Is Obama's race hindering him from acting like FDR?

[rhombus]

An African-American co-worker said today that due to Pres. Obama race, he can't afford to be 'seen' cracking the whip at every turn, or else he won't stand a chance of winning re-election. Despite his election, the country has not moved decidedly on to a race-blind society. This is why Obama has to appear bipartisan to the larger electorate, and can't simply appear to be placating his progressive base, or in cultural code, blacks.

But she said Obama would be far more progressive in his policies and 'true' to himself when he wins a second term, when he's free to govern without any symbolic restriction tying him down.

Your thoughts?

[Eric J in MN]

1. Bill Clinton wasn't more liberal in his second term, and...

...George W. Bush wasn't more conservative in his second term.

People expecting Obama to be more liberal in his second term will probably be disappointed.

[DJ13]

6. You're right

In fact Clinton's most conservative actions were after he won in 96, like he finally no longer had to keep up the liberal charade since he no longer had to worry about appealing to the Democratic base since he couldnt run again.

[leveymg]

8. Nor was FDR.

After the Supreme Court found many of the original New Deal programs unconstitutional in 1935, the Roosevelt Admin pulled back. When the economy headed back down in 1937, he refused to reenact the WPA because it threated to further deepen the deficit. Doesn't this sound all too familiar, already?

[coconut22]

2. I believe that he will be more progressive ...

in these first four year but,some people want him to do everything on day one. He is cleaning house and giving everyone little bits of info everyday but the base can't even see it. I still believe Bush and Cheney will be prosecuted...

[xultar]

10. Obama is not progressive. Why do people keep thinking that? He's a moderate.

Wishing won't make it so.

[ej510]

14. You are 100% right he's closer to Olympia Snowe than he is to John Conyers.

[AspenRose]

15. And Conyers called him out, didn't he.

Pulled no punches

[tblue]

27. Look who he singled out to praise for HCR: Olympia Snowe and Charles Grassley and Evan Bayh

not one liberal like Ron Wyden or Tom Harkin. The best predictor for future performance is past performance. I think people keep expecting Obama to, quietly or not, bust out of this straitjacket of moderation. Ain't never gonna happen.

[coconut22]

17. I really don't give a damn.

progressive,liberal,moderate,Dem what the hell everyone is not going to agree on everything and he can't do everything the way we all want because we all don't think the same way about all issues...

[xultar]

18. Easy now. Chillax.

[tblue]

26. No way will Obama support the prosecution of B/C. Ever.

That is not Obama's style.

[ej510]

3. I am a brotha and I am calling this a bullshit theory.

[xultar]

19. You know though, my brother has been through it, I've been through it...white people

get really skeerd of black folk when we become stern.

Then we have to go incognegro....on them.

Seriously, you know WTF I'm talking about.

[HopeOverFear]

28. I know what you're talking about

[tblue]

29. "incognegro" LOL! That's a good one. I'm keepin' that!

:rofl:

[tblue]

31. I've thought that might be what's going on with Obama.

Until I read his book and realized he's not a fighter at all. At. All.

[AspenRose]

4. "Black" doesn't necessarily mean "progressive"

You can vote as a liberal and be quite conservative socially.

Opinions among blacks vary just as they do among other 'races.' But in the end the black majority will vote Democratic because, to paraphrase Sharpton, it's the donkey we're riding.

Full quote:

"It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule. That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres. We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us."

I don't think "cracking whips" is Obama's style anyway. I found this thread enlightening.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=8719750

[monmouth]

5. Do people still think in terms of "race" w/Obama? Well, yes, I know

the loonies do, but honestly, I look at his work record, his achievements, his plate that is not nearly emptied....sigh. I'd like to see him get a little tougher. Too sweet and willing to work with others at this point...not so good.

[quantass]

11. +1

[timeforpeace]

7. There's no other possible explanation. His ineffectiveness boils solely down to race.

On the other hand, he might just be naturally incompetent.

[monmouth]

9. You forgot the "sarc" sign, right?....Pres may be many things, incompetent

isn't one of them.

[quantass]

12. Agreed -- I may be tough on Obama but he is most certainly not incompetent.

Me thinks the parent thread forgot :sarcasm: ??

[Jennicut]

41. Yeah, it is not like he would let a whole bunch of poor minorities go without water

and food and clean living areas for days after a natural disaster happened.

[xultar]

20. actually putting the sarc in really ruins the post. Too bad people have to ask

and remind you to put it in.

[NYC_SKP]

13. Nah. I'm confident your question is sincere, but dude President has been around the block.

This cat has been throught the wringer, he's run for and won and held office prior to this, he ain't shrinking from 'cracking a whip', when he thinks that's appropriate.

On the other matter, will he be more 'progressive' or 'true to himself' after he wins a second term?

Yes, he'll be more 'true to himself' but 'progressive' is too subjective a term to give a meaningful answer.

:smoke:

[rhombus]

16. well, he's never been President before

And being President under the 24 hour media glare we have today is not a small undertaking for the first black President in our nations' history..

[dolphindance]

21. I can understand what you're saying, but I honestly think he's just being himself.

I DO think he needed to temper any "radical" notions in order to get elected as a black man THE FIRST TIME. But now that he is in the office, I think people will have a chance to look at what actually occurs over the next 4 years.

If he steers the country right (and I know he will), he will be re-elected. Angry black man or not!!! :)

P.S.: I am black and can most certainly understand the situation your co-worker explained.

[ipaint]

22. No, it's his adoption of bush policies regarding torture and

illegal wiretapping that prevent him from being more FDR like.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6902422#6904214

[democracy1st]

23. hell freakin NO! his dayum corporate policies are bs

[Smarmie Doofus]

24. My thought is that he won't be ABLE to accomplish what he....

>>>But she said Obama would be far more progressive in his policies and 'true' to himself when he wins a second term, when he's free to govern without any symbolic restriction tying him down.>>>>

... presumably wants to accomplish in his second term. We simply are not going to have these kinds of congressional majorities in term two.

We are not even going to have these kinds of majorities after midterm, term *one*.

Now is the time. If he's serious, now is the time. Race is immaterial.

Edit to ad: Roosevelt's popularity INCREASED between '32 and '36... didn't it? And it wasn't cause he was holding back.

[FrenchieCat]

25. To some degree you are correct.......

but there are many factors involved as to why he can't be exactly how he might be in a fair world, the biggest being the media whores laying in wait.....

IT is true that Obama will never show up as the angry Black man.....not so much because he isn't allowed, as much as that character has never been part of his persona as far as politics goes....because you see, whatever one might think he can't do now, he has never been able to. he couldn't the angry Black President of the Harvard Law Review, of the Angry State Senator, or the Angry Law Professor, or the Angry sole Black U.S. Senator, or even the angry Black Presidential Candidate.....so it is a bit late to believe that it is something that he might do only if.....because as long as Obama can remember, this society has always regarded Black men as having anger issues, even if that wasn't the case, or even if it was justified. It is the difference between a Malcom X and a MLK....The one that has the holiday named after him was the successful one, as far as White folks are concerned.

[depakid]

30. Much less race than dispositional (and at times dysfunctional) conflict aversion

[Hamlette]

32. sounds like neither one of you have been paying attention these last years

is there anyone in the world who really believes one person (Obama) can move us to a race-blind society? Can pass health care reform? Can right the wrongs imposed on us since Reagan? Can stop the military industrial complex that bedeviled Eisenhower?

Christ, if he doesn't start a unjust war in another foreign country we'll be MILES a head of where we've been and where we would have been under McCain.

Give the guy a break. If you could do it better, run for office.

[These Eyes]

35. Thank you Hamlette…

:applause:

[GeorgeGist]

33. Yes.

Obama is a coward.

[Number23]

36. "Obama is a coward. "

So the question was "Is Obama's race keeping him from acting more like FDR."

You answered "yes." Is Obama a coward because he's black and black people in power are naturally cowards? That would appear to be the logical conclusion from your comment.

[Cha]

37. No, he's not a "coward" and

anyone who says that hasn't been paying attention to the life of Barack Obama.

[Metta]

34. No, his wrong views and the advice he's getting are. He'll be LBJ unless he goes Harry Truman.

As long as he insists on uniting the country, viz. Abe Lincoln, he's going to wind up as LBJ. If he goes Harry Truman, minus the part about dropping bombs, he could wind up as FDR. Personally, I think he's lost in trying to be the uniter and he's getting supremely bad advice. Just look at Rahm, Geithner, Summers and all the corporate lobbyists he's trying to cram down our throats.

[onenote]

38. no, not having the kind of mandate that FDR had is hindering Obama

If 101 House seats had changed parties last election, giving the Democrats 71 percent of the House (not the 59 percent they have now), and if Obama's opponent had gotten less than 40 percent of the popular vote, not 46 percent, and if Obama had captued 87.5 percent of the states, not 56 percent, then maybe he would be able to "act" more like FDR.

[ProgressOnTheMove]

39. Makes a lot of sense actually, shows how well prepared Pres. Obama is.

[Hekate]

40. Even FDR wasn't the towering figure we think of him today. He had over 12 years to work at it...

Different time and place.

FDR came from generations of East Coast wealth, privilege, and power, so he knew who the big financial players were and I think he knew where their levers were. He had a willing Congress during the "first hundred days" as well. The Democrats swept into Washington in a landslide.

Barack Obama comes from a distinctly more modest background, which is part of his charm. He's incredibly smart and thoughtful, and he learns fast. He had a good win, and the Dems got both Houses back -- but just barely. The Dems did not take Washington in a landslide last year. Congress is giving him all kinds of grief and foot-dragging.

On the whole, I don't think it's about race as much as it is about wingnut politics and the GOP being the Party of No. At the very base of the GOP -- well, there it is about race.

I think Obama's desire for bipartisanship is genuine, because I think it is in his nature to be a conciliator if at all possible. He often tries to find the middle way. The problem with imagining him as a genuine Progressive is that everyone projects their own desires (and for some, fears) onto him -- wingnuts think he must be an Angry Black Man, and liberals kept hearing him say things he didn't exactly say but that matched their (our) own heart's desires as the Bush admin wound down.

Part of me is glad he cut his political teeth in Chicago, to learn toughness--and then got out before he could get splashed with all the Blagojevich mud.

I still think he will be an excellent president, especially if he has a full 8 years to develop.

Hekate

[Jennicut]

42. Perfect analysis in my opinion.

I refuse to compare the 1930's to 2009. And background and personality make someone who they are and how they will govern. Personally, I think Obama is...just Obama. Tired of the comparisons to other Presidents. Not sure any other Presidents had to put up with that all the time.