I can't help but wonder about lost opportunities...

[Zenlitened]

... and how the vote in Maine might have gone, had the opportunities been embraced.

...I think it would be incredibly valuable if Pres. Obama simply spoke out more forcefully when the occasion presents.

His silence on Prop 8 was unfortunate. But his silence on the achievement of marriage equality in Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire was much worse, IMO: It was a lost opportunity.

That was a rare and precious moment of transformation, and it pains me that he let it go by. That he didn't seize the opportunity to energize and strengthen the trend in a way that he, uniquely, could have.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8478838&mesg_id=8479029

[MNDemNY]

1. And spend political capital? HA! Seems he's putting it all in an IRA.

[babylonsister]

2. I can't help but wonder about people who can't think for themselves

until someone tells them how to think. Conscious recognition and resolution? Without someone else's opinion? Sad that's too much to ask.

[Cha]

3. There is

that.

[Zenlitened]

13. There is what?

Can you help me understand what she meant? :shrug:

[Zenlitened]

15. Guess not. - n/t

[Zenlitened]

4. Meaning... what, exactly?

Your post makes no sense.

[jonnyblitz]

7. must be secret code only her sidekick Cha can understand.

:crazy:

[Zenlitened]

8. I dunno. I was hoping to get some clarification. - n/t

[Zenlitened]

9. Oh well. Another item for the Great Unsolved file, I guess.

:shrug:

[Zenlitened]

12. Such nastiness.

[Sebastian Doyle]

14. Uhhhh.......

[Zenlitened]

16. LOL!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. Early days

I think things will change over the next year.

[Zenlitened]

6. I certainly hope so. And I certainly hope they'll be more vigilant...

... about spotting -- and making the most of -- opportunities to shape the dialog.

[CakeGrrl]

10. Are the voters programmable idiots? Did they need that to get out the vote?

Is he going to be responsible for EVERY state measure that goes the wrong way because the voters were too complacent and lazy?

That's a lazy excuse to lay off blame for everything that goes wrong on one person. And conveniently, a great way for his DU detractors to refuel their anger.

[Zenlitened]

11. "Blame" is a bit excessive, don't you think?

It's more a matter of the Butterfly Effect, really. A flap of the wings, so to speak, at a crucial moment... could have a great effect later on.

Some well-timed words of support back when Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire joined the Equality Club might have lent real energy to the movement. Just a nudge, that might have been magnified or multiplied as it combined with other forces. And together it all might have enough to swing this week's vote in Maine the other way.

We'll never know.

:(


(By the way, if it comforts you at all... it's not anger I'm experiencing. It's sadness.)