A President in Reverse

[WilliamPitt]

President Barack Obama during a news conference about debt ceiling negotiations, July 29, 2011. (Photo: Philip Scott Andrews / The New York Times)

A President in Reverse
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

Tuesday 02 August 2011

Obama's starting point was a demand for a "clean," unencumbered bill to raise the ceiling; House Speaker John Boehner said no. What would have happened if Obama refused to budge? We don't know because that's not his style. It would be nice, someday, to find out.

- Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post, 8/1/2011

The United States of America is different today, different in a fundamental and dramatic way, and is a better place now only for a few thousand people who are rich enough to remain above the effect of this transformation. For the rest of us, the 99% who stay up nights worrying about health care bills, retirement, finding a job, keeping a job, and aging parents who now dangle above a deliberately frayed safety net, it is a colder and more dangerous country we call home.

If I hear one more person try to tell me the deal cut between Congress and the White House was as good as we can expect, that it isn't all bad, I might vomit on them. This whole thing has been a disaster, and no amount of spin can alter the fact. Mr. Obama has taken to the habit of abject retreat with such gusto that he should be outfitted with one of those beeping devices they put on trucks to alert people when they go in reverse. At least that way, we will have some warning the next time this Democratic president backs away from the very policies and priorities he was elected to protect and defend.

We sure could have used such a signal during this debt-fight calamity.

I want a clean debt bill. Beep-beep-beep, never mind.

I want, no, I demand revenue enhancements - not from new taxes, but from closing loopholes - and I will reject any bill that does not include them. Beep-beep-beep, forget I said that.

We must protect Social Security and Medicare. Beep-beep-beep, but now I look good to Independent voters, or something, right?

It has become an all too familiar sound, really.

I will close Guantanamo. Beep-beep-beep.

There needs to be a public option in the health care reform bill. Beep-beep-beep.

The Bush-era tax cuts? Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.

An interesting thing happens when someone backs up. They get smaller in your vision, receding slowly but surely until they are all but invisible. So it is with this president, who goes into the 2012 election season a small fraction of the man who would supposedly make history.

The rest: http://www.truth-out.org/president-reverse/1312300026

[autorank]

1. A Republican from day one

Candidates return from campaign trail (2008) to assure bailout passge
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/PersonalFinance/story?id=5926400&page=1

Geithner and Summers Appointed
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/geithner-clinton-summers-to-take-senior-obama-posts

Confirmed: Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizen (Glen Greenwald)
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/04/07/assassinations

Obama approves Afghan troop increase
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-17/politics/obama.troops_1_afghanistan-troop-increase-troop-levels?_s=PM:POLITICS

Obama seeks to win back Wall Street cash
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/us/politics/13donor.html?_r=1&hp

Obama puts Social Security on the Table
http://www.nationaljournal.com/n2k-top-10-obama-puts-social-security-on-the-table-death-row-case-tests-perry-20110707

It's all part of "The War on You"
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-War-on-You-by-Michael-Collins-110731-552.html

[Jakes Progress]

20. dupe dammit

[Jakes Progress]

21. A reagan Democrat invading the roost.

[PurityOfEssence]

27. Ya know what? Saying nice things about Ronald Reagan is a line that just can't be crossed

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Barack Obama is "the coolest guy in the room" and always glad-handing with a Bill Clinton need to be loved and an impressive confidence that he can win over ANYONE, but saying nice things about Ronald Reagan is unforgivable.

Ronald Reagan was a complete and utter asshole, a fool and a tool and a dick of legendary proportions. Between his grotesque incompetence and his naked fostering of the rich and ratfucking of the poor, he was a deeply deplorable human being and a colossal failure as a President.

Over and over Obama lauds this man. It can't all be mere pandering to the right; he must believe some of it. What could that be? It could be the ability of the man to have others love him, something that both Bill Clinton and Obama seem to deeply need. That is disgusting.

[Jakes Progress]

28. Age. Obama became political at that time.

He, like many "new Democrats" actually bought into the lies that were prevalent then, all that stuff about trickle down and job creators and about evil entitlements and unions. He grew up after the civil rights era. After the war protest era. He grew up thinking the things he had came without the sacrifice and suffering of many people who helped to form the traditional Democratic legacy. He feels that he owes nothing to those struggles. He sees them as lines in a history book. He is not alone in thinking like this. But our problem is that he is our president, and he thinks like this.

[Mimosa]

42. There's also the 'desperate to please' factor

Jake, one factor about Obama which had caused me some initial concern was that he was a child completely rejected by his father, partly rejected by his mother (who had strong psychic needs she filled at the expense of her son) and who was largely raised by self-sacrificing grandparents. My own background is slightly similar.Bill Clinton's background was slightly similar but he was raised more with his mother, a stepfather and enjoyed the company of his younger stepbrother. I suspect Barack Obama was sometimes a very lonely child even though he was very much loved by his grandmother. His mother did not seem very loving. He need to 'find herself' superseded her son't need for a stable home with a mother. Therefore he was given to his grandparents to raise.

I believe the Dunstans did a remarkably good job. But Barack Obama is somewhat scarred emotionally ina way a kid growing up in a two parent home isn't. I know what it's like to have the need to please, to compromise, to be friends with everybody but deep down fear being rejected. Anybody who thinks I'm mistaken ought to read Barack Obama's books. I did. I was fairly certain he would overcome the brokeness. But I believe he has a need, like most of us from broken families, to lie to himself. We all do it. Actually I believe Bill Clinton lied to himself the least. He didn't have the 'race factor' which is part of Barack Obama's background. As somebody who shares factors in common with both of these people, I understand them.

Unfortunately nobody who enters political life feels they can avail themselves of therapy to help overcome the traumas originating in childhood. If they did, some idiots would accuse candudates of being 'nutty' instead of recognising healthy people get help to become stronger.

JD, do you recall in Obama's early candidacy for the presidency when Andrew Young said Obama wasn't ready, and he needed 10 more years of seasoning? I scoffed at Andy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071208/obama-young/

[SammyWinstonJack]

57. Rec!!!!! So very spot on!

:thumbsup:

[Old Codger]

65. He is

A people pleaser, he wants everyone to like him. He doesn't even know it.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

127. nah

he just wants wingnuts to like him.

He tells us to fuck off.

[Phlem]

164. Spot On.

That's where I've been for a long time.

-p

[SusanaMontana41]

70. Yep. He has the disease to please. n/t

[MattSh]

120. Yep, and those who make the most noise...

AND have the media behind them to amplify it are the only ones that matter.

[Lorien]

97. Clinton's insecurities manafested themselves in affairs with other women

Obama doesn't screw other women, just his base because he feels that he already has the approval of his base. He wants the racist clowns who rabidly hate him to approve of him.

[MissDeeds]

146. Exactly right n/t

[marasinghe]

98. which means the guy ain't as smart as he & his sycophants think he is.

sure, he's smarter than the bush scum. but, who isn't?

i also think Obama's got this ivy-league complex - where he thinks all those assholes from the Harvard-Yale (etc.) school of empty salesmanship, are smarter than anyone who isn't from one of those piles of air-castles. comes from hanging & getting drunk with that bunch in frat houses, during his formative years. i bet he really believes all the bullshit those polished turds spout - like they're some elite, intellectual super-heroes of the universe; these same con-men who destroyed the entire planet's economy with their mortgage derivatives shell game.

i've met plenty of people from different strata, in my life. i've found more smarts & real common sense among dirt farmers & poor guys hustling to exist, than from the fools who lucked into an elitist education & life-style.

the US has become the feudal victorian society of Britain in the 1800's; the one that Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens & George Bernard Shaw showed up in their writing.

[Enthusiast]

119. You have Obama exactly right.

I do not want him as my president, now, any more than I wanted Reagan, then. Unfortunately I did not know this before the 2008 election.

[Sherman A1]

142. Agreed & Well Said

:thumbsup:

[truebrit71]

33. I wish I cold recommend your post because it is so completely spot on...

To me as a transplanted Brit it would like listening to a Labour MP back home praising Margaret Thatcher...

I shudder everytime he utters the Raygun name...

[indepat]

43. You must not hold the gipper in much more reverence than I. For those of us who

question the high pedestal those of the right, including BHO, place the gipper, a book portraying the gipper's early charms is entitled "One Swell Fella" or thereabout which I will try to research should anyone indicate interest. ;) :patriot:

[marasinghe]

99. you're absolutely spot on. (n/t)

[sad sally]

162. Don't forget that probably for the entire eight years of his presidency

he was inflicted with Alzheimer's Disease, which was probably in the beginning stages in 1981 when he took office, but was ravishing his brain by his second term. Not that someone with some diseases can't still be clear headed, but AD is not a kind disease that leaves someone able to be president of a country. This leaves the unanswered but speculated questions as to who was actually in charge.

This lack of a leader capable of doing the job set up the normalcy of future presidents, like Bush.

[readmoreoften]

38. +1

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

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[MissDeeds]

52. +1

[Sherman A1]

123. Precisely

20 to 30 years ago he would have been in the GOP. It just shows how far to the right we have strayed when he is considered a socialist by their standards.

Pardon me for a minute..........:banghead: I need to do that occasionally to clear my head of the depressing thoughts of how far we have regressed.

[deaniac21]

137. Off subject but I thought you would like.

http://www.anicursor.com/colpicwar2_print.html

[Sherman A1]

141. Cool Link

Thank You Very Much!:hi:

[deaniac21]

169. Have to help those tankers out!

[BonnieJW]

125. Exactly right.

We elected a republican who played a dem on TV and at rallies. If you tell me tomorrow that the Koch brothers are BO's primary contributors, I would not blink.

[LiberalLoner]

2. K&R n/t

[DURHAM D]

3. oh ouch

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LiberalLoner]

5. BTW, I bought some Barack Obama hot sauce at a local store. When

we tried it, it literally had no heat, no flavor. My husband and I both tried it and we threw the rest of the bottle out.

We both wondered if it was some kind of statement about President Obama.

[Angry Dragon]

13. Now Now be nice

:hi: :hi: :hi:

[LiberalLoner]

17. No, I'm telling the truth, honestly! That's what we wondered! It really

was lousy hot sauce. I mean it didn't have any noticeable flavor at all! I'm not making that up! I was ticked off because I felt like I got ripped off, and then that's when my husband said it was probably a deliberate political statement.

And that kind of made sense to me, you know? It made more sense than the idea that they were purposely trying to market a bad hot sauce anyway.

:hi:

[mrdmk]

124. LOL,"It really was lousy hot sauce"

:nuke:

[sendero]

61. Probably just an inferior product..

.. like Obama.

[disillusioned73]

129. A very well marketed inferior product...

I feel so used.

[xchrom]

6. recommend

[Forkboy]

7. K&R

[elocs]

8. Where is his line in the sand. Does he ever have our backs, the regular, everyday, ordinary people?

No cherished Democratic Party value is important enough to not be bargained or compromised away in the name of bipartisanship.

[certainot]

106. bullshit- "obamas head needs to roll" limbaugh , sept 10 , 2008 - the left never had his back

there is NO organized challenge or defense for the right's most important weapon- the talk radio monopoly- birthplace of the teabaggers

[City Lights]

9. K&R. eom

[Cali_Democrat]

10. A pretty accurate description of Obama's Presidency.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

[Horse with no Name]

11. Very nice Will.

Very accurate.

We've had a load of toxic waste dumped on us and the apologists just want us to notice how functional it could be if only WE were smart enough to figure it out!

[KoKo]

12. Remember when he said Wall St. could tank huring 401-K's and Social Security folks wouldn't get

checks, etc. Fear tactics just like the Bushies used to force a compromise in that speech last Sunday. And, today Jay Carney in the Presser said Entitlements have to be part of the cuts.

Obama is making people feel bad about themselves like WE are the ones who caused these problems and not the policies of the Lobbyists and Banksters for Decades along with the Alan Greenspan Chicago School of creating bubbles that burst leaving us taxpayers holding the debt.

I don't see how he can get re-elected constantly scolding the Average American (Eat your Peas) and trashing Democrats that elected them by claiming they are part of the problems in America...

He will only survive if the craziest of the Tea Party gets the Repug nomination. But, I fear for what his second term will do what's left our our social structure. He isn't a leader, he's a follower. He is a lecturer who makes people feel bad about themselves...like we are greedy pigs at the trough, uneducated and looking for a handout.

Don't see him changing at this point...but hope springs eternal that he may have an epiphany. That's our only hope going forward given his track record.

[Lorien]

94. Agreed, though he will continue to make false statements about what he supports

or will not support, such as "I won't sigh a bill without a public option" or " increased revenues will have to be a part of the final deal; the rich need to pay their fair share" just to confuse the gullible.

It's all part of the game: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/02/23/democrats

[Mimosa]

110. ITA.

Certainmot, the LEFT is who toiled and contributed to get Obama elected. I worked my fingers to the bone, emptied my bank account.

I hoped Obama would help US help the needy, the elderly, bring back jobs and end wasteful wars. How about YOU? What did you do?

[kath]

14. Gee, WIll, didja have to put his picture at the top of your post?

So many of us can't stand to look at him anymore.

And I take this post to mean that you take back your apology from a week or two back... :P

[WilliamPitt]

15. Done that a couple of times already

but if you'd like me to again, I'm game.

;)

[SammyWinstonJack]

59. Can't stand to look at him and certainly can't stand to hear his condescending arrogant bs!

"shared" sacrifice my ass! :puke:

[Lorien]

96. I still have a pile of Obama buttons, T-shirts and ballcaps that I can't even bring

myself to dig up to donate to Goodwill because I can't bear to look at them again. x(

[William769]

16. K&R.

[antigop]

18. Maybe he doesn't want a second term -- think about it

He's what? 50 years old?

He goes down in history as the first African American president.

He can throw in the towel after his first term. Gets a great pension. Can retire in his early 50's.
Spends time with the girls.
Doesn't have to work another day in his life.

Pretty cool, eh?

[LiberalLoner]

22. For the life of me I can't imagine why any person would possibly even want to be

President at this time. Or any politician really.

[onpatrol98]

153. I know, right. I think it's the power.

[tilsammans]

79. Been wondering . . .

. . . if that's what he really wants. :shrug:

[zalinda]

133. That's what I've always thought.

He doesn't seem to be much of a worker. I couldn't imagine him breaking a sweat. Hell, he'll do a Bill Clinton and travel around giving speeches, and being paid big bucks.

zalinda

[AllyCat]

143. He will make speeches for a bit and then be a lobbyist for corporate influence

They make a lot of money doing that.

[zalinda]

144. The way he negotiates? I wouldn't hire him. n/t

[AllyCat]

156. +1. However, his plan has always been to work for them while making it look like he works for us

so maybe they would see that as a bonus.

[zalinda]

168. True. n/t

[EFerrari]

19. Independent voters want jobs just as we do. K&R

[DesertFlower]

23. i can't look at obama. i feel

angry and betrayed.

[Crewleader]

24. Well said William!

:hug:

[mochajava666]

25. Well said

[chervilant]

26. Please,

STOP calling Obama a Democrat. He has proven beyond all doubt that he is NOT.

[emilyg]

29. That alone deserves a k/r

[theaocp]

30. Morale is not improving and

the beatings just keep on coming. Fuck me gently with a chainsaw. I wonder if I could actually get a teaching job in Ontario? It's just across the river.

[Fire1]

35. Good idea. Doesn't hurt to try. Have you tried charters? n/t

[theaocp]

37. I worked charters my first 4 years.

I'm straight public finally. Last year and this year so far. I meant for when Rome burns.

[Fire1]

40. Oh! Gotcha. n/t

[Lorien]

90. I know Americans who found teaching positions there

several of my friends and I are also exploring our options. I'd prefer to stay and fight, but since the Left refuses to organize it's tough to effectively do that.

[Bake]

31. Makes me less than enthusiastic about a second Obama term.

Yeah, it won't be as bad as a President Perry, or Bachmann, or Romney. But it sure won't be hope and change.

And that's a damn shame.

Bake

[OhioChick]

32. K&R n/t

[truebrit71]

34. He once said he would rather be a great one-term Prez rather than a mediocre two-termer...

...at this rate he will be neither...

Great piece Will...It needed to be said...

[Lorien]

92. You know, I just can't imagine why anyone, if given the chance to make history

and be the leader of the free world, would choose vast riches over a stellar legacy and more modest riches...but then again I don't think like a republican.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProSense]

39. It looks

like a President moving forward to me.

Senator Sanders on new fuel standards

HHS announces free birth control for women in the U.S.

[Forkboy]

41. ...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

60. like a crab...?

[Lorien]

86. Is that crab ripping off it's own arm?

[disillusioned73]

132. LMAO..

it sure does...

[ProSense]

170. Actually

I miss Clinton. We could use another President who talks shit, stares down Republicans and delivers shitty policies.

I knew who Obama was when I voted for him. His policies haven't disappointed me like the fucking stupid ass policies of the the past 40 years. In fact, I'm damned happy to see many of them being reversed by this President.

[pscot]

83. Beep, beep, beep.

[Name removed]

87. Deleted message

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

[Horse with no Name]

95. .......

:spray:
THANK YOU! First laugh today.

[Name removed]

107. Deleted message

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[seeker4ever]

126. Sounds like you have laryngitis. Such a small voice these days.

[Name removed]

145. Deleted message

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

[Ignis]

44. K&R, sadly. What an opportunity squandered.

:kick:

[Octafish]

45. It would be nice.

Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep!

[gkhouston]

46. Too bad he's not equipped with mirrors.

He might not back over quite so many of us, and an improvement in vision sure couldn't hurt.

[JimDandy]

163. There are no mirrors

allowed anywhere around him so he doesn't have to look himself in the face.

[Jim_Shorts]

48. Bama has given a couple of the best speeches I have ever heard

and I am a sucker for a good speech, but when he speaks now all I hear is Charlie Brown - WA WA WA .. WA WA

[cyberpj]

64. I have the same feelings. I used to Tivo his every appearance. Now I change the channel.

And sometimes I wonder if he's been cloned then brainwashed by Republicans.

If not - I hate him for whipping so many ordinary citizens into a frenzy during his promisory campaign speeches then droping us all like we didn't matter at all as soon as he got the office.

[pleah]

49. K&R

[blkmusclmachine]

50. We Were Conned.

[Skittles]

51. the people who did not pay attention were CONNED

the rest of us had to watch it all go down :(

[QC]

101. True. n/t

[BigBearJohn]

113. People so desperately needed someone to believe in and POOF there he was

and Obama fever spread throughout the nation

[Skittles]

115. aided and abetted by an adoring media

[mike_c]

152. yep, not all of us were conned....

My line in the sand was the wars, so Obama never even made it onto my radar, really. After the health care debacle, well. I've NEVER trusted him.

[MissDeeds]

53. K&R

[FlyByNight]

54. R & K

[Paka]

55. Great OP!! n/t

[PBass]

56. I'm convinced that Will Pitt is one of America's worst bloggers

I like political commentary when it's smart and insightful. I'm still waiting to find that in a Will Pitt essay.

Granted, this week's screed isn't as childish as the very high bar he set for himself last week, but it's still riddled with immature garbage like this:

"If I hear one more person try to tell me the deal cut between Congress and the White House was as good as we can expect, that it isn't all bad, I might vomit on them."

No original political analysis in his writing, no insight into the political process, no breakdown of the figures (well, to be fair, that would require some knowledge or background in the subject matter, and that's probably a lot of hard work, for a blogger).

Nope, just the usual histrionic hand-wringing, the deep "we can't do it" negativity, and the occasional childish barb. Which is why (IMO) Will Pitt is a waste of time, that could be spent reading other people.

Opinions differ... I'm perfectly willing to be persuaded over to his point of view, but it's not going to happen with lightweight junk like this.

[pa28]

62. Was this post meant to elevate the discourse?

I noticed more "childish barbs" in your short response than in Will Pitt's whole piece.

[ihavenobias]

116. +1 n/t

[madrchsod]

66. why did you bother to read will`s post?.....

i do know there`s another website who also has the same opinion of him......

[Dappleganger]

134. Even if Will Pitt was the worst blogger on the internet...

that still won't change the fact that President Obama has become a failure as a democratic president by compromising basic platform values of our party in favor of capitulation to the right wing in Congress.

[WilliamPitt]

138. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

:)

;)

[Dappleganger]

166. Well I don't think you're the worst blogger...

glad you picked up on that user's 'logic', heh. So many of you all say things better, I'm just signing my name on in agreement. It's been a heart-wrenching week.

[WilliamPitt]

167. (((hug))))

I was trying to be ironical and stuff.

:toast:

[Forkboy]

158. "Will Pitt is a waste of time"...and yet here you are.

What does that say about you?

And could we see a link to your blog please for comparison? Thanks.

[seeker4ever]

176. Ha, ha, ha ,hs! Yeah, Obama's really showing his "can do" style! What fucking joke!

If Chrst came down from heaven and told some peopke that Obama is a fucking corporacratic shill, he'd have to bring pie charts!

[Raine]

58. TOTALLY on point Will!!! nt

BIG :thumbsup: :applause:

[mmonk]

63. This line is how I feel:

"If I hear one more person try to tell me the deal cut between Congress and the White House was as good as we can expect, that it isn't all bad, I might vomit on them."

It's as if you took it right off my brain.

[SusanaMontana41]

67. Bush made me angry. Obama broke my heart. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

68. Yep. I hear that.

[SusanaMontana41]

69. At least anger will energize. What do you do with heartbreak? n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

71. Pull the covers up a little higher??

[pscot]

84. Start dating again.

[disillusioned73]

136. Thats' t-shirt material there..

[in_cog_ni_to]

80. Democrats fall in love with their candidates. Republicans fall in line.

A GREAT Bill Clinton quote. :)

[Hydra]

154. SO true n/t

[aquamarina]

72. Wish I could recommend this a billion times

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP GOES OBAMA - you got that right.

[Name removed]

73. Deleted message

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

[BigBearJohn]

114. Sounds to me like you are trying to pick a fight

[SidDithers]

74. (facepalm)...nt

Sid

[FirstLight]

75. so do you really think the WH listens?

to blogs like this or to us here on DU...? seriously, I used to think that interns etc would be listening to the pulse of the base or at least the left, and maybe share some of this info.

is he (obama) in a bubble? doesn't he get it? i thought...well, nevermind...

i guess there really IS an Apocalypse at the end of 2012 coming, because the next Pres will be scary as fuck

[killbotfactory]

76. He's not a dictator, how disappointing.

Let's wash our hand of him and spread woe and dismay amongst the blogosphere!

[Forkboy]

77. That's clearly what Will was trying to express.

And he would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!

[QC]

102. ROFL!

:rofl:

You are the wind beneath my wings!

[killbotfactory]

108. Clearly

Guantanamo would have been closed if only for Obama not jabber-jawing congress into submission.
And the public option would be alive if only Obama believed in it more!
you just gotta believe!

[FedUp_Queer]

147. No.

Nobody is saying "just believe." However, what many people ARE saying is: "How about you just actually fight for something?" How about not expanding Gitmo east in Afghanistan (Bagram) and not making the same arguments Bush made for holding people there in communicado completely outside judicial review? Incidentally, Obama has ordered the capture of people all over the world to be taken to Bagram, precisely for that reason.

The bottom line is that Obama is not a progressive. He's not even a moderate Democrat. He's a conservative, corporatist Dino.

[in_cog_ni_to]

81. Yes, please. Let us wash our hands of him! He's a DISASTER of a President. n/t

[marasinghe]

100. no, he's not a dictator for sure. can't say "piss off!" to a stray pigeon. (n/t)

[QC]

103. Don't forget the magic wand bit.

That one's especially snide and dismissive.

[killbotfactory]

111. Correct. I don't know about you, but

Reality has certainly never thwarted my best intentions.

And democrats had a long history of getting everything they wanted on a silver platter before Obama fucked it all up.

[Dappleganger]

135. Oh yeah, and don't forget "The List".

[deaniac21]

78. It's called leading from behind.

[in_cog_ni_to]

82. Great piece and spot on. K&R!

[rdubwiley]

85. Barack Obama

I'm so glad that Barack Obama is going to set progressive policies back ten years by letting the GOP call Obama a liberal president when in reality he is a conservative.

[Hydra]

160. 50 years, at least

The Republican party was dead in 2008- utter failure of all of their talking points. Obama, instead of adding a few shovels of dirt to the grave they dug themselves, gave them a hand up and re-legitimized all of their crap.

They could have disappeared from history, but instead there is a very real chance of a sweep in 2012.

Somehow, the right has shifted the blame for everything they are doing to us, the Left.

This is the most amazing(and horrible) miracle ever, and the miracle maker is President Barack Obama of the Money Party.

[highplainsdem]

88. K&R

[Name removed]

89. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bozita]

91. One of your very best, Will!

Love the whole beep thing. Made it all work perfectly.

[Bozita]

93. Dupe.Damn! Never leave the room with a cat near the laptop.

Love the whole beep thing. Made it all work perfectly.

[WillyT]

104. HUGE K & R !!!

:kick:

[certainot]

105. if i hear one more person on the left who... i wish the 'left' would quit analyzing in a talk radio

vacuum, as if the left actually had obama's back, then i'd pay attention to them.

there is NO organized opposition to the right's most effective weapon- talk radio.

this whole shit is attributed to the "tea party' and no one i've read realizes the tea party is a bunch of dittoheads who would not exist without those 1000 think tank -coordinated radio stations getting a free speech free ride from the left - all the left had to do to avoid half the shit we've had the last 20 years was do anything but ignore it.

[SharksBreath]

109. There is a reason it's called the most powerfull position in the world.

If you choose not to use the tools you receive when in that position than I can blame no one but who's in that position.

Obama has a veto pen. He could have took the rich hostage.

This could have been about the largest tax hike in American history on the rich.

All he had to do was tell the GOP what he would sign for a clean debt bill.

Then hold the rich hostage.

Let the GOP blow the economy up if they want to.

You tell the GOP to give me a clean bill with the Bush tax cuts for the rich coming to an end and all these loopholes I want closed or I will VETO anything that comes before me.

End of discussion.

Either the rich get it or the rich get it.

66% of the country wants higher taxes on the rich.

Then dare the GOP to blow up the country protecting them.

[certainot]

130. the poor always get hurt the worst, you'd have top be as crazy as the teabagger/dittoheads

anyway the GOP already knows he wants to veto their all their shit

[FedUp_Queer]

148. Why would the left have the back of a right-wing president?

[certainot]

171. that's why you didn't vote in 2010?

[FedUp_Queer]

173. Who said anything about not voting?

I vote in state elections...and I get to vote for Charles Rangel...who voted against this deal.

The ironic thing is this...the drivel about "having his back" is just drivel. In particular, that is so because my congressman...whom I voted for, as I said, VOTED AGAINST THE SELL OUT TO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS...OOPS THE DEAL.

[certainot]

174. you live in the city and may have no clue of how talk radio rules in most of the US

and i'd like to be able to vote for charlie

it's not drivel, the white billionaires have hired the best and brightest to take him down - hundreds of them- and they have 1000 coordinated radio stations WITH NO OPPOSITION to dominate many states with a disproportionate number of senators- and that's all they have needed- because the left has no fucking clue!

if you think you can get a more progressive and smarter president in there in the near future you haven't been paying attention.

[FedUp_Queer]

175. Actually, I'm from Ohio.

So I'm quite aware of how talk radio affects the country. In addition, your term "more progressive" is laughable. There is nothing remotely progressive about this president. I, for one, would rather have George W. Bush. At least I knew UP FRONT he was a corporate shill. Bush didn't stab me in the back...he spit in my face and pulled my pants down but at least he told me he was going to.

[certainot]

179. what a load of crap. so you didn't vote in 2010 for dems and you'd rather have bush.

bush did plenty to us most of the country still has no clue about.

but your original post suggests you think obama is right wing. did you find that out after you voted for him in 2008? or after you voted for dems in 2010?

or maybe you prefer the a more authoritarian type.

[FedUp_Queer]

181. Can you read? Seriously?

I said I DID vote. I had my suspicions about him after he appointed Geithner and Summers. However, I just believed he was spineless (because I actually believed him when he said he was for the public option or that that he was against warrantless wiretapping or that he didn't favor immunity for those who did engage in warrantless wiretapping) by 2010. Then, I realized that it's not that he's spineless (which he is), it's that he is actually a right-winger. As for wanting a dictator...no...I prefer someone who actually fights for some of the things he said he'd fight for. I'd prefer a person who actually fights AGAINST the banks, corporation and Wall Street. I'd prefer a person who has at least SOME principles on which he will not compromise. Bush was a disaster, but at least I knew he was going to break the law. He was incapable of dressing "I'm screwing you" up in pretty, flowery language.

[WilliamPitt]

178. (facepalm)

[certainot]

180. william- talk radio just kicked internet ass AGAIN because there is NO organized opposition to the

right's best weapon.

(before i continue- some journalist really needs to interview the Tea Party congress people with a straight face as to their opinions of the main radio talkers- that's what Katey Couric should have asked Palin- not what she read)

much of the 'left's' analysis and evaluation of obama is half-assed and unfair until it stops giving RW radio a free speech free ride. the left cannot claim to have gotten obama's back.

all analysis of tea party that i've seen ignores the fact that they are primarily the talk radio base under another name. for weeks it was drummed into them with royal certitude from limbaugh and hannity that default would be advantageous, that the consequences were being exaggerated all out of proportion and that we would have to pay our debts and that then obama would have to start cutting the parasites and bottom feeders, as limbaugh calls govt employees, teachers, etc.

i've written some diaries at DU and dkos (mostly) as someone who has observed talk radio for 20 years.

[defendandprotect]

112. Never have been able to listen to Obama ... should have known -- !!!

Have read the text -- but can't bear to look at him any longer -- !!

[Major Hogwash]

117. I don't think that we have a President in reverse.

I think that what we have in America now is a system that won't tolerate a liberal President.
The whole system has one gear, Republican.

I'm not going to give a detailed historical analysis to try and back up my comments because most of us know what happened.
Those of us who were paying attention and weren't willfully ignorant, that is.
The radio airwaves were polluted 25 years ago with vitriol espousing hate for liberals.
The fairness doctrine was abandoned.

Then Faux Snooze came along and the haters had their own tv channel.
But, even though we get someone in the White House who claims he is a liberal, he winds up acting like a Republican moderate.
Not because he wants to, but because the system is set up against him acting anything like a liberal.

They said 30 years ago that Americans were going to have to accept a lower standard of living, and for the last 30 years they have either passed laws or ignored enforcing laws to bring that about.
Reagan's Secretary of State George Schultz stated that Americans were spoiled and would have to learn how to get by with less.
Then they tried to declare that ketchup was a vegetable and said that it counted towards meeting the basic food groups when we were feeding our children at school with those government sponsored lunch programs.

The Republicans began a hoarding process of collecting radio stations to get their message out to sway the masses.
No one could seem to be able to stop them, so no one tried.
When that didn't work, they flat out stole the elections.

But now what we have is capitulation sold to us as the "Deal of the Century."
The United States is "too big to fail."
All because the Republican party said they would rather default than give in to raising the debt ceiling because that might help some programs remain solvent that the Democrats were sort of fond of - Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - to name three.

And so, some Democrats came along and helped them pass this "deal."
Because there simply weren't enough of the crazy Republicans in Congress to "get r done" and pass this stinking turd of a bill.
Without 95 willing Democrats in the House willing to step up and vote to pass it, this deal would have died quietly on Monday evening.
And then maybe, we would have had a clean, one-sentence bill to raise the debt ceiling.

But, this must be what Obama wanted to happen.
Because he talked to the Democrats in the House and asked them for help.
I think it was because he had already decided not to use the 14th amendment as a tool to force the issue of paying our debts.
Because that would mean he would win on this issue.

And we can't have any of that.

We didn't just lose this battle, we lost the war.
Because McConnell already said on Monday night that since this tactic worked so well for them this time, they intend to use it again in January of 2013!!

Wow, who could have seen that coming?
Maybe a few dozen blind men, but not the President, or anyone on his staff?

I have no idea whose ox the Republicans intend to gore next.
There aren't too many groups left out there who haven't had holes punched in their sides by the Republicans in the last dozen years.
I'm sure they have a list of their favorite targets they have in their sights for the next 15 months before the 2012 elections come.
Heck, they're not going to retreat, they're going to reload.
The EPA looks to be on their list because everyone needs clean air and clean water.

But, I think as a group, they have done enough damage as a minority party ever could.
I remember how they made Carter look ineffective at the end of the 70s by blocking almost every single thing he tried to do.
And then Reagan showed up just in time to point out that Carter looked ineffective.
And I guess the rest of us weren't supposed to see that as just one large overly orchestrated, concerted effort by Reagan's Republican party to do just that very thing.

Well, the Republicans are doing it again, making the Democratic President look ineffective.
But this time, Obama is letting them do it.
He's a willing participant in this charade, and that is not permissible.
I think that we either need to find a new method to fight back with, or get a new man to lead us after 2012.

Obama doesn't want to fight for us, he wants to get re-elected.

[Enthusiast]

118. It's far worse than we imagined.

Now we know for certain that Obama is on the other side.

[leeroysphitz]

121. beep beep beep n/t

[kentuck]

122. How are all those Republican advisers working for you, Mr President?

Are you about ready to listen to your Party? Or do you want to continue "triangulating"?

[ibegurpard]

172. i think they're working for him just fine

what, you think he's on YOUR side?

[disillusioned73]

128. K&R for a needed dose of reality..

beep, beep, beep..... what a perfect metaphor.

[Dappleganger]

131. Well said, I just don't trust him anymore

than any other politician--he is more of the same.

[hifiguy]

139. Kick and Rec for TRUTH!!

[Name removed]

140. Deleted message

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

[Dappleganger]

150. You've just outed yourself

time to find a new sock puppet.

[Frisbee]

149. There are two kinds of people...

that have really been pissing me off lately.

1: People who call Social Security and Medicare entitlements.

2: People who call President Obama a Democrat.

Unless the definition of an entitlement and a Democrat have changed and nobody told me, neither of those things is true.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

151. A vision of a fleet of garbage trucks springs to mind

I have to say I'm a bit worn out from dodging them.

Great post, Will.

[robinlynne]

155. This is a kind way of saying it. I totally agree.

[Name removed]

157. Deleted message

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

[Hubert Flottz]

159. He could have been America's greatest president but...

he sold his soul.

[Hydra]

161. +1000

I think this may be your best work so far- and the analogy is so very perfect. The more he backs up, indeed, the smaller he seems.

[Doctor_J]

165. We now have code for whenever he gives something away

beep, beep, beep

[Agony]

177. A Lost Hope.

or.. Hope... lost