General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm not sure the country is going over the cliff, but DU sure as hell has. [View all]DissidentVoice
(813 posts)However, as the Rolling Stones said so many years ago, "you can't always get what you want."
I will give Mr. Obama credit for at least trying. That's a hell of a lot more than we would have got from Romney, who would have had the Bush tax cuts enshrined in Holy Writ, not to mention doing his hardest to undo the ACA (he promised to do that, remember?).
Yes, on a lot of things Mr. Obama has tacked too far to the centre-right for me. I would have liked to have seen him go for single-payer health care (he tried to build on the existing non-system partly to try to get Republicans on board, which was never going to happen) or at least buck Max Baucus on the public option. I am disappointed that Guantanamo Bay is still open, and that the USA Patriot Act still exists.
However, I was even more disappointed in Bill Clinton when the Republicans wouldn't even let his health care reform bill be voted on...he just turned over and let them (and Rush Limbaugh) kick him. He tried as hard as he could to be "Republican-lite" for his second term, even when they tried to BBQ him over Monica Lewinsky.
Mr. Obama has not been perfect, but I never expected perfection from him.
Remember too that the GOP has let Grover Norquist grab them by their collective short-and-curlies. He, Wayne LaPierre and Rush Limbaugh are their ideological overlords.
I consider myself left-of-centre (if not socialist) on most things. However, I served in the military and am proud of it, and I am a Christian and refuse to be shamed because of that, neither of which go down well with some members of DU. Live with it.
Like my dad used to say, "opinions are like assholes...everybody's got one and they all stink, but some more than others."