Lincoln trailer: a reminder of what we expected of Obama and what he could still be

[yurbud]

Last edited Sun Sep 23, 2012, 08:52 PM - Edit history (1)

Watching this trailer, it's hard not to think of the short-sighted political and moral pygmies Obama has surrounded himself (i.e. Rahm, Arne Duncan, Geithner, and most of his economic advisors) with and compromises he has made in contrast to our hopes after the lowest point of our democracy.

Most politicians are creatures of their times and seem to have no ambition beyond the approval of and compensation from the handful of very wealthy who can put them in office or remove them it (walking on their own two feet or otherwise).

As naive at it may be, I still have a glimmer of hope that Obama is Lincoln, waiting for his Antietam, that will give him the opportunity to change history as profoundly as Lincoln did at that moment.

[WCGreen]

1. Lincoln had a whole bunch of weak minded politicians in his cabinet...

Read the book A Team of Rivals to get a glimpse of what Lincoln had to deal with.

Remember, just his election was a peregrine shift. When he is reelected, he will then be free to get on with his legacy.

[Indykatie]

2. He Has a Good Start Already in My Opinion n/t

[MrMickeysMom]

3. I have about a 1/3 of the way to go to finish that book...

And, I plan on reading other, more profound books on Lincoln. I need something to bring focus as to why Obama was so taken with Lincoln's legacy.

Like Yurbud, I still have that glimmer of hope. It's incredible how much shit a person can tolerate in life.

When I look at history, as I surely do in better ways these days, I sense that one has to detach themselves from any immediate needs to think as Lincoln did. What must it be like to be able to choose to think so far ahead of what will be when choosing what to do. I believe Mr. Lincoln accepted the price he would have to advance this nation, and that is what hurts me most about Barack Obama. I'm not sure what price he is willing to pay for the fucking mess we must deal with now.

[WCGreen]

4. Crisis proves the mettle of a man or a woman.

Last edited Sun Sep 23, 2012, 08:36 PM - Edit history (1)

How they deal with it is a determination of how they shall be remembered.

[yurbud]

5. It's "mettle," but what he "meddles" in can also make a difference

I'd like to see him meddle in Wall Street's business a little more and tell his Wall Street-owned Secretary of Education to meddle in K-12 education less.

[WCGreen]

6. Thanks... Watching football while posting

[MrMickeysMom]

10. Hmmmmm

So aptly put...

Those are huge on the "to do" list, yur...

[yurbud]

8. Lincoln was the first one to make it clear that the price could be your life

[yurbud]

7. I hope you are right about that last part.

Bush and Nixon flamed out in their second term, Clinton got more conservative, and Reagan was the only one who work on a legacy with an arms deal and ending the Cold War through diplomacy (or in conservative mythology, breaking them with our over the top military spending they couldn't match).

[RBInMaine]

9. Comparing reality to a movie? You must be kidding. Bwahahahaha...

First, shame on this SILLY comparison and your SILLY sense of purity. Please, get into reality. Next, Lincoln suspended habeus corpus, refused to comply with decisions of the Supreme Court, issued the Emancipation Proclamation ONLY in slave states in rebellion and NOT in the neutral states and ONLY to keep England out of the war, got rid of his first VP to try to appease the South with Johnson, and said that if he could save the Union WITHOUT ending slavery he'd have done it. He was no purist and very politically motivated in many ways. Yes, he was a good man and did some very good things, and had the Civil War to lead us through, and I honor and commend his legacy for all that, but he sure as all hell was no purist.

[MrMickeysMom]

11. Who the hell said he WAS?

The silly thing is, no one's really talking about a movie here...

Any person running for political office, once they serve, understands politics and therefore, the decision process in getting to the ultimate goal. "if he could save the Union WITHOUT ending slavery, he'd have done it..." suggests he never thought ending slavery was the goal. Wait... what?

[Mkap]

12. Yeaaaa

Greatest progressive president ever and to think his critics called him a socialist....

[torotoro]

13. Granted Obama is dealing with a No-Way Congress, If he just FOUGHT I'd Respect Him...But alas...

The problem i have with Obama is that he caves before the negotiations even begin which leaves one to wonder if he:
A) Has no backbone
OR B) Believes and wants what the republicans want

We can't say but my only hope is that when he is re-elected he will AT LEAST try to FIGHT for the people and not hand it away. Yes he will lose on many issues but to demostrate a strong persistence for the good i and the rest of America would respect that. He will no longer have to be paranoid about getting re-elected. He can and should just let go and do what you really want.

If however he continues to be weak then it will be clear to everyone that he was either afraid of a fight or worse: believes in republican ideals.

I will vote for Obama because i am curious to find out WHO Obama really is. I already know who Romney is.

[tblue]

17. Me too, torotoro.

Will the real Barack Obama please STAND UP.

I have no idea if he will be what some are expecting in a second term. But isn't that admitting he was driven in his current term less by conviction than by political aspiration? And who ever said he was guaranteed a second term to do what he 'really wants to do'?

[torotoro]

14. I find it funny that GOP and their Voters brag Lincoln was Republican but Yet...

All one needs to do is look at Lincoln's record and see he was a DEEPLY Left-leaning Liberal....so Left that even the Democrats of today would spit on him. It's like the republican party don't read (or understand) history at all.

[Plucketeer]

15. I agree with both of your posts

It's amazing to me that so many can make excuses to cover Obamas ass, when it's clear there was no/is no hidden strategy. SO MANY broken or compromised promises as well as a dogged determination to paint his legacy with a varnish of bipartisinism for no reason but the sake of appearances alone - the cost of which is unforgiveable.
I could MAYBE see his adoption of some of Bush's staff while in the initially turbid waters that were the economic meltdown in '09. But he couldn't subsequently FIND good and capable folks of a Democratic bent once the seas were calmed??? Of course....... IF other appointees were to be of the same ilk as Duncan and Immanuel - maybe we're better off with the ex-bush types!

[yurbud]

16. Republicans have a hard time with a basic historical concept:

the past actually happened, with real people, no better or worse than us, just in a different context, and like our own decisions, nothing is 100% good or bad.

They treat history (at least the parts they like) like Greek mythology. It all happened on Mt. Olympus, and we dare not question it or the gods will be angry with us.