General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A segment of DU is very invested in painting a dystopian picture of the US [View all]rbnyc
(17,045 posts)I think we get too hung up on defending and attacking individuals.
But public policy does make a difference. And our current system is, to put it as mildly as possible, inefficient at creating and implementing policy that does broad social good, and efficient at creating public policy that delivers wealth to entrenched interests.
That doesn't mean that there aren't some good things that have happened, and it doesn't mean that there aren't some terrible things that have happened. That doesn't mean that the president hasn't been obstructed to an obscene degree by toxic political forces, and it doesn't mean that Obama hasn't collided with toxic political forces in creating damaging policy.
We are constantly being fed a very simplistic way of seeing things. I just don't think it's helpful.