At what point does the Left realize that THEIR President is facing the WORST Global Crisis?

[RollWithIt]

Since WWII.

1. Global economic debt meltdown.

2. Two inherited wars.

3. American Debt Meltdown.

4. JOB shortage.

5. Muslim Revolt (worldwide instability)

6. Japanese Disaster.

7. Climate Change.

8. Republican Party ANTI-EVERYTHING



Is Obama perfect? No. There is certainly plenty to criticize. But the man is trying. I suggest many with legitimate gripes start to look at the big picture and consider a different outlook on our future. We simply have to win big in 2012.

[Raine1967]

1. I'm glad he's in charge, that is for sure.

McCain suspended his campaign 1/2 of one of those listed above.

[madmax]

2. A true MESS

And to think some people believe Palin douchette can handle it all. :crazy:

[felinetta]

75. Talk about messes. What about the BP epic disaster?

[earthside]

3. WE have a President?

Haven't heard much from him lately ... guess I did hear something about him picking some "brackets" or something.

But talking about the items listed above? Where is he?

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

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[jenmito]

14. Before he picked his brackets, he talked about Japan and gave out the webssite where people could

help. So there he was.

[felinetta]

74. Why isn't there a laugh track for Faux News?They are just so childish.

[Moral_Imagination]

41. lol repeating RW talking points ?

[vaberella]

48. The day of the earthquake/tsunami, he made a public statement about Japan.

Yeah, maybe you should move from the MSM and maybe C-Span might help.

[Solomon]

60. He either talks too much or not enough.

LOL

He can't win!

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

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[geek tragedy]

89. Somebody watches Fox News . . . nt

[Wilms]

4. I realize.

[Sky Masterson]

8. He also asked for people to give donations for Tsunami relief

Mar 16, 2011 ... Obama used his rare ESPN appearance to call on people to donate to Japan relief by visiting USAID.gov.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpps/sports/obama-favorites-in-final-four-ncaa-tournament-dpgonc-20110316-fc_12344713
Give the man a fucking break

[Wilms]

12. Big F'n deal. n/t

[jenmito]

16. It is. Everyone who was watching to see his picks also got info. for how to help

the people in Japan.

[Wilms]

18. Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. n/t

[jenmito]

20. Are you saying Obama doesn't deserve support from us Dems.? n/t

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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[dionysus]

59. best of luck with the primary challenge. LAROUCHE 2012!!11!

:patriot:

[Wilms]

64. Boy, you really showed me there.

Larouche?

:eyes:

[dionysus]

69. anyone you can find to run will have as much credibility as lyndon, yes.

:hi:

[Wilms]

72. Thanks

That imaginative failure explains a lot of our predicament.

Corporate controlled presidency is A-OK with the base because the alternative is Larouche/Palin.

Cheers.

[Auntie Bush]

81. :rofl:

:rofl:

[BobbyBoring]

87. Plus

They got some good betting tips! Obamas got the winners wired!

[dionysus]

58. boy, you really showed us there.

:rofl:

[Sky Masterson]

5. People seem to think it's all easier than it really is.

I for one am glad that he is my President.

[CakeGrrl]

30. Exactly. Easy to sit back and DREAM that someone can do better. n/t

[Imagevision]

43. Obama clearly knew what he was getting into he thought all he had to do was what Bush did...(lame)

[Name removed]

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[elleng]

6. ...

:thumbsup:

[liberalmuse]

7. Obama clearly wasn't the one for the job.

We need fucking Superman. And Aquaman. And Batman. And every superhero ever conceived. I'm kidding. I'm glad he's President. No other President, barring Washington, Lincoln, Hoover and FDR have had to deal with such incredibly difficult times. To be honest, just the events in the past few months have been mind-boggling. I've gotten disappointed, but I know what this man is up against, and I'm not going to speak ill of him.

[AtomicKitten]

11. very gracious of you

[golfguru]

9. He should play more golf...like me

it is the most relaxing activity to clear your mind, feel close to nature,
relieve stress, get exercise & fresh air, and company of fellow golfers.

We need the president to be in good health and clear in mind.

[jenmito]

13. Rec back up to 3. You're exactly right. n/t

[glitch]

15. Define "THEIR"

edit: to be "our" president he's going to have to reclaim quite a bit of the distance he's put between us since inauguration.

But while you may wish it I don't think he does. Stick with his game plan and try to fire up the "centrists".

[hlthe2b]

17. He is immensely better than the alternatives...

I think he is capable of being far better than he has been to date, but I grant that he is dealing with an unprecedented amount of almost unsolvable challenges.

That doesn't mean he doesn't deserve some criticism, but he still has my support.

But, if this is a "purity" challenge, I guess I fail. So be it.

[ProSense]

19. Looking for entertainment

here

Scott Walker seems to thing he's in a battle with the President.

[Armstead]

21. Um, Centrist Corporate Democrats aided and abetted several of those crises

Who do you think helped rescind the financial regulations and anti-trust laws that created the global melktdown?

Who do you think actively pushed for the Corporate Globalization and "Free Trade Con Job" thgat sprarkd outsourtcing and placed workers in a global Race to the Bottom?

Who do you think enabled GW Bush to go into one stupid needless war -- (one which also pumped up the national debt).

It was theCorporate Centrist Democrats that have helped the Republicans to create this mess.

And as long as we keep enabling that kind of bad policy, our larger situation will only get worse.

[glitch]

24. Dismal that the spectrum now ranges from Centrist Corporatist (the new "Left") to Extreme Far

Right.

[pscot]

27. Dismal and depressing

The country is ripe for a demagogue. The public is frightened and there's a leadership vacuum.

[polichick]

26. That is the ugly truth that this party needs to face.

[Bluerthanblue]

22. good question.

that time can't come soon enough.

(don't forget BP too)

K&R

[MadMaddie]

25. Alex, I will take "Never" for $500.00 please!

[Historic NY]

28. Some people here would suggest he not run for re-election......

i hope he surprises them.

[CakeGrrl]

29. I think many Dems realize that. Overall approval is considerably higher outside of DU. n/t

[Jmaxfie1]

38. DU tends to be more left than the average Democrat. n/t

[tblue37]

31. I wish he would lean harder toward our side, but I actually suspect that he

might be less effective if he did.

I thought Jimmy Carter was a wonderful president, in the sense of caring about all the right things and always trying to do the right thing, but I also realize that his was a failed presidency, because he did not play footsie with those who have all the real long-term power in Washington. The Beltway "village" took him down. The Dems in Congress refused to work with him and, at every opportunity, they undermined him. The Beltway media types mocked him and made him a figure of ridicule for the whole country, though he did nothing to deserve such mockery. (Remember the "attack rabbit," "malaise," and his cardigans?)

Sure, the Republicans were awful to Carter, too, but they didn't even have to be, because the Dems and the MSM did so much damage that even if the Republicans had twiddled their thumbs, Carter would not have been able to accomplish much, and he would have been a one-termer—even though everything he said and did has been proven appropriate and often prescient. If we had a Kucinich in the WH, the same thing would happen. Kucinich is cut off at the Knees even by his won party whenever he tries to do anything right, and the MSM has made him an unelectable object of ridicule where the presidency is concerned.

One of the things the Washington snots were most pissed about with Carter is that since he and Rosalyn were low-keyed, decent people rather than party-hearty extravagant oligarch types, during Carter’s tenure the night life in Washington was dull for those who liked to attend a lot of fancy cocktail parties arranged around a glamorous White House couple. This is one of the reasons they loved the Reagans so much.

When the Clintons came in, the snooty Washington "village" said such things as Sally Quinn's, "They came in and wrecked the town, and it wasn't their town!" The oligarchs looked down on the Clintons as being Arkansas "hillbillies," not of the same impressive social status as their own.

I think Bill Clinton, with his poor, outcast little boy's need for approval from those of (perceived) higher social status, felt the sting of being looked down on in Washington. Since the end of his presidency, it seems, he has done everything he can to ingratiate himself with those who snubbed him while he was president.

Obviously I can’t say this is what Obama is doing, but I am hoping that Obama is simply aware of the obstacles the entrenched powers can throw in his way if he isn’t seen to be sucking up sufficiently.

Yeah, they block his better efforts anyway, partly because he is Black, and partly because it’s in the DNA of the rich and powerful, the MSM (and the Republicans, of course) to do everything possible to undermine and destroy a Democratic president or anyone who even slightly seems to be on the side of the people rather than the oligarchs. And, of course, any decent policy approach is automatically going to rub them the wrong way.

But I am hoping that he really is playing umpteen-dimensional chess, playing the smiling patsy for the oligarchs, while incrementally sneaking in policies that do some good now and blossom into perhaps even more good in the future.

Take the health care bill, for example. I am livid about what was given away from the start, without even negotiating, and I am sick over what is gives to the private insurance companies. But it also provides many benefits that will help real people, some now, some in a few years when the rest of those benefits go into effect. Meanwhile, he is encouraging states to experiment, and I suspect there is some hint-hint/wink-wink going on to get some to experiment with single-payer medical care.

With his resistance to seeming to openly support the Wisconsin labor protests, he is refraining from making it about himself—which would draw disastrous fire from the loudest wingnuts like Palin, Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilley, etc., whose pronouncements would be played up by the MSM and then used to rile up those who have been voting Republican because of their allegiance to FOX and the wingnut mouthpieces.

A lot of people are going to reflexively reject anything associated with Obama—again, perhaps largely because he is Black—so the wingnut propaganda appeals to them, giving them a reason to hate him other than because he is Black, so they can disguise their racism. Thus they are powerfully conditioned against anything he openly espouses. (Look at how loudly some right-wingers protested about Michelle’s suggestion that maybe kids could be given better food an encouraged to exercise!)

Even if they are on the side of the protesters, or part of the protests themselves, if Obama had made it about himself, some of those who have been newly turned against the Republicans might not have been as easily awakened by the Republican assaults on their rights all across the country. They would have been distracted by the wingnut rants about Obama.

I have to hope this is what he is doing: behaving like a stealth reformer, sneaking in incremental improvements while presenting himself as not beholden to the progressive base and not threatening to the oligarchs.

He ends up looking reasonable and genteel to the wishy-washy middle, while the Republicans look more and more insane as they violently reject any reasonable suggestion he makes—even if it is one they themselves originally came up with. They are making it virtually impossible for them to field a candidate against him in 2012, and even their much touted 2010 sweep might end up doing them more harm than good in the long term, because they are overplaying their hand and revealing themselves too soon. Maybe he really is running rings around them and playing rope-a-dope with them.

I am not saying this is for sure—or even probably—what is going on, but this is the hope I have to cling to if I am to avoid despair, even though I often feel rather Pollyannaish doing so. I fear, though, that even if it is true and he is playing stealth progressive, he may be allowing the right wingers to do so much damage in the short term that it will not be able to be reversed in the long term.

[Armstead]

32. Interesting post

I Think, however, what we need is an enlightened, smart and progressive version of GW Bush or Reagan....By that I mean someone who doesn't give a damn of what the Beltway Oligarchs and the Cocktail Party Set think of him because he has an agenda and doesn't plan to stick around Washington when he's done.

Say what you will about those two, they had an agenda, and they largely succeeded in carrying it out. (Yes those agendas were a disaster, but we're talking tactics not the quality of results.)

I would prefer Obama to take that approach. He would not have to be a lonely outsider, because he would truly be there as representative if the people, The Oligarchs might laugh at first, but if he really fought for liberal and progressive reform, he could at least begin to loosen their stranglehold.

[tblue37]

36. Bush and Reagan could do what they wanted, ram it through if you will,

because what they wanted to do was what the oligarchs wanted done. There was no real opposition. If Obama tried it, he would be blocked at every moment, not just by Republicans, but by blue dog Dems and the MSM. Heck, even his Republican/insurance company friendly health care bill, arrived at by constant compromise, has been described as having been "rammed down the throats" of Congress and the American people.

[Armstead]

45. If he actually casts his lot with average people....

There's a lot more of us than there are of them. We just have to start realizing that.

[Pirate Smile]

33. Great post. You should post it as its own OP.

[Bluerthanblue]

34. I agree- Please do that.

very well said!

:hi:

[tblue37]

37. OK. nt

[tblue37]

Well, I did. It got 1 rec--and then was immediately unrec'd

down to 0: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x631285

It's a very long post, and I doubt the unrec'er had time to read it, to see that I was suggesting but not actually claiming that this is what is going on. But I suspect that some people are so negative about Obama that a post that even suggests that he might not be the Antichrist is automatically unrec'd, without even being read!

[Pirate Smile]

66. It seems to be doing just fine now.

:)

[tblue37]

Yeah--I've been at work all day, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got home.

I was especially pleased with the thoughtful comments by some of the posters, some in agreement and some not in agreement. DU has so many smart people!

[tblue37]

88. Yeah--I've been at work all day, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got home.

I was especially pleased with the thoughtful comments by some of the posters, some in agreement and some not in agreement. DU has so many smart people!

[tblue37]

39. Self-delete. Accidental dupe. (This keeps happening to me for some reason!) nt

[jaysunb]

35. One of the best post I've read here in the last 2 years

You have hit every nail squarely on the head and I believe you are correct in every aspect. :thumbsup:

[tblue37]

40. People seem to dislike it as an OP, though. I think some

people get mad at anyone who tries to suggest anything positive about Obama.

No replies--no recs:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x631285

It's gonna drop like a stone.

[OwnedByFerrets]

55. I would rather have a President that failed me while TRYING

than one who fails me by trying to appease those that I loathe.

[OhioBlue]

102. awesome post - definitely should be its own OP. n/t

[grahamhgreen]

42. The answer to all these are simple, and the opposite of what he's doing.

1. Global economic debt meltdown.

Bailout the homeowners, jail the bankers, repeal financial "reform" of last 30 years.

2. Two inherited wars.

Leave.

3. American Debt Meltdown.

See #1

4. JOB shortage.

Stop "free" trade, not expand it.

5. Muslim Revolt (worldwide instability)

It's a pro-democracy revolt, support it.

6. Japanese Disaster.

NO NUKES.

7. Climate Change.

Renewable energy. NO NUKES.

8. Republican Party ANTI-EVERYTHING

Stop advancing their agenda.

[Armstead]

46. Sums it up pretty well....I especially like 8

[OwnedByFerrets]

56. Nice post.

[Cali_Democrat]

63. +1000

For #1 and #3 I would also add: "raise taxes on the wealthy"

[slay]

76. And its grahamhgreen for the win!

i'd follow your platform any day! sure as hell beats the one the Obama admin has chosen. ugh.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

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

[Armstead]

47. Zero perspective of history? Puleeze.

We're seeing too much history repeating itself.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

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[JoeyT]

51. A week?

He didn't make it through his inauguration.
I haven't forgotten the "fierce advocate" being sworn in by Rick Warren. Something that would've induced massive amounts of rage from the very people that defended it if McCain had won and done it.

[thelordofhell]

79. Seems you did forget

Rick Warren (despicable as he is) gave the invocation....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-8R1OXWJz8

President Obama was sworn in by Chief Justice john roberts, who did such a bang-up job, he had to do it again two days later.....
the mess up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7BmxRSXQG4
the fix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQweITJqIcY

[JoeyT]

50. I'd be perfectly content and support him if he was trying and coming up short.

The problem is he's trying to go in entirely the wrong direction on many major issues.

I'm fairly certain I'm not alone in having make or break issues that will absolutely prevent me from supporting a politician, and he's hit several of mine.

He'll probably get my vote (barring him doing something positively catastrophic), but I won't support him the way I did the first time around.

[LWolf]

52. When the Left actually HAS a president. nt

[ClarkUSA]

61. Wrong. 87% of Liberal Dems approve of this President as of this week, which is par for the course.

In fact, the liberal Democratic base are his biggest supporters.

Job Approval among Dems: 79%. Liberal Dems:87%

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

March 7-13 2011 Job Approval:

Liberal Dems 87%
Moderate Dems 73%
Conservative Dems 69%

His opponents will never acknowledge this fact, of course. Fortunately, facts don't cease to exist because they are ignored.

[Name removed]

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[LWolf]

90. Not many Democrats are actually "the left."

They might be relative only to the right-wing fascist bent of the republican party, but the Democratic party is increasingly neoliberal, and neoliberals do not belong in the same category of "the left."

Whether they call themselves "liberals" or "progressives" is moot. Too many are neither, and neither of those labels is necessarily "the left," anyway.

[CreekDog]

103. why did you quote the old result, and not the new one: 84%

it's right at the same link.

[Mass]

53. When the president will stop bashing the left just to look balanced.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

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[Dawgs]

54. 5 of those problems could be addressed by raising taxes on the rich and ending the wars.

Instead, we get just the opposite.

[mistertrickster]

57. He could be FDR and he chooses to be Clinton. Big whoop. nt

[WiffenPoof]

62. That's Quite A List...

...and President Obama is picking Final Four teams and about to go on vacation.

The least he can do is appear to be at the helm.

I know that this won't go over well. However, as you state, we are in a horrible situation across the board. He almost appears to be "too cool" or somewhat aloof. I want my President to be speaking to us about these issues on a regular basis. He has the bully pulpit. I wonder where Bush hid it.

-PLA

[Name removed]

65. Deleted message

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[JustAnotherGen]

71. AT this point?

I think President Obama needs to issue us 'forgiveness' for giving him this job! I would not want his job. I may not agree with his approach 100% of the time - but I give him credit for being just crazy enough to step up to the plate and give it a shot. No way in hell would I want to be the President at any time - let alone these crappy times!

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

73. The right man at the right time

[slay]

77. is unfortunately not what we got

n/t

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

78. how deep!

[slay]

84. Yes. Indeed. Thanks.

:eyes: :P

[stevenleser]

80. K&R

[Name removed]

82. Deleted message

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[Pryderi]

83. K&R.

[secondwind]

85. K&R

[girl gone mad]

86. If appointing Rubin, Summers, Bernanke and Geithner is "trying"..

then I don't want to see what "not trying" looks like.

[butterfly77]

91. Kicked&Recommended..

[TheKentuckian]

92. I'd be more sympathetic if it weren't for his continuing and in some cases expanding

on how we got to some of these passes.

It is the digging out of the hole that I seldom can approve of because it usually results in a larger hole. You CLIMB out.

The embrace of bullshit ass Friedman economics and Timmeh, Summers, and Bernake triumvirate such galactic level ass.

[avaistheone1]

93. Sorry but Obama has blown his chance badly.

Don't think he is going to make it next time.

[Phx_Dem]

94. And thank God he's the one in charge. n/t

[Avant Guardian]

95. The first four are a direct result of GOP policies

None of which have been reversed by the Obama administration.

[Sirveri]

96. I thought we won big 2008? Control of the house, super majority in the senate, and the WH...

I mean seriously, what more can you ask for. What did we get for it? A mandate? One or two terror trials before he went back to indefinite detention? A bunch of wall street insiders dictating economic policy? Yeah, what great change that was...

[cliffordu]

97. Kicketty.

[Cobalt-60]

98. IF he stopped rolling for Big Business

he might find some solutions.
So long as the government is infested with corporate shills and criminal banksters there will be none.
If he would throw down instead of kneeling down to kiss Republican *ss fascist thugs wouldn't have such an easy time destroying the country.

[idlisambar]

99. 9. An ineffectual President

[SteveG]

100. Excellent points

I agree, I am glad he is the one in charge. Given the hand he has been dealt, he has done much better than I thought anyone could. I remember shortly before the 2008 election, when it was becoming obvious that whoever won was in for a world of hurt, it was reported that he allegedly reminded his top staff that there was still time for them to blow the election and not have to deal with the coming mess. I'm glad he didn't. I think the stresses would have caused McCain to have a major heart attack or stroke, and we would have the half-gov as pres by now. How do you think that would be working out?

[Jakes Progress]

101. So if you disagree with the left, which side of the aisle are you on?