Are progressives too hard on Obama? Take the poll

[Lionhearted]

A year ago, people of our political persuasion were falling all over themselves in joyous disbelief—here and around the world—that Barack Obama was about to be our president. Yes, by god, Our President! Now we're hearing voices of dissatisfaction on both sides. Are progressives being to hard on Obama? Take the poll and see the results

http://www.laprogressive.com/election-reform-campaigns/perspective/

[uppityperson]

1. from your website..., welcome to my watch list.

First, Obama and his advisors need to understand that they’ve gotten into their current pickle because of things they have done. Sure, the well-funded opposition in Congress has proven exceptionally clever—it helps not to be burdened with a conscience—even with so few seats. And, yes, the George Bush debacle put the country in a deep, deep hole on virtually every front. But it was Obama administration mistakes that have eroded support within its own base so dramatically.

Second, Obama needs to recognize that his reach-across-the-aisle, can’t-we-all-just-love-each-other, bipartisan approach is an abject failure, if for no other reason than that the people he’s reaching out to want nothing better than for his presidency to fail. Obama and his people need to recognize that it was impassioned liberals that fueled his candidacy, not some-of-this, some-of-that middle-of-the-roaders—and certainly not Republicans in disguise like Joe Lieberman and Max Baucus.

Third, Obama needs to score a meaningful, progressive victory, such as putting America back to work. If you can’t get Corporate America to stop shipping well-paid jobs off to India and the Philippines, then create government-run jobs program like Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Projects Administration (WPA). Seriously, America’s roads, rails, parks, airports, and public buildings are in disrepair. Create programs that put people to work fixing them. It’s often said that the best social program is a job, but the way you create more teabaggers bringing side arms to rallies is to keep them worried about how they’re going to feed their families.

Once you’ve rallied your natural supporters again, reach out to the working classes that most need the social programs liberal Democrats espouse, then you can revisit our woeful healthcare system, our endless wars, and our disreputable approach to immigration. Get everyday Americans back to work with good-paying jobs so they can feed their families, educate their kids, and buy their own health insurance, you’ll have them for generations.

[lostinseganet1]

3. not enough

The man is going in the wrong directions, and little murmurers are not getting his attention. Yell at him.

[cadeyrn]

4. When any person is elected President...

When any person is elected President they have the possible things they want to do and the things they can probably do.
None of it is done in a day, or a year.

[Jenny_92808]

6. I am sorry to have to inform you of this...

Obama does not have a magic wand. The party of NO, obstructionists will not get my vote.

[RoccoR5955]

2. Like was once said in an old 50s TV show...

"Ward, weren't you a little hard on the Beaver last night?"

I don't think that "progressives" were hard enough on Obama. We wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now it's time to bug the living daylights out of him. Tell him that we are going to sit home and not vote come the next election, and then see how he gets his agenda put forth.

[Jenny_92808]

7. Bad Idea...

Do you want the repubs in charge so they can do more damage to our country?

WE NEED TO GET OUT AND VOTE DEM! Remind your friends and family who are Dems to get out and vote. Think of the alternative.

[TexanRudeBoy]

10. What alternative?

If the Reps win what will happen? More spending, more war, more secrecy, more striping of our civil liberties? We're getting that with Obama just as under Bush. How will anything change?

[TexanRudeBoy]

5. Not anywhere NEAR hard enough

Progressives (rightfully so) went ballistic for the "simple" due process free, indefinite detention of American citizens by Bush. Yet this president is claiming the right to have American citizens outright assassinated without any due process. There's nary a peep outside of Glenn Greenwald (who is constantly attacked by so called progressives).

I thought Obama was elected to end the abuses in the War on Terror, but he has FULLY endorsed the Bush/Cheney terror doctrine, using the EXACT same arguments to do so.

[just55650]

+100

[just55650]

14. +100

[PanoramaIsland]

8. Weren't pundits saying this would happen?

Nobody seriously believed that Obama's success would be proportional to our delirious happiness at his getting elected, did they? The rhetoric surrounding his election made him out to be the Second Coming. The only probable direction from that inflated position was down.

[TexanRudeBoy]

9. Still

Nobody expected him to fully continue every single policy he so vehemently campaigned against when Dubya was the one doing them. I see your point, and its fully valid, the bar was WAY too high but the facts remain. No self respecting liberal or progressive can support this guy anymore. If you do you're 100% giving credence to all of the Bush era policies Obama has continued.

[old mark]

11. Hell, no. I don't know who he thinks elected him, but it was NOT the GOP

or "bipartisanship" - it was US!!!

Wake up, boys, or pack up and go home.

mark

[VPB_MARIA]

12. Are progressives too hard on Obama?

I am not American, so I will simply post the outsider's view. Please bear with me.
When Barrack Obama was elected, the whole planet let its collective breath out in relief.
Since day 2 the hammering started. Every president in the US has his hands tied behind his back by powerful interests and conglomerates. Either he takes it or he ends up dead in a convertible somewhere in Dallas.
The man is trying hard to stand up to his promises but he is tripping all along because the system won't allow him to walk straight. Congress, Senate, Tea-Parties, Oil companies, they all pull and push in every direction. And the cherry on the cake: "taxpayers' money". Taxpayer's money is supposed to make their lives better--provide for public health care, build schools, fight corruption, keep criminals off the streets. So it's not money lost, it returns to them in forms of services.
So the general feeling is that BO is still in the process of correcting wrongs and his country is not very patient with him. 8 years of Bush administration brought the planet to the verge of catastrophe. How can this be rectified within a 3-year path filled with traps and obstacles?

[Cereal Kyller]

13. Yes

Which is why we'll stupidly stay at home in droves next year, paving the way for President Batshit.

[fpete]

15. Who are "people of our political persuasion?"

The vast majority of Democrats are with President Obama. I believe the last polls I saw have him at an 85% approval amongst Democrats, including me.

If we vote then Republicans cannot defeat us. That is why Republicans invest so much of their resources into voter suppression.

[millych3]

16. Definitely Yes

Obama is the best president since Jimmy Carter. In the next 30 years progressives may not have such a great president again.

[Hydrated]

17. Absolutely!

He's a man doing his best.

[That Political Shizz]

18. A Letter To My President

Dear Mr. President,
I have hope. I have faith. I continue to believe in the changes we were guaranteed when we elected you. It has been difficult, if not impossible to fathom the amount of venomous, vitriolic hate, rage and anger the republicans/conservative/ tea party have ferociously and relentless leveled at you since day 1 of your presidency. They have been steadfast in their attacks, disrespect, and attempts at humiliating you at every single turn. Since the beginning of your presidency, I thought I had mentally prepared myself to withstand the barrage of insults they hurl at you every minute of every hour of every day. I expected there to be strong opposition. I expected a few hints of racism. I expected hypocrisy. I just didn't expect the fervor and overtnesss in which it has displayed itself. I continue to ask myself, 'Have they no shame?' Time after time after time, I come to the same conclusion. 'Not one damn ounce!!' I know that many who are reading this are
going to say that this is no different from the way George W. Bush was treated in his time in office. It is true that it was much discourse and rhetoric leveled at W. The many who criticized Bush did so because of his policies, the unjustified wars, the delayed responses to natural disasters, and the overwhelming masses who had presumed Bush had turned over the presidential reins to Dick Cheney. He did a disservice to himself and the country by surrounding himself with people who didn't have his or the countries best interest at heart. And just the simple notion that he was in way over his head.
I agree with every one of those assertions. Where I am different is that I like George Bush as I person. I feel that he is a good and caring man, a good husband, a good father, and a good well meaning American. He just wasn't a very good president in my opinion, and secretly the opinions of way more republicans than you would think. I had the honor of meeting President Bush while he was the Governor of Texas. He was cordial and nice. He even gave me a signed Texas Rangers baseball cap in which I still have. The difference in the discourse and rhetoric leveled at President Obama is that it comes from a deeper, darker, scarier place. It emanates from the souls of his opponents. They have questioned his faith, his religion, his citizenship, his commitment to his country, his not wearing a freaking flag pin. There are conspiracy theorist still hard at work trying to disprove his authenticity. His wife continues to be attacked. He has been accused of hating
and plotting the destruction of this country. He has been accused of being a "Manchurian Candidate". He has even been reviled has being the third Antichrist. Last but not least, is it a coincidence that death threats are up 400% since President Obama has been in office? You be the judge. Literally twenty four hours a day, seven days a week if you turn on any of the A.M. "news" dials, you will be subjected to some of the most hate filled poison to ever blare out the speakers of a radio. There is also a local talk radio "entertainer" here in Houston who shall remain nameless but for the purposes of this article I will refer to him only as "Mam Salone". He refers to the President as Hussein Obama, a not so subtle attempt at stoking the flames of paranoia and distrust towards our president. Its funny, I don't recall this same "entertainer" ever referring to Bush as "Walker". I don't recall him referring to Ronald Reagan as "Wilson". What's different with
this President? Hmmm...
Others cloak their hate and disdain with frivolous made up crisis like the debt ceiling. A historically mutually agreed upon policy in which both sides have never considered not raising except for now. What's different now? Hmmm.... The real question is whose different now? Where was this outrage 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 years ago? Where was the Tea Party? These crises only serve as thinly veiled attempts to execute their true diabolical ambitions. That is to make Barack Obama a one term president. These political arsonist will stop at nothing as long as the ends justify their means. When the political rhetoric and personal animus towards the president reaches the point where publicly elected officials are abruptly interrupting the State of The Union address to call the President of the United States and leader of the free world a liar we have truly lost our moral compass. I live in a state in which the present Governor and now candidate for the Office of
President of the United States just 2 years ago actually mentioned the words "Texas" and "secession" in the same sentence. This same governor is now in charge of appointing a judge to break the tie in a deadlocked court on a decision to honor Confederate Rebel Soldiers on the license plates of motor vehicles. The shocking part is that it's actually deadlocked. When it gets to the point where the official and unofficial leaders of the Republican Party openly hope for the failure of this president and therefore the country, the spirit to govern has been overtaken by the spirit of distrust, disrespect, and dishonor.
Mr. President, I know that you know this to be true but in your position cannot state the obvious as it will only serve to embolden your haters....errrrr critics who will only see this as you making excuses. Unfortunately Mr. President, some of the blame lies at your feet as well. You have brokered and negotiated in good faith throughout your presidency. It seems that at every turn you have been kicked in the teeth over and over and over again for doing so. You have bent over backwards, invited them over for grub and drinks, jumped through every hoop they have held in front of you, and even played golf with them. I guess what I'm saying is the "killing them with kindness" approach doesn't seem to be working out too well. Their answer to you on anything you propose is going to be not just no, but HELL NO. If you were to propose a law that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, there answer will be HELL NO. If you were to find a cure for cancer,
AIDS, and heart disease, their response would be to call you a job killer for putting doctors out of work. They have proudly shown you their playbook. It's called "Republican Extremism For Dummies". It reminds me of the Charlie Brown and Lucy football bit where Lucy always promises to hold the football and then snatches it away at the last second making Charlie Brown miss and fall on his face every time. Everyone in TV land is yelling in concert at their screens, "NOOOOOOOOO!! DON'T DO IT CHARLIE BROWN!!!" But for some reason, Charlie Brown never hears us. Some people will interpret this as me calling the President naïve. I'm not calling Charlie Brown or President Obama naïve, I prefer the term eternal optimist. Mr. President, when people show you there true selves, believe them. Sir, we know that you are a nice, upstanding, honest, cool, calm, collected, charismatic, and highly intellectual man. Those are the qualities that drew us to you and the
reason we eventually voted you in as our president. Unfortunately, for the masses of people, people who don't follow the day to day sausage making of Washington Beltway politics, perception tends to be reality. Many people only catch snippets and 20 second sound bites that shape "their reality". They take "their reality" to the polls. They then vote "their reality". When they see those headlines in big 3 inch bold letters reading "NO-BAMA CAVES IN", "OBAMA THE SOFTY", or "THE EXCUSE MAKER IN CHIEF" that's what they take back to the water cooler. Remember when you got the drop on those three Somali pirates and sent them to that old pirates den in the sky. Or when you sent Bin Laden on a permanent fishing trip to the middle of the ocean to go service his 72 virgins. In those instances, perception became reality that you are strong on national security. Notice no one has questioned your national security skills since. FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING ONLY, that's the
steely decisive resolve in which you should deal with the republicans, especially when you have gone above and beyond the call of duty for the sake of compromise and good will. You have even faced backlash from your own party for seeming too eager to compromise. We love your cool persona, but it's ok for us to see you get pissed off every once in a while. It's ok for us to see you 'chin checkin" folks when they need it. We want to see you large and in charge. We want to see you "Bossing Up". You have earned the right to do so. It's like in the game of spades when a player is holding the high joker. Mr. President, you always hold the high joker and reserve the right to play it at your leisure or discretion. Whether it's vetoing a bill or raising the debt ceiling on your own, JUST PLAY IT!! If not, they will keep raising the stakes and calling your bluff. Whether you like it or not, you are in the heavy weight championship fight of your life. The
difference is you are fighting with standard, regulatory, legal gloves while the republicans have wrapped their hands with spikes and brass knuckles and laced their trunks with shivs, shanks, and switchblades all while throwing punches and low blows with reckless abandon not caring who or what they hit as long as they land. In other words, consequences be damned, they want what they want. Speaking of punches Mr. President, we know that you can take them. We have been witness to your resilience and durability since you started campaigning back in 2007. The problem is we're sick and tired of seeing you always taking punches and constantly seeming to be on the defensive. Right now you're throwing way too many jabs and way too few uppercuts, left hooks, and round houses. Feel free to mix them into your repertoire. IT'S TIME TO GO BIG!! You see Mr. President, for them it's not about saving our country, spending, the debt ceiling, raising taxes, Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan, jobs, healthcare, or gay marriage. With all due respect, it's about one thing and one thing only. That's getting your you know what out of office ASAP!! Again Mr. President, I know these are things you think about but can't speak about but I don't mind at all. We continue to pray for your family, your safety, and your leadership. Check out my blog at www.politicalshiz.blogspot.com
Sincerest Regards,
Terrel Johnson Shepherd III
National Delegate for the 2008 Democratic National Convention
and the quiet majority of people I speak with on a daily basis who share my frustration