastructure-projects that will improve safety and transportation. But he never once mentioned the words "stimulus" or "recovery." And that was probably a smart move on his part. Because frankly, the stimulus has gotten a bad rap. But this is a reputation that it absolutely does not deserve.

There are members of this body who opposed the Recovery Act because they thought it wouldn't work. It didn't jibe with their theory of economics, or how the government should address recessions. And that's fine. They were entitled to vote the way they thought best. But now, a year and a half later, we've been able to see the economic effects of the Recovery Act. And to deny that it has been a success is simply ignoring the data.

A recent poll showed that a majority of Americans believe that the stimulus bill either did nothing to help the economy, or made it even worse. The economic data, however, indicate otherwise. How do we explain this disparity between what people believe and what the data support?

Members of the American public don't form opinions out of thin air. They engage themselves-they watch the news, they listen to speeches by elected officials. And one would expect that watching the news and listening to your elected officials would be a decent way to form an opinion about something. But unfortunately, the talking heads on the news shows, along with many elected officials, having been feeding the American public half-truths about the Recovery Act. And that, frankly, is cheating the American people out of the facts.

Today I'd like to go through some of these claims made by the talking heads and elected officials, and then follow it up with some data. And that way the American people can use the facts to decide for themselves.

<...>

Another vital component of the Recovery Act that is often overlooked is its expanded funding for unemployment insurance that helped keep 3.3 million people, including 1 million children, out of poverty in 2009. Another overlooked but critical program in the Recovery Act is the funding for Head Start. The $2 billion allocation preserved Head Start and Early Head Start programming for 64,000 children across the country-over 900 in Minnesota alone. These programs are helping the most vulnerable kids in our communities.
It's simple-economic analysis suggests that the Recovery Act boosted demand, created millions of jobs, kept families in their homes, and helped the economy start growing again.

Let me tell you what I love about being a Senator. As opposed to being a candidate for Senate. I think most of my colleagues can relate to this. When you're a candidate, you're speaking mainly to your own party. When you're trying to get the nomination, when you're getting out the vote. But as a Senator, you talk to everyone. I travel all over the state of Minnesota and meet with mayors and city council members, and county commissioners, and small businesses.

And everywhere I go, they thank me for the Recovery Act. They thank me for the teachers and firefighters, for the Workforce Investment Act funds, which they used to train people for jobs. For the highway extension or the wastewater plant or the funds for rural broadband or for weatherization of public buildings.

In fact, Michael Gunwald, writing for Time Magazine, said this: "the Recovery Act is the most ambitious energy legislation in history, converting the Energy Department into the world's largest venture-capital fund. It's pouring $90 billion into clean energy, including unprecedented investments in a smart grid; energy efficiency; electric cars; renewable power from the sun, wind and earth; cleaner coal; advanced biofuels; and factories to manufacture green stuff in the U.S. The act will also triple the number of smart electric meters in our homes, quadruple the number of hybrids in the federal auto fleet and finance far-out energy research through a new government incubator modeled after the Pentagon agency that fathered the Internet."

A few weeks ago I heard a prominent conservative talking head on one of the Sunday news shows describe the Recovery Act this way. He said:

If I pay my neighbor $1,000 to dig a hole in my backyard and fill it up again and he pays me $1,000 to dig a hole in his backyard and fill it up again, according to the national income statistics, that's a $2,000 increment to GDP and two jobs have been created. The American people understand, however, there's no real wealth created in this kind of transfer payment.

How out of touch. How downright offensive. And yet this is why so many Americans believe that the Recovery Act hasn't created any jobs or just created jobs for bureaucrats.

You know, I worry that my speech today is too little, too late. I worry that many Americans have already formed their opinion about the Recovery Act-based on the inaccuracies they hear from beltway pundits or from their elected officials.

But, I challenge the talking heads and the elected officials to find the Spencers, Sheilas, Cecils, and Randys in their state-go out and watch them work. Or talk to a teacher in the classroom or a cop on the beat. They're not digging and filling holes in their neighbors' backyards. They're doing skilled, hard, necessary work-rebuilding our roads, teaching our kids-and getting paid for it. With their paychecks, they buy food for their families-which generates more demand. And that's an economic recovery in the making.

[woolldog]

37. President Carter made a great point in his interview

With Rachel Madow, which was basically that Obama should have been writing all this legislation in the white house, not delegating the job to congress. In delegating it to congress we ended up with the least common denominator and the appearance of a lack of leadership, if not an actual lack of leadership. This is one thing that Obama has finally done with the jobs bill. Carter said Obama had waited a long time, may e too long to do that and that the best pieces of his (carter's) legislation during his term were written in the white house..

[ProSense]

40. Hmmm?

"which was basically that Obama should have been writing all this legislation in the white house, not delegating the job to congress. delegating it to congress we ended up with the least common denominator and the appearance of a lack of leadership, if not an actual lack of leadership."

When did the President's job become writing legislation? The President has sent proposals on every major legislation to Congress.

Clinton wrote his health care bill, which didn't do much for his leadership in that area.

"This is one thing that Obama has finally done with the jobs bill."

Because Congress wasn't doing it's fucking job. Besides is that why you wrote the OP: because he's finally doing the right thing?

[Whisp]

2. bollocks

[trumad]

3. ugg

[Tx4obama]

4. Unrec. n/t

[Autumn]

5. It is his race to lose.

so yeah I agree with you.

[woolldog]

6. And he's doing his best to lose it.

[Autumn]

7. I think he's counting on the wrong things to win

the center, Independents and fear of the bat shit crazy opposition party. This should not even be close, if it's close enough to steal that's what will happen.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

32. In great part, he/she who has his ear, decides policy.

THAT is the problem. The bubble exists for every president. Some get past it (Cheney, Clinton, Reagan, and FDR, just to name four presidents)
But Obama is so insulated he does not even hear the cries on the street, his natural voting bloc.

[EffieBlack]

8. LOL!

It seems only yesterday that Democrats twisted themselves into knots patting themselves on the back because THEY were responsible for electing Barack Obama president ...

But if he loses, he has only HIMSELF to blame.

I got it. Thanks.

Of course, I have absolutely no doubt that he will win next year. When he does, I assume that folks like you will not try to take any credit for it ...

:rofl:

[woolldog]

10. We can't govern for him....

and the way he's governing is why this is even close....which it shouldn't be.

[ProSense]

18. How

"We can't govern for him and the way he's governing is why this is even close....which it shouldn't be."

...do you explain that his numbers are better than any other Democratic President dating back to Truman?

Clinton at this point was trailing Obama by nearly 20 points (in some cases more) in terms of the number of Democrats who wanted to see him re-elected.

The statement above is typical. The negative memes have been constantly repeated from the first months of this Presidency.

It's a deliberate attempt to denigrate the President's achievements by ignoring them and supplanting acknowledgment of progress with talk of sell out! In fact, when that doesn't seem to work, his detractors attack his character.

It's bogus!

[jenmito]

9. Unrec. I wish you'd delete your Obama "Progress" pic since you obviously don't believe it. n/t

[Logical]

11. Some people will believe anything.

[woolldog]

12. The photo is aspirational.

Plus I'm a fan of Shepard Fairey's work. Deal with it, honey.

[jenmito]

42. "Deal with it, honey."

Oh, I will. Just as YOU'LL have to deal with Obama's re-election, "honey." ;)

[Cali_Democrat]

15. LOL....signature pic police

[jenmito]

43. "Deal with it, honey."

[Deep13]

13. Yeah, but we'll all suffer for it. nt

[woolldog]

14. Which is why

the way he's governing is incredibly selfish.

[EffieBlack]

16. If you believe that, shouldn't you also believe that those who aren't willing to overcome their

frustration with him are ALSO being incredibly selfish?

Or is the president the only person who needs to be held accountable for the outcome of presidential elections?

[woolldog]

19. I'm voting for him.

That's all I can control.

[EffieBlack]

21. YOU may be voting for him, but you seem hell bent on convincing others NOT

And just voting for him is not all you can control. For example, you can campaign for him, you can try to get others to vote for him, etc. instead of consistently bashing him and seeming to go out of your way to to undermine him - which, in the end, does nothing but make it more likely that Republicans will win - and I think we agree that THAT is a much worse scenario than any shortcomings you believe that President Obama brings to the job.

Frankly, I don't see the point of giving him your vote if you then cancel out your vote many times over by talking others who might otherwise vote for him into either voting Republican or not voting at all.

[woolldog]

30. I don't convince anyone to not vote for him.

Everyone on DU who has common sense will come around eventually. And those who don't won't give a shit what I or anyone else think. I've stopped following politics almost entirely because I know that if I do flow closely I'll be too discouraged by obamas actions to even vote.

The sacred indys that Obama wants want leadership. They don't care so much about stands on issues but want 2 things. A president who believes what he says and one who has balls. And when you say one thing and do another or bend over backwards to be bipartisan you look like you fail on both counts.

[EffieBlack]

33. You may not INTEND to convince anyone to not vote for him, but your consistent

harsh criticism of him - which go well beyond disagreement with his policies and tactics but regularly veer into personal attacks on his motivations and character - certainly have that effect, whether intentional or not.

[woolldog]

36. Oh please

I'm venting. I have no interest in influencing anyone and highly doubt I influence people in their voting decisions. The thought of that is hilarious actually. DU is a highly self selective population so this is actually the best place to vent since there is the least chance of convincing someone not to vote for the dem.

[Ikonoklast]

64. You've been anti-Obama since your first post here.

You fool no one.

FUD.

[woolldog]

69. That's a flat out lie.

Do your homework, chump.

[TheKentuckian]

24. The source of the frustration has not been abated and has generally been doubled down on

You can't be surprised when frustration isn't diminished as the cause of it increases.

[EffieBlack]

27. I see- because YOU are frustrated, YOUR selfishness is justified, regardless of the consequences

Got it.

[TheKentuckian]

57. That isn't what I said but even if it was you are still missing the point

Which is that it cannot logically be surprising that people are frustrated when the source of their frustration is exacerbated.

You can rail on about the reaction all you want but your own selfishness for your preferred personality or approach prevents rational processing that you can't piss people off and expect them to rally for you out of altruism.

It isn't like you and yours give a shit about the consequences of what and who you support and yes refusing to hold our people accountable to the needs of us "small people" and the future of our habitat will have dire consequences as will the absurd ideology of "bipartisanship" as will "looking forward".

You can't be so blind and selfish to think you get partners in a coalition that you don't have to give anything up to who's only other use from your perspective is to act as a punching bag to impress the opposition are going to forever be held in line from fear when you continuously move toward what is feared, loyalty when you give none, or guilt when those fail for long.

[Whisp]

20. I guess this is a retal against Weiner's stupidity?

because those words are used about his situation by his critics.

big fail

[woolldog]

38. Dems were idiots for forcing Weiner to resign.

I hate being a dem sometimes. We're such wusses. Totally afraid of taking a stand and fighting.

[Whisp]

44. that's too bad you feel that way.

[tblue]

49. With NO PLAN for keeping that seat!

How STUPID!!! Is a freaking plan too much to expect? How about ACORN? Real smart to leave them to the wolves.

Anyway, you're fighting, woolldog, And I appreciate it.

Amazing how much like a candidate his supporters are. Look how they attack you: "Stop whining! Be quiet! Be grateful for some crumbs! Eat your peas ! Principles schmrinciples! Be a doormat! No, a PROUD doormat! Why fight Repubs when we can beat up on progressives?! Everything is your fault! You are such a tiny minority, we don't even need you! But if you say anything, we will blast you!!!!"

All I want is a potus who I can trust to hold to Democratic party core principles. And if that is too much for Pres. Obama, it's not my fault or yours.

[great white snark]

23. He will win.

Of course when he does you will give him no credit for doing so.

[EffieBlack]

25. Of course not -

When he wins, it will ONLY because progressive Democrats did it for him . . .

And then we'll have four more years of carping about how he's not doing enough for them that put him back in.

[tblue]

50. Where did he/she say that?

Don't put words in other people's mouths, pls.

Welcome to DU. We have 2 factions here: Blue-Blue and Red-Blue. Sounds like you're a Red-Blue.

[Bobbie Jo]

26. Preemptive hedging?

His "predicament" is just fine, that is DESPITE the Death By A Thousand Cuts Campaign being waged here on a daily fucking basis.

IF he loses,(and he won't) I think we know who contributed to the success of the campaign.

Own it, you've earned it.

[JoePhilly]

28. Yea!!! Screw him ... let's stay home and teach him a lesson!!!!

We''ll all be FINE!!!!!

[EffieBlack]

29. And even if we're not, WHO CARES?!

After all, we're standing on PRINCIPLE!!!

:sarcasm:

[treestar]

60. Their problem is that they think of politicians

and having individual relationships with them. Like a POTUS should be considering OP personally. And that OP's rejection is going to be so hard on Obama!

[Mr Deltoid]

31. All Obama has to do is step back into the light

Problem solved

[zalinda]

34. Actually, he has to step into the FIGHT

No average citizen sees him fighting for us. Actually, very few of our reps are fighting for us. They are more concerned which team wins what, and the public be damned.

Wonder why the polls are so low, for EVERY ONE, except a very few, because these fucks who are supposed to represent the citizens of America, are too busy kissing corporate ass.

zalinda

[greendog]

35. +1

[treestar]

39. Unrec

This is the first black POTUS. You should have his back.

[woolldog]

41. I had his back...

up until the point I realized he didn't have mine.

[YellowCosmicSun]

55. sure, you did.

[treestar]

59. He's the one in the lead

He can't possibly have your back or mine or those of 70 million or more people. Your position is unreasonable.

[LWolf]

45. Truth. nt

[CakeGrrl]

46. AMERICANS will be in a bigger predicament if he's not in the WH in 2012.

Unrec for...whatever this is supposed to be.

[BlueCaliDem]

47. Unrec'd eom

[vaberella]

48. What the fuck are you talking about? n/t

[geckosfeet]

51. I disagree.

[hulka38]

52. K&R

[BlueIris]

53. As if anyone disputes that.

I do wonder, though, what his admirers will say.

[YellowCosmicSun]

54. This is Constructive?

[Hart2008]

56. K & R!! The buck stops with the President! NT

[Fruittree]

58. Love all the facts you've included to support your position!

[Honeycombe8]

61. No man is an island. nt

[FrenchieCat]

62. so much bullshit, so little time!

I'm sure that's what you'll be saying as you continue to actively campaign for your
candidate, Rick Perry or whomever. You see, you've been dogging out this President
for a long time now, and so I blame you when we get a Republican President, and noone else.

That's how ridiculous you sound.

[totodeinhere]

63. Agreed. But when he loses and a crazy Republican like Perry or Bachmann takes his

place then it's we Americans who will do the suffering. Obama will have a cushy pension and lucrative speaking fees to keep him in clover for the rest of his life. The rest of us not so much.

[YellowCosmicSun]

65. You're not going to stop him. Even with passive-aggression.

[BlueIris]

66. The Party, the people, and sadly, the Republicans are going to stop him.

Of this, I have little doubt. It's sad he let it get to this point, but now that he has, it's over.

[EffieBlack]

67. Oh, good Lord

Please go somewhere, sit down, and calm yourself.

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

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