I think the problem is is that Obama is too conflict averse to be effective.

[FLAprogressive]

It seems like the President has a chronic unwillingness to appear as if he's in conflict with anyone, and goes through great pains to work with and placate Republicans. They know this, and they realize that he will give up a lot in order to prevent any appearance of conflict or conflict itself. He then takes it out on the left, because he knows (or at least thinks) that that will lead to less conflict, at least in public.

Just a theory.

[readmoreoften]

1. I dunno. He loves to berate and malign his base.

[FLAprogressive]

2. Because he thinks we won't bite back, at least not as hard.

That needs to change and I think it's starting to.

[emulatorloo]

17. Your skin must be pretty thin, or else you've never had someone actually berate you

[Bluerthanblue]

22. you said it-

well.

[Bluerthanblue]

3. this "theory" has already been floated here-

and I believe it's a bunch of hooey.

:thumbsdown:

[FLAprogressive]

4. What has he taken an actual stand on?

[bigwillq]

12. Tax cuts for the rich (nt)

[Bluerthanblue]

19. how about health care reform bill? The republicans are STILL fuming

over that.

It may not be the reform that we (including Pres.Obama) wanted but it is law- and the republicans did everything they could to try and stop it.

I don't believe that anything I say will sway you- this "argument" or "theory" isn't meant to be challenged, it's meant to discredit the president.

Sorry, I'm not into that game.

[FLAprogressive]

20. They'd be fuming over it no matter WHAT it had in it. He attempted to placate them and got zilch

[QC]

24. Keeping LGBT people not quite equal. n/t

[Freetradesucks]

5. Bunch of hooey?

All he has ever done is apologize, compromise, bow down (sometimes literally) and placate!

He is not a leader.

[Bluerthanblue]

23. your blanket condemnation shows how credible your perspective is.

I wouldn't put much stock in what your view of a leader is given that.

"All he has ever done"-

Be careful how you use your words.

[dkf]

6. Okay how do you propose we get just middle tax cuts and unemployment extensions?

Which senators are you going to add to get to 60? The last vote only got 53.

[FLAprogressive]

8. Go on TV every night, read the names of the Senators who refuse to budge, and go from there.

[Toucano]

11. Like Brown said, send the president to those states with high unemployment

Nevada would be a good one. Maine, Washington, Massachusetts, etc.

Hold a rally and tell people to call their obstructionist Senator and pressure him to vote for both.

The Grassroots put Obama in the White House. They haven't gone away, despite his apparent preference for ignoring us.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. The problem is that they should never have been linked in the first place.

Thanks to inaction, the repukes maneuvered this entire situation to their own advantage. They were playing chess, and were many moves ahead of the Dems and the President..

Tax cuts and unemployment are two separate issues, both of which should have been handled months ago........ separately!!

[FLAprogressive]

16. +1

[wiggs]

7. Depends on what you mean by effective

Effective at

Getting the presidents personal agenda passed?

Letting the legislative process speak and act for itself?

Putting band aids on emergencies?

Looking at long term goals?

Understanding and implementing the will of the people?

Getting the agenda of the majority of the president's party passed?

Preserving the ability to get more of the president's agenda passed in the future by compromising in the short term?

I personally believe he personally wants what we generally want...a progressive agenda. I believe he has more selfless (unfortunately) and broader goals of letting all the players get a piece of the process. And he will avoid polarization and controversy in order to achieve that. It's not conflict he's avoiding (he's certainly creating conflict within his own party) it's distractions from the machinery of getting stuff done.

[PSPS]

9. That assumes Obama is on our side and I've given up that notion. He's all for these giveaways.

[Bluerthanblue]

21. you've given up more than a notion then.

:shrug:

absurd, simply absurd.

[phasma ex machina]

10. Obama's a politician trying to remain popular in order to remain in power.

Republicans just won big so it seems like they have all of the answers.

Unfortunately, it will take 2 long years before the electorate gets a shot at expressing its feelings about Republican tax cuts for the rich.

[Marr]

13. He seemed pretty damned confrontational to me the other day.

Problem was, once again, it was aggression toward the left. That kind of conflict he seems perfectly comfortable with.

[FLAprogressive]

15. because he feels that he's less likely to get any kind of fighting back. looks like that's changing

[Toucano]

18. Being President in post-Bush America is a very different job.

I don't think Obama has the correct temperament for it. As much as we say we don't want a Democratic version of Bush - I think we really do down deep. Bush transformed the entire country very quickly because he didn't give a fuck if people liked him.

I think Obama would have been an exemplary president in a different era. He is a good and intelligent person. He wants to build a consensus.

But that's not POSSIBLE with an opposition that wants to DESTROY you and doesn't care who they hurt in the process.

As angry as I am at Obama these days, I am actually angrier at the absolute insanity demonstrated by the Republicans and their hatred of all things reasonable.

We needed someone who could truly swing the pendulum back, and I don't think that describes Obama.

[Individualist]

25. He's a New Democrat.

His actions since he was elected make that obvious.