Rate Obama's Presidency To Date.

[Skip Intro]

Poll question: Rate Obama's Presidency To Date.

Posted without comment. Just curious...

[Iggo]

1. Like seven.

[Scuba]

2. This poll tells you nothing, perhaps less than nothing....

....for example, I'm liable to give the President a very poor grade. During the campaign he advocated single-payer healthcare, ending two wars, closing Gitmo and ending DADT. On those fronts, he's done poorly, in my estimation.

But I'm also liable to give him a high grade. He's kept his promise and set a positive example by trying be bipartisan, even in the face of the Grand No Party. He's handled the financial crisis. He's gotten healthcare reform passed, a miracle regardless of how watered down it is. He's kept his cool during the worst environmental disaster in human history (I remember a recent hot-head President, and NO, I DON'T want him to show his anger. He's turned the Justice Department loose on BP and their co-criminals.

Without looking at how he's fared on individual issues, a letter grade is pointless at best, misleading at worst.

[Skip Intro]

4. Guess many of us brought home pointless or misleading report cards from school then...

I don't know.

Bush is rightly known as the worst president in history. Imho, anyway. Not a lot of detail in that charge, but I think most would agree that it is an accurate description of his time in office.

This poll is an effort to get a snapshot of those on DU as to Obama's time in office. Seems as good a measurement as any. Hell, most major polling firms do a simple approve/disapprove measure; this poll question seems at least as valid a measurement.

:hi:

[Kaleva]

7. I brought home many pointless report cards.

The D- average was very misleading in my view. My parents thought otherwise however.

[Kalun D]

5. Bullship

""a positive example by trying be bipartisan""
by asking the repugs what they want every single time and not giving the teachers or the unions what they want

""He's handled the financial crisis.""
by giving away $Billions of taxpayers dollars and putting the criminal perps in charge of oversight

""He's gotten healthcare reform passed""
that's not reform, that's another taxpayer funded giveaway, just like the banking

""He's turned the Justice Department loose on BP and their co-criminals.""
No he hasn't, if he had their US assets would be seized and they'd be in jail. Just like banking the criminals are in charge of the clean up. and with Holder at justice, an oil industry and corporate insider there will be no real justice.


""Without looking at how he's fared on individual issues, a letter grade is pointless at best, misleading at worst.""
Bullship. Just like school there's different subjects. You give a grade for each and then make an average. I give him a solid D, he deserves an F but I'll give him a break because he sure does talk a good game.

[HughMoran]

6. Can't think of a single good thing to say about him

:yoiks:

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[Kalun D]

11. It's not being a realist

Oh hey little Johnny, you got a D, congratulations you must have done something right

or

hey little Johnny, you talked an A game but all you can come up with is a barely D? What have you been doing? Are you merely incompetent or are you corrupt?

[Kalun D]

19. The Last Straw For Me

Was when the white house came out and bashed the Unions for supporting alternative candidates. An alternative to the sold out democrats.

IOW, give us your money and we aren't going to do a damn thing for you. In fact we are going to be against your interests.

the corporate democrats. These people really are worse than the repugs because they tell you what you want to hear to get elected and then do the exact opposite of your interests when they get in office.

seriously Obama has trashed the teachers. His pick Arne is anti Union, 1000s of teachers are being laid off

Obama has trashed the Unions. Promising card check and not doing squat to get it.

he's a one termer without the teachers and the Unions.

the oil spill is just another indication of the extent of the corporate corruption

[Scuba]

41. I'm with you on that one.

[Hawkowl]

88. Agreed

Obama has signed his political death warrant with his anti union stances. It is beyond a political screw up. At this point he is deliberately alienating every single pillar of his base of support.

I think he WANTS to be a one term president. He just wants out so he can make a bazillion dollars.

[Enthusiast]

92. I was standing on the edge,

that pushed me over. Especially considering the way Blanche Lincoln votes. Really, the way they vote is everything. I could care less about the uniform.

[HughMoran]

95. I've read 10,000 "last straw" posts on DU

...so until the next "last straw" comes along, I believe your sincerity.

No, I really do!

[dionysus]

152. .

:spray:

[Name removed]

107. Deleted message

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[Moochy]

52. Its like he's adopted the "two santas" approach to govt.

but the recipient of all of the gifts to date have been corporations.

The 'Two Santas' approach to govt. is that you try and give gifts to the voter in the form of tax cuts, or benefits since when they vote for you they'll be grateful.

What's more important now in the days of Post Citizens United is to compete to give regulatory gifts to the industries that can pony up the most money. Wall Street, Health Care "Reform", BP, School Privatization

What a way to go, O.

I gave a C grade, but I don't expect the White House to try and do any extra credit to bring that grade up.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

43. The president *never* advocated single payer healthcare during the campaign

I think the betrayal there came in the form of a mandate.

[gleaner]

105. That is you, and that is your opinion ...

I gave him an "F" across the board because he has done a miserable job with his handling of the BP disaster as the cherry on the cake of his presidency. I don't think he is going to get any better. The poll is not meaningless. It shows the number of responders that think he is doing a bad job versus a good job. Letter grades are meaningful too. Maybe report cards are considered to be a useless measure of someone's future potential when they grow up, but while you are in school they are an indicator of how well you are learning what you are at school to learn. I sure as hell knew the difference between an "A" and an "F" and the fact that I busted a gut to bring home all "A"s showed that my mother and dad knew too and wanted me to do better. Too bad we can't send Obama a report card. But in a way we already have. He chooses to ignore it. K&R to OP and waiting the fireballs you are undoubtedly going to send my way.

[jp11]

3. How about some facts, if you believe them.

Campaign promises:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/browse/

[chimpymustgo]

78. They're quite optimistic - rating "Employee Free Choice Act" as "in the works"

-edit-

In the Works
No. 43: Sign the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize

"Obama is a cosponsor and strong advocate of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bipartisan effort to make the unionization process more transparent and increase penalties on companies that violate employee rights. He will sign EFCA into law as president."

-edit-

[Webster Green]

8. He gets an "F"....because he had a mandate for change, and blew it.

He surrounded himself with corporate dickheads. Change is not in the equation now.

At least we knew that the chimp was going to fuck us over.

[Name removed]

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[jgraz]

34. Yep, you nailed it.

The biggest opportunity for positive change in two generations and he's pissed it away. That's less than an 'F' in my book.

[Dr Morbius]

12. There's only one grade that matters.

It's pass/fail. And for me, he passes. EOT.

[JohnnyLib2]

13. And it started as a neutral thread.........

:shrug:

[Catherina]

14. I gave him a D out of charity

because my heart is too soft. I wish I could take my vote back and go with my head which grades him an *F*.

[HughMoran]

17. I'm surprised

No, really!

[Catherina]

37. In 20 years, you'll be surprised even further and banging your head against a wall

By then, you'll have progressed past press releases.

[Kalun D]

47. I Agree

Just like Clinton, the worst actions won't be felt until later, can you say NAFTA GATT?

imprisonment without trial won't be felt until they go beyond foreigners and start putting political opponent citizens in black op prisons.

[Bluebear]

81. +

[jefferson_dem]

128. Awww...

You do grade on a curve, don't you.

Curious: what grade did you give the previous occupant of the Oval (A-F)?

[Lucian]

15. D.

At best.

[HughMoran]

18. Another stunner

[arcadian]

61. Just making little flippant comments about everybody's choices?

[dionysus]

149. from a guy who said the US was involved in WW2 out of greed, your opinion doesn't

carry a lot of weight... just sayin'

:shrug:

[demwing]

16. "C" because he broke the racial barrier

otherwise he gets a "D"

I don't even find him a very inspiring speaker anymore

[Kalun D]

21. Agree

A for breaking the racial barrier

F for practically everything else.

[Laelth]

132. Hey, at least he can utter a coherent sentence in English.

That's more than can be said about his predecessor.

:dem:

-Laelth

[iamthebandfanman]

156. we have such high standards

lol.

id imagine 3/4ths of the worlds population could be more coherent than the last jackass ;)

[demwing]

163. My 15 year old son can speak more coherently than Bush

And though I love the kid, he'd be a horrible POTUS.

The Whitehouse would be a mess with dirty socks everywhere, the door to Canada would always be left open, our nuclear waste would never get taken out, and we would only have international relations with countries that were "smoking hot."

On the plus side, we'd have a three day weekend, pot would be legalized, Republicans would not, and FOX would have to cancel their News programming and play reruns of The Simpsons during that time period.

Hmmm.... not as bad as I thought

[SarahB]

20. Look, somebody had better wake up, and SOON.

Far more than HALF of the Democrats on Democratic Underground rating him a "C" or worse? Does he think he's going to make up those votes with the Republicans?

[HughMoran]

22. DU doesn't represent Democrats

DU is a very small subset of political junkies

[SarahB]

23. So you honestly think the Independents and Republicans

would rate him higher? Really?

[HughMoran]

25. His approval among Democrats is very high

:shrug:

[SarahB]

27. Awesome.

Let's talk in November, shall we?

[HughMoran]

31. He's not running this fall

:shrug:

[Lucian]

24. Well, if DU actually did represent Democrats...

then Democrats might actually be Democrats, instead of Republican-lite.

[HughMoran]

26. True - there are 2 parties - Republicans and Republican-lite

This website supports Republican-lite :shrug:

[Lucian]

28. This website supports what Democrats should be.

[HughMoran]

30. OK

if that's what you want to believe, then that's fine with me.

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

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[HughMoran]

62. "if that's what you want to believe, then that's fine with me."

Got a problem with that?

[Scuba]

42. +1

[dionysus]

148. some of which are deluded enough to believe their opinions are mainstream.

[Hannah Bell]

155. a relatively well-informed subset

[Catherina]

72. Agreed. I hope he does

but he needs to stop listening to the people who are busy cheering as he drives off a cliff.

[skipos]

77. It is entirely useless to extrapolate anything from a DU poll

A very small percentage of DUers would have voted for Blanche Lincoln, yet she won this runoff pretty easily.
For better or worse, your average DUer doesn't equal your average Democrat.

Have you seen how Democrats rate Obama in the polls on pollster.com?

[jefferson_dem]

131. No need.

The DU echo chamber has never been a representative sample of "real" attitudes out there in the general public.

I agree that somebody better wake up ... but it's not the President.

[Bluebear]

145. 'I agree that somebody better wake up ... but it's not the President.' - you never quit.

You ignore the mood of the populace at your own vapid peril.

[jefferson_dem]

159. Never quit...

having an opinion and expressing it? That's probably true. I hope the same for you...in spite of all your petty bitterness.

Anyway, my point was that the DU "populace" is not the American "populace". I do not ignore the public mood. I watch it carefully; I study it. Thank goodness that Democrats and progressives have not (yet) bought into the political fantasy that some here on DU are promoting - that President Obama sucks and is no friend of progressive policy. When that happens, I'll get concerned.

EDIT: Here, for perspective - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=335189&mesg_id=335662 Sorry.

[HughMoran]

29. I gave him a B+

He's doing pretty damned well considering what he was handed & the extremely hostile environment in this country.

[jgraz]

35. "Extremely hostile environment"?

You mean the one that gave him a huge mandate and gave his party overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress? Is that the hostility you're referring to?

[deacon]

102. I'm with you B+. And the democrats stopped the economic free fall.

Between the party of "NO!" and the useless media it's kind of amazing he's accomplished what he's accomplished. For those looking for instant gratification, well - I don't think those people really understood how deep of a mess we were in and how much time it will still take to go through the transition we are going through both at home and abroad.

The sad thing I see is that the divisions that bush drove has left us with a political environment that is self destructive. The "opposition" party where their only concern is power and Obama failure and the media isn't interested in sober constructive scrutiny, they too are more about destruction of a people.

Another thing I've come to realize in the short time he's been in office is how destructive the bush administration was insofar as -not only did he and the GOP leave us in ruins - but how much they weakened the country to leave us in a potentially dangerous situation for any future natural disaster or major event that could occur.

Overall, It's not a good situation.

[depakid]

32. Gone from a C last poll ago to a D

His last bits of triangulation haven't worked out so well.

[SalviaBlue]

33. If its on a curve, I would say "A"

Relative to the republiCon presidents we have had, he is great. I still trust him.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[cherokeeprogressive]

38. I would say he's a classic underachiever.

noun

a student who performs less well in school than would be expected on the basis of abilities indicated by intelligence and aptitude

[Name removed]

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[Bluebear]

89. !

[HughMoran]

124. deleted message is quite exciting!

!

[autorank]

39. Tim Geithner, Ken Salazer, Larry Summers = F

[Kalun D]

45. Don't Forget

the biggest F of all, or maybe a ZERO, Rham Emmanuhell

the re-appointment of Bernanke isn't too nice either, or Eric Holder

I seriously don't think that Obama doesn't know who these people are or that he isn't down with the things they're doing

you are the company you keep

[autorank]

153. I rely on the insight of strangers

My list was incomplete but you rounded it out nicely.

[Dinger]

144. duncan gets an f too (nt)

[Karmadillo]

44. Kick

nt

[uponit7771]

46. So Far the D-F are losing and that's a good thing

[Kalun D]

49. A Very Pathetic Score

Considering this is a Dem board.

Pathetic considering Obama talks an A game and delivers this corporate milk toast crap.

what if you took a poll with the Freepers and averaged it out?

[NeedleCast]

57. What if you took a poll of actual democrats

instead of a fairly far left board, many of who don't even claim to be democrats?

His populatrity among Democrats is very high in national polling, at 81% as of the last Gallup poll.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

(Edited to add: His approval rating among liberal democrats is even higher, 88%, which says a lot about where DU really lies on the left-right specturm).

[mvd]

79. IMO..

DUers also pay more attention than the average Democrat. That, plus identifying as more progressive than average, explains the results. Nothing wrong with being very left. The center has been moved way right since the 60s because of the rise of wingnut Republicans. People on the far left care about all people; those on the far right want to protect the rich and corporations, plus limit your civil rights. The only thing truly too far left is authoritarian Communism.

[NeedleCast]

51. Haters gonna hate

[stuntcat]

70. lol

that always makes me laff!

[snooper2]

53. Some people are still bitter

nt

[muffin1]

96. About what? The primaries?

Are you guys ever going to retire that chestnut?

[dionysus]

150. why retire something that is glaringly true? i've seen posters who were DLC to the bone for years,

suddenly morph into self styled uber-kucinich-liberals simply in order to throw crap around.
:shrug:

[spanone]

54. looks like a poll from freepland

[HughMoran]

56. funny that

:think:

[DailyGrind51]

55. If Hillary had talked THEN the way she is talking NOW, I would have voted for her!

[VMI Dem]

58. I give him a C. Mostly due to his expert handling of the economy.

Otherwise it would be a D-.

[ismnotwasm]

59. I like him

Part of it is simply the comparison factor to Bush, although I've seen folk around here who seem to think there is no difference between the two. Weird.

Most of it though, is I knew what to expect. President Obama works within the system we have. He never stuck me as some sort of ultimate liberal during his campaign, I thought him centrist, as I thought Secretary Clinton a centrist. I stopped voting third party when that asshole Bush actually made it to a presidential primary. And then, I lived through Reagan, I was young but I remembered how much damage the right wing causes, how much hate.


In my perfect government, the 'system' would be quite different, BP's of the world wouldn't exist for instance, or wouldn't exist in the same form. (Neither would institutionalized racism, sexism or heterosexism, root causes of so much damage) I'm not going to get my perfect government.

Anyway, that's a digression. The US government is a monster, or rather, right now it's like an monstrous, overfed, spoiled child, one that's difficult to discipline or get to move when it needs to. The prior administration let it run amok, doing what it would. Currently, our government and our media and our people thrive on polarization and fear. Unhealthy to say the least. Moving us through any change, however small is difficult. Obama has made decent starts, some incredible considering what he has to work with, but one term isn't going to do it. I never thought it would.

I should say, I have no problem with legitimate criticism of any politician.

So for those who dislike him so very, very much, the thing to do is pick your next candidate, just make sure he or she has their monster moving talents in place, perhaps a guarantee in writing? (I know that's sarcastic, but I'm a cynical person)

So many of us are activists, we protest, we write letters, we volunteer, we use our time to try to make the US and the world a better place and I think that keeping that up, at least can only do good no matter who is president. Lets just at least agree to avoid another real monstrosity like Bush or Reagan

[HughMoran]

60. Good post

It's refreshing to read honest and thoughtful analysis here from time to time, it's becoming more and more rare.

[mvd]

80. That's true. Some things are beyond the President's reach

- he has had so much on his plate that I could see the MMS falling through the cracks. But now is the time to clean house there.

- he can't make the Democrats in Congress more progressive

- he can't make the system magically disappear, like you said

I personally would have done these differently:

- not appointed Geithner, Emanuel, Duncan, Salazar, etc.

- seized BP's assets

- not supported a surge in Afghanistan

- not announced more offshore drilling plans

- the troops should be home from Iraq

- have bold withdrawal timeline for Afghanistan

- insisted on the public option in health care

- work to remove the Patriot Act

- executive order on DADT

- work for even stronger financial regulations

- investigate Bush/Cheney/et al. more

among others.

[ismnotwasm]

91. My son just got home from Iraq

They're closing FOB's left and right, but he's under the impression the withdrawal has slowed down, why, he's not sure. Afghanistan, where my son will be going next, is a bloody mess. My daughter spent a year over there at the beginning of it and I feel like it was a total waste of time. Bush and Cheney and co. should be in prison.

You have a long and interesting list, I do have one question, can Obama actually seize BP's assets?

[mvd]

151. Sending good vibes for your children

:hug:

I think the government could seize them - not Obama himself.

[arcadian]

63. 6 good grades and only 2 bad grades?

Even when you skew the poll is still comes out looking bad for Obama. Try harder.

[Skip Intro]

84. Only 10 slots, wasn't trying to skew anything. nt

[demwing]

94. Only 10 - how many do you need?

1. A+
2. A
3. B+
4. B
5. C+
6. C
7. D+
8. D
9. F+
10. F

[Skip Intro]

97. "F+" ROFL! nt

[demwing]

157. Fair enough

D-.

Now, back on point - of ten grades, 60% of your choices were an A or a B, and then you just dropped the "+/-" system entirely.

Why didn't you just post a poll that says "I think Obama is DREAMY, don't you?" and then give the following responses?

1. YES!
2. YES!
3. YES!
4. YES!
5. YES!
6. YES!
7. Maybe
8. no
9. no
10. I don't know.

What's really funny is your poll is unzipped and your bias is hanging out.

[Skip Intro]

162. No intended bias on my part, think what you will.

Anyone here who remembers me from the primaries knows full well I have no bias toward Obama.

Some people will see what they want to see, however.

[demwing]

164. Your bias is clear

BTW - despite your "poll" with 60% of the possible answers in the A to B range, over 60% of those who responded put Obama in the C to F range. Your tactic failed.

[Skip Intro]

165. WTF-ever. Lordy.

:eyes:

[HughMoran]

166. creepy bias, but not from the O/P

:wtf:

[demwing]

170. Alright, no one can read you mind, so please explain

what the hell you mean. Please?

[HughMoran]

171. Sadly, we're not allowed to say what's on our minds

...if it involves making an assumption that might be construed by anybody here as a personal insult.

[demwing]

173. "No offense but..."

Well, perhaps you can figure out the rest

[Ignis]

139. I think this is a valid concern.

Perhaps the OP (or someone else) will try again with a simple A to F scale.

[mvd]

64. B-

I think he tries - I really do. I just don't always agree with his methods. He thinks we must give and take a lot; I think we must defend progressive principles more. I'm hoping he gets re-elected and feels more free to do things in his 2nd term.

[HughMoran]

65. 83% of "Liberal Democrats" approve of Obama

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

[tranche]

67. I think a D isn't bad for DU.

[HughMoran]

68. True, it is "D" U after all

:rofl:

[stuntcat]

69. better than McCain/Palen

I'm resigned to a life of watching the Earth die and suffering increase for all the species at the hands of my own :shrug: so it's just whatever...

[cherokeeprogressive]

73. Well there is ALWAYS that, isn't there? What a feather in the cap... I'm better than McCain!

And Palin could have been a heartbeat away from the Oval Office! Holy Smoke American People, you're fucking lucky to have me!

What an epitaph (I'm assuming this will be some time WAY in the future): We're Sure He was Way Better Than McCain Would Have Been!

[stuntcat]

75. for reals!

This really is the best humans can do. Right now. Take a look, feel the pride, ahhhh

I'm just glad to be 40, not 4.

[Bluebear]

176. 'I'm just glad to be 40, not 4.'

You said it.

[wordpix]

71. C due to not pushing the public option & not overseeing the cleaning of MMS' house

should have told Salazar this is issue no. 1 or he's out.

Come to think of it, I give O a D, not a C

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

74. "F" for (lack of) effort.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

76. Better than most of the last 60 years.

Look at it this way: since 1950, how many presidencies would you say have been better than Obama's? 3? 4? 1?

So I'd say he's somewhere around the 70th-90th centile, depending on what you do and don't care about.

[lib2DaBone]

82. We had 50 years of prosperity under the Roosevelt Recovery...

In the late 1800's and early 1900's... the Oil Barons and Railroad Tycoons ruled the country. They stripped the middle class bare and stole every nickle they could get their hands on... resulting in 1929. It's in their republican genes.. their makeup.. their souls... they only know death and greed... they can't help it.

Then we had 50 years of prosperity as the country recovered under the Roosevelt plan and the middle class once again prospered. Unions became strong and the country entered the most prosperous time in history, from just after WWII until the mid 70's.

What we are seeing now is the end of the Roosevelt plan and the culmination of Poppy Bush and Ronnie Rayguns Conservative attack on America. In the name of Big Banks, Big Oil and Big Insurance... the Robber Barons have once again seized control of our country and ran it into the ground for profit.

Only this time the Conservatives have done worse.. they have run the tank dry and drove the car off a cliff. Just like a petulant child.. if they can't have it... they are going to destroy it for everyone. And so far they have been successful.

[Name removed]

83. Deleted message

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[blondeatlast]

85. I graded on a curve, with * being the low end, so B. nt

[freddie mertz]

86. I give him a "D". Deserves credit for improving America's image abroad.

Unfortunately, even that is beginning to unravel where it matters most, in the Middle East.

The rest of it?

Better left unsaid.

Major let-down.

[Toasterlad]

87. I Give Him a D Only Because He Hasn't Declared War on Iran Yet

[Bucky]

115. !!

You win, Wolfowitz.

[WeDidIt]

90. Other

A+ does not even begin to describe how well he's done.

[KansasVoter]

93. C, end the war dammit

[and-justice-for-all]

98. B+ from me....

Because he has done a great deal of good, given the shit fucked mess he was handed. Even though I had higher expectations, I would not trade Obama for any one else.

[flamingdem]

99. I love seeing how anti-Obama ya'll are I SUPPORT OUR PRESIDENT ! nt

[Toasterlad]

112. No Matter What, Apparently.

[flamingdem]

118. I am capable of critical thinking. Are you? nt

[Name removed]

120. Deleted message

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[muffin1]

160. Sounds similar to something

Brittney Spears said about shrub.

[JonLP24]

100. Depends on the area

He's doing a lot of things well and some things he's not. One area I'm not happy with is civil liberties.

[DRoseDARs]

101. Been sitting on a C for a while w/me, but the bungling of the Gulf Spill and the anti-union gaffe?

REALLY pushing for a lower grade here...

[HughMoran]

103. It's all we read here, the lastest "thing that pushed me over the edge"

When criticism loses it's impact.

[DRoseDARs]

109. Take your snide comment somewhere else.

As a supporter of the Gay community, I've pegged him at a B since before he even took office.

[HughMoran]

110. Nothing snide at all

Pure fact - most criticism here carries no weight with me any more - same shit, different day as far as I'm concerned. I've heard it all since the election in 2008.

[Name removed]

111. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

113. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

116. Deleted message

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[HughMoran]

121. Bush does not equal Obama

:crazy:

[Name removed]

143. Deleted message

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[activa8tr]

104. B minus because he had such potential and could have done so much more on

DADT, DOM, smacking the billionaire bankers, millionaire bankers and insurance execs, and... don't get me started.


UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL, paid for by oil company profits alone!!!!!!!!!! Or maybe a few million from each billionaire and a few hundred thousand from each multi-million dollar earner each year, and a few fines and imprisonments for illicit drug execs, doctors, and other fuckups in the health care delivery system.

Biggest mistake:? Trying to play nice with Republicans for over a year. He should have just slapped Cheney and Bush with indictments from the Hague, and let them spend all their energy trying to stay out of Spandau Prison.

[BeHereNow]

106. "F" for "I feel completely fucked..."

The latest from Daniel Ellsberg has me shaking in my boots
with fury.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8540167
BHN

[Name removed]

108. Deleted message

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[Bucky]

114. I think teacher performance evaluations are supposed to come out before student report cards

If the student isn't performing up to standards, it's often due to a lack of inadequate instruction and support from staff charged with supervising the student and giving him proper feedback for below-par results earlier in the semester.

Remember when he said "You'll have to hole my feet to the fire"? He meant that. The key missing ingredient for Obama's success is pressure from the progressive base.

[B Calm]

117. Gave him a C. If he ended the Bush wars and NAFTA, I'll give him an A

[Ignis]

119. Several A+?

I LOL'd at the votes there. You honestly don't think he could be doing anything better at all?

Come on.

[HughMoran]

122. ...but no comment on the 153 D's or 40 F's

...very revealing.

[Ignis]

125. Revealing what, precisely?

If you're going to make a personal attack, have the courage to do so directly. :thumbsdown:

Superlatives are superlative for a reason. Let's not cheapen an "A+" by being Panglossian as we look back over the HCR debacle, the status of the war in Afghanistan, slow (perceived) response to the BP oil disaster, etc.

No room for improvement whatsoever? Come on.

[HughMoran]

126. Merely an observation.

take it any way you like ;)

[Ignis]

127. Weaksauce.

But thanks for answering my question.

[HughMoran]

129. pantload?

Is that the correct response?

[Ignis]

137. Amusingly, yes.

But only if ones takes it as your answer to my question regarding President Obama's performance, "No room for improvement whatsoever?"

Hey, I don't judge. Whatever floats your boat! :hi:

[Name removed]

130. Deleted message

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[Ignis]

136. OK, fair enough.

I do think an "F" grade is a similar hyperbole, but it doesn't have quite the same breathless quality that "F-" does.

;)

[jefferson_dem]

140. Point taken.

:)

[Laelth]

123. Obama gets a straight "C" from me.

He's passing, but not doing well.

:dem:

-Laelth

[deaniac21]

133. empty suit

[jefferson_dem]

135. Huzzah...

I haven't heard that insult since the primaries.

Welcome back.

[HughMoran]

167. Obama is an empty suit?

?

[Bert]

134. Comparisons please

I would give FDR an A.
I would give Kennedy/LBJ a C+/B-
I would give Carter a D+/C-
I would give Clinton a C-
I would give Woodrow Wilson a B-
I would give Truman a B

As for Republican presidents
Reagan F
Bush 1 D
Bush 2 F-
Eisenhouer B
Ford D(mainly for pardoning Nixon, otherwise a C-)
Nixon D+
Hoover F

Well, that covers the main ones. So Far I have given Obama a B-(could just as easily have been a C+), but that could very quickly turn into a D in the next few years.

[TexasObserver]

179. OK, will do. Here are mine.

I would give FDR an A
I would give Kennedy a C+
I would give LBJ a B+
I would give Carter a C
I would give Clinton a B
I would give Woodrow Wilson a B
I would give Truman an A

As for Republican presidents
Reagan F
Bush 1 D
Bush 2 F-
Eisenhower B-
Ford C-
Nixon D
Hoover D

I gave Obama a C. He's better than all the Republicans except Eisenhower and worse that all the Democrats except Carter, with whom he is tied. At this point in Carter's presidency, however, he would have gotten higher than a C.

[NihiloZero]

138. I gave him a D only because he followed Bush.

But let's see... He's perpetuating the wars, the Patriot Act, the Bailouts were extended, and he appears to be almost as beholden to the oil companies as Bush was. The prison-industrial complex and the drug war are continuing on and hope is fast running out as people lose their jobs and homes.

[jefferson_dem]

141. Hey! Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[old mark]

142. D...as in disapointing. Obama has been terrible on constitutional rights,

lied about transparancy, did not spend real effort on repealing DADT, spits on liberals, unions and workers, andseems to love moderate republicans. Great choice...I am hoping there is someone else running as a real democrat in 2012. Obama is NOT a real Democrat, not at all.

mark

[Bert]

146. Hate to say this

I already believe that we made a mistake in putting Obama in there and not Hillary. Either would have been a historic choice. Obama did get something acheived in the health care fiasco, after wasting a year. I thought he would be more liberal than Hillary, wrong. Everyone overseas seems to love him, at least to this point. His biggest accomplishment was getting elected, and it has so far been basically downhill from there. Cant see Hillary as having made the same mistakes as him. Who knows, he may prove me wrong, but he is two faced on the drug war, he is two faced on Afghanistan, two faced on DADT, two faced on Guantanamo, two faced on the patriot act and wiretaps, one face on dealing with liberals, a much kinder face for the republicans who would just as soon impeach him for being president. Was hoping for another liberal president in my lifetime(in addition to Carter) and I guess that was too much to ask.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he said Reagan was a hero of his, just a politician being a politician. But apparently I was wrong.

[totodeinhere]

147. I gave him a "C" if for no other reason that in spite of everything he is better than the one he

replaced.

[Maja]

154. Obama hasn't quite figured out/come to grips with......

....you can't compromise with EVIL.

[HughMoran]

168. Says the tombstone.

[TexasObserver]

158. C. I'm grading on a curve, too.

He gets an F for claiming to be hope and change, when he has been neither.

He gets a C for Healthcare.

He gets a D for lack of leadership across the board.

He gets an F for dealing with wars, the War Party, and foreign policy.

[muffin1]

161. I went with 'C'.

'D' seemed a little low, but I would have given him a 'C-' if that had been an option.

I like that our image around the world has improved, although he seems to working against that now. It was also nice that we didn't have a second great depression.

[Name removed]

169. Deleted message

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[Liberal_in_LA]

172. A+ TO OFFSET ALL THOSE DS

[Bluebear]

175. LOL

[branders seine]

174. I wish I wish I wish

I could give him an "A." I worked fo rhis campaign, voted for him, and had nothing but joy at the prospect of him being our President. Alas, he has not been an effective President at a time when we so badly need one. The magnitude of the problems he inherited and the problems that have emerged since he took office magnify his shortcomings.

I give him a "D" for:

economic stimulus
health care
green agenda

because he actually had a role in doing something--far too little, or even making things somewhat worse, but at least he did something.


However, on the following, I give him an "F":

the economic condition of the middle class
Iraq
Afghanistan
education
civil liberties
justice for criminals from the previous 8 - 30 years
reigning in corporatism
actual change in the way the political system works
management of the Gulf oil disaster (the worst environmental disaster in the history of mankind)

all of which he has either ignored or made substantially worse by his actions.



Bottom line: F

[Uzybone]

177. 39% approval, 16% in the middle, 45% disapprove

sounds about right for Free Repu--- I mean DU.

[Name removed]

178. Deleted message

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[zaj]

180. Everyone voting D or F is wildly detached from reality.

[Bluebear]

181. What did you vote, so you can guide them properly?

[Bluebear]

183. ?

[Orsino]

182. F. Not because he isn't competent or well-intentioned...

...but because I fear that the job is now far beyond the abilities of any mere mortal. He could be the greatest president ever and still fail.

I am afraid that we simply refuse to be led to where we need to go, and that the republic is therefore already dead. I'm afraid that we blew several last chances too many.