What would Obama do different if he acted from his heart & had no cares/fears about reelection?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

Anything?

[katandmoon]

1. Acted from his what?

[ZombieHorde]

2. He would wear his pajamas to all of his meetings and interviews.

Hard to tell what someone you don't know is really thinking.

[mazzarro]

3. Probably Proclaim That He Is A Believer In The DLC/Third Way

approach to political issues. Thus end the need to try to appeal to liberals/progressives. Instead he can then focus on the so-called moderates in both parties and the independents. And we progressives will focus on seeking other means of pushing for true progressive solutions via true progressive leaders.

[ProSense]

4. From my understanding of his critics

he would have fought the Republicans and refused to compromise even if it meant no stimulus, no health care reform, no Wall Street reform.

In other words, nothing was the best thing that he could have accomplished because it would have done a lot more to advance the cause.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Can you point to *any* critic who's stated that?

His critics just want him to try hard to do the right thing, as far as I can tell.

[ProSense]

9. Are you saying that you haven't heard anyone say

health care refom made things worse, that it would have been better to do nothing?

Do you think the stimulus, health care reform and Wall Street reform were positive steps?

[laughingliberal]

13. I think the stimulus was a net positive. His overselling of the benefit of it was a problem.

When he said it would keep unemployment under 8%, he blew it and discredited stimulus as a solution making it impossible to try for more. Then he conceded the debate to the deficit hawks who will now rob the elderly, sick, and poor blind.

Wall Street reform? Same thing. A few positives in it but it's been touted as more than it is. And what good is there will be dismantled bit by bit while Obama burnishes his 'bidness' friendly credentials.

Health care? A wash. What good might be in it will be offset by the downward financial pressure on the middle and working classes and it's likely we will see the decent regulations in it (unable to refuse pre-existing conditions, MLR ratios) stripped out before it takes effect.

[ProSense]

15. "Wall Street reform? Same thing. A few positives in it but it's been touted as more than it is. "

Actually, most people who wrote it off, now acknowledge that it's stronger than they anticipated.

Robert Kuttner

Liberals cheered when Elizabeth Warren was appointed interim director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after a long internal fight. The bureau, which Warren first proposed in 2007, is one of the more expansive innovations of the financial-reform law known as the Dodd-Frank Act.

<...>

The miracle of Dodd-Frank is that it got stronger as it moved through the process. The question now is whether that forward momentum will be reversed. Because the factions in the executive branch mirror those in Congress, it's worth looking back at the legislative story.

The Senate has been the graveyard of most progressive reforms of the Obama era. In the case of financial regulation, though, the bill reached the Senate just as the economic crisis was worsening and Wall Street had become politically radioactive. A backbench revolt of relatively junior senators like Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Ted Kaufman of Delaware, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas unexpectedly succeeded with floor amendments that toughened regulation of financial derivatives and conflict-of-interest prohibitions. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama, shocked into action by Scott Brown's January 2010 election to the Senate, embraced what he called the Volcker Rule -- a partial return to the pre-1999 Glass-Steagall separation of federally guaranteed commercial banking from more speculative investment banking and proprietary trading of securities.

<...>

Reformers ultimately prevailed on a few key issues, including tough regulation of financial derivatives, the Volcker Rule, and Warren's consumer protection agency, while the moderates and their Wall Street allies were able to block other proposals outright, such as breaking up the big banks. But time after time, to gain the support of key swing votes, the bill's managers had to punt details to the executive branch

<...>

Wall Street reform is also the most popular of the reforms passed, with approval over 60 percent.

[laughingliberal]

18. I'm sure it is the most popular. People hate Wall Street and the Banksters right now.

If the President had spent more time running against them, we might not have lost the House as badly.

However, he now says he must work to 'improve' his relationship with 'bidness.'

And the Republicans will defund and strip out anything they can to weaken the bill that, though somewhat good, was too weak to begin with.

[MannyGoldstein]

19. False dichotomy

You claim that the choice is either roll over and play dead, or do nothing at all. That's just silly.

The greatest orator of our generation did a fine job of convincing us to vote for the first black president, and has tried to convince us of nothing since.

Stimulus: not nearly enough. Obama should have known that it was not nearly enough, and pressed for more.

Health care changes: I have no idea if these will be helpful or not. 2,500+ pages, written in large part by lobbyists, and Obama didn't want it to take effect until after his re-election attempt. The alleged immediate end to refusing children with pre-existing conditions is illustrative - since there's no cap on premiums, this is of practically no use. I suspect that the rest of the legislation will be similar.

Wall Street changes: again, who knows - 2,500+ pages, written in large part by lobbyists. It sure ain't Glass-Steagall.

[ProSense]

26. Interesting

"The greatest orator of our generation did a fine job of convincing us to vote for the first black president, and has tried to convince us of nothing since."

That you put it that way. What does being black have to do with his oratory skills and winning the primary?

"Stimulus: not nearly enough. Obama should have known that it was not nearly enough, and pressed for more."

He pushed for more, it was up at about $1 trillion at one point, he got what he got.

"Health care changes: I have no idea if these will be helpful or not. 2,500+ pages, written in large part by lobbyists, and Obama didn't want it to take effect until after his re-election attempt. The alleged immediate end to refusing children with pre-existing conditions is illustrative - since there's no cap on premiums, this is of practically no use. I suspect that the rest of the legislation will be similar.

Wall Street changes: again, who knows - 2,500+ pages, written in large part by lobbyists. It sure ain't Glass-Steagall."

That refutes your claim that he "tried to convince us of nothing since."

[Egnever]

10. Spot on!

Contrary to what the OP is trying to push Obama has said many times he doesn't care if he is a one term president and has been acting accordingly. He has gotten a lot accomplished because of it.

The permanently disappointed crowd of course gives him no credit for any of it, their only mission seems to be to jump on any perceived disappointment.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Apparently, nothing

Triangulation has pretty well proven to be a losing strategy, do he doesn't seem to be acting out of a desire to be re-elected. I suppose one could hypothesize that it got Clinton re-elected, but experience indicates that this was more a function of an economy that temporarily helped the middle class, and having Bob Dole as an opponent.

FDR and others have shown that Democratic policies to help working Americans are not only the moral thing to do, they win elections as well.

[Radical Activist]

24. Apparently you don't understand what triangulation means.

Clinton triangulated by putting himself in the middle (to the right of Congressional Democrats). Everything Obama proposed was to the left of what Congress was willing to pass and to the left of what many Congressional Democrats wanted to support. Obama has not engaged in triangulation. He pushed the country and Congress left.

[BzaDem]

41. +1 for actual sense.

Obama might triangulate in the future, but he sure hasn't up to this point. His policy proposals for the most part were to the left of what Democrats in Congress were willing to pass, not the right.

[creon]

43. I am aware of that.

It was Congress -- not Obama.

[tridim]

7. Save the economy and pass more Progressive laws than any other president in history.

Minor stuff like that.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

8. Acted from his convictions, then.

I always thought (hoped?) that some of the Senators
who went along with the Iraq War were doing so for
political reasons, rather than that they truly
believed Iraq was a threat. When Obama gave the
speech against the war, that struck me as a non-
political decision, something he believed, in his heart
or his convictions. When he campaigned in support of the
war in Afghanistan I thought (hoped) it was political,
campaign bullshit, but it turned out not to be, he
meant it. I've gradually tilted into the disappointed-
with-Obama camp, I want him to fight back, and I'm
asking if people think there are positions he's taken
that he doesn't believe in, that he's taking with
reelection in mind. Yes, it's speculative, and may
be irrelevant, because we know a man by his actions.
I guess I'm still trying to find in the politician the
man who gave that speech against the Iraq War not all
that long ago.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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

[A-Schwarzenegger]

12. Yeah, youre right, I gotta watch my rep around here.

[JonLP24]

36. Your rep is permantly OK by me

You created Oscar!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

38. Thanks, Jon.

You made my looney tunes evening. :)

[Skittles]

14. he doesn't give a fuck what we think

and he's doing is not from the heart

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. CLOSED GITMO?

LIKE HE PROMISED?

[TheKentuckian]

21. Forgot that, he was denied Gitmo: North

If he had his way we'd have Gitmo in Michigan.

Change we can believe in!

[WinkyDink]

17. Nothing.

[TheKentuckian]

20. You are pretty much looking at it. I think he got 90% or more of what he wanted.

He may have wanted the token ghetto of a public option and another 100 billion in stimulus. I think the Wall Street reform almost got away from him and he had to squash a greater audit of the Fed and make sure ending too big to fail never got started.

[Radical Activist]

27. You must have skipped comment 15.

It shows that Obama made the Wall Street reform bill stronger in those areas where details were left to the executive branch. That doesn't fit in very well with your cynical view of Obama.

[TheKentuckian]

31. I meant what I said and those steps don't offset the ball breaking behind the scenes

He worked to kill and weaken crucial parts of the bill and I'll never forget it.

I appreciate the consumer protection efforts as far as they go but the systemic cures are not there and in some cases, willfully so.
Congress and the Administration FAILED the American people on this. It sure as hell isn't all Obama's fault by a long shot. Most were pitching gremlins into the works and pouring water in the bourbon bottle to give their Lords and Masters a wide berth to operate their scams and wealth extraction schemes at the expense of poor and working folks.

The ability to deny the scope of the problems and exhibit religious cult like faith in a clearly failed set of economic principles in a demonstrably flawed system in addressing our present problems is not virtuous nor signs of clairvoyance nor wisdom rivaling a composite of Solomon, Buddha, Odysseus, and Confucius mixed with a heaping helping of Mr Spock.

What it is, is what the kids call A Fuckload of FAIL. At least for most of us.

[Radical Activist]

33. This reminds me of another conversation.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9638757&mesg_id=9639150

[Individualist]

22. Nothing.

He's a New Democrat.

[rug]

23. This is who he is, election or no.

And that is the most generous explanation.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Well, he opposes gay marriage and supports charter schools

I'm thinking we are better off if he does worry about re-election.

[Dinger]

32. Me Too (nt)

[Bluebear]

40. You said it. nt

[Forkboy]

28. He is acting from his heart.

[Bluebear]

45. .

[Edweird]

29. It looks to me like that's exactly what's happening.

[Marr]

30. Who says he's not doing what he believes in?

Obama seems to believe the standard right-wing worldview that economies are fueled from the top, and that a small number of elites really make the whole thing work. I think it's an asinine position that's been repeatedly disproved over the last century and a half, but everything he's done makes sense if you assume he believes it.

[applegrove]

34. I think he should govern like there is no 'tomorrow'.

[timo]

35. more drone kills

he would send more drones to kill people than the last guy did.....oh wait he is already doing that!!

[Bucky]

37. I think he already is acting from his heart. He is, at heart, a mediator, a compromiser.

I admire his desire to bring everyone together. It's not realistic, but it's damn noble.

[Raine]

39. That's what he's doing now.

x(

[old mark]

42. Exactly as he has done for the last 2 years - be bipartisan even though he is

the only one. I believe him when he says he does not care much if he wins a second term.

mark

[creon]

44. I expect that does not care

if he gets re elected.

He has done what he could, considering the Contress that he has.