Reply #71: Wow! Almost as high as Bush I and Bush II...

[scentopine]

And look how well that turned out. If its too early for us to express *extreme* disappointment* and/or level criticism towards the president, isn't it too early to make an ass out of yourself rubbing this opinion poll into people's noses? I'll wait for the hard core policy successes that are good for liberals before yielding to the cheerleader bandwagon.

The smugness and arrogance with which the Obamanauts ridicule the completely legitimate disappointment and criticism registered by life long democrats and rank and file workers is _exactly_ the same smug behavior the neo-cons displayed when Bush had his soaring ratings. As we are outraged by the health care policy planning and torture and wall street sociopaths, so were we outraged with the run up to the Iraq war and many other corporate-centered Bush policies. We've been here before - the post election exuberance, the willful neglect of sound warnings and caution, attacking minority views - polarizing the party, and the eventual reconciliation. Its not pretty.

Democrats have completely failed to show liberal principles regarding public policy are better for America than the conservative principals. Obama is no better in this respect. In turn we are riding in a slip stream as extreme right wing goes even harder right and we pick up "moderate republicans" left behind. So we have two parties - neo-con and neo-dem. Both conservative. At the heart of both conservative parties:

the neos (dems and cons) share

1. the unshakable faith that corporations and their "business discipline", authoritarian management, and lack of transparency are uniquely qualified to design and regulate public policy for American citizens.

2. trust that the pure and invisible hand of the free market is self regulating, making sure only the strongest survive (and they're willing to prove it with trillions of your retirement money).

3. the belief that the government is filled with incompetent workers (excluding congress, of course) who, in the absence of huge profit motives and left to apply the skills and disciplines and passions for public service, might actually do a better job than these corporations so this unfair competition must be suppressed.

As a personal observation, it's clear to me from sentiments here, that democrats are much like budding neo-cons in the late 70s and early 80s. Its also clear to me that Obama is a politician first. Obama has not been successful at making people comfortable with liberal policy initiatives. We have the ages old problem of double talking leadership. Remember "kinder, gentler..."? How'd that work out? What ruins democrats is the capitulation and abandonment of core principals in exchange for cash for politicians, cash for corporations. And ruins it is. Stacks of cash for the 1% and stacks of misery and dead bodies here and overseas for everyone else.

Obama is being the best conservative president long time democrats could hope for. He is better than Bush. His body count should be lower. Its not such a lofty or difficult goal to achieve.