I believe I may be even more depressed under Obama than I was under Bush*

[Winterblues]

Under Bush* I was outraged almost on a daily basis, but I expected it. With Obama I really and truly had hope, but that seems to get dashed almost daily. I do believe America is better off under Obama and most certainly the world is but is that enough.. We could do so damn much better. America could truly be a Great Country if only some Liberal Forces could be unleashed. We have reams of historical evidence on what Conservative Government does to us and the world and we also have some evidence what Liberalism does. America always did better under Liberalism. The people were looked out for. They came first and formost but now it seems the Military and death and destruction comes first and formost and second is big money. I am not sure if people are even in the picture any more..Is this all there is? Will we freeze money for research for fighting cancer but keep it for the Killing Machine? Is this the America we should all be so proud of?

[cali]

1. Obviously we can't do so much damn better.

which is truly depressing.

[dkf]

3. Yup. I expected Bush would do nothing good for this country.

I honesly have no idea what Obama is up to. He is all over the map and inconsistent in putting together a governing framework that fits together.

He is beginning to seem disorganized and non coherent.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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

[salinen]

5. Jimmy

what was that line at the end of "Casablanca"?

[WhiteTara]

6. and how do we do that now and here?

leave the country? We have lost all power in the voting booth...stolen votes through voting machines and now the SCOTUS ruling that we have corporate masters with infinite powers.

Welcome to DU btw :hi:

[TexasObserver]

4. I expected Bush to screw up weekly, and to weakly explain it.

I expected much more of this president.

[peace frog]

11. "Explain"?

Since when did Mr Sunny Nobility think it necessary to explain anything he did or said to the American public?
His attitude was always "you'll take what I dish out and like it, or you're with the terrorists".
:grr:

[Jefferson23]

7. It's harder to take from Obama, no doubt about it.

[RainDog]

8. it is depressing

I have lost faith in the ability of this nation to correct its mistakes.

[peace frog]

13. UGH, same here.

Depressing as hell to know what issues need to be addressed to set this country on the right path, and watch it going in the exact opposite direction.

[Chiquitita]

61. Here's some medicine for your depression...

If you haven't already seen this you can watch the entire movie on-line. Whether you believe everything in it or not, it will show you a few important things, especially about the Federal Reserve (which is the third part). Maybe everything is going according to plan. The problem is, the plan being followed isn't the voters! http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
If you are a Christian you may have difficulty with the first part of the movie (which is meant to question the existence of a historical Jesus). But the 3 sections are only loosely related and the one on the Federal Reserve is v. good.

Let's fight back against confusion and depression! M.Moore is right. There are more of us than there are of them.

[1awake]

9. The people who

can get elected can't fix the country.. and the people who can fix the country.. can't get elected. Never ending spiral...

[dbonds]

10. In one way it is relieving...

Under Bush you had hopes that we could elect a Democratic majority and sanity would rule and we would get out of this mess. Now we know they are mostly all controlled by corporations. So the specifics of the path we must go down are not clear, but at least we know the path (thats the relieving part). We have to rid corporations of their power.

[Warpy]

12. I think every newly elected president is shown into a richly paneled room

offered a comfortable chair, handed a fine brandy and Cuban cigar, and informed by men who are used to such things just what he will and will not be allowed to do. I also don't think this is the only nation where that happens.

Thumbing your nose at these men means a short career in office. Accidents happen, the Secret Service can't stop everybody.

Obama hasn't made it worse. That was the highest expectation I had for him.

I knew Gidget and The Geezer would have made it much, much worse.

[peace frog]

14. LOL

"Gidget Goes Arizonan" with Grumpy Grandpa McCain as the elderly Moondoggie. :rofl:

[HughBeaumont]

21. MY POINT!

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/HughBeaumont/91

[TeeYiYi]

57. How about...

...giving us a little taste of 'YOUR POINT' in this thread, so we don't have to click on your journal link?...

TYY

[tbyg52]

36. Something like that, yeah. Elections are for show - we know who is really running things. nt

[uponit7771]

63. +1!!!

[zbdent]

15. In the latter part of Clinton's second term, I felt weary, and started to

look forward to the "end" of his term, because of all the "liberal media" attacks of him, and the Republicans constantly given airtime for all their attacks.

Then, I realized that, should Al Gore get into office, the constant attacks would continue.

Little did I know that the intense scrutiny would suddenly disappear ... to be replaced by marshmallows lightly tossed at George W. Bush ... kind of in the same way that people dismiss the actions of a child who has medical reasons to be "intellectually challenged" ...

Finally, after the response to Katrina, the media realized that there wasn't enough excrement polisher to make that turd shine, and it became okay to show some scrutiny of Bush ...

And then, Obama came along ... and once again, it was okay to bring out the howitzers and atom bombs when it came to "kid glove" questions of the President ...

[mmonk]

16. Hope is just a word, not policy. That may be the source of your depressed state.

[Winterblues]

19. You suggest there IS a policy????

I am sorry I don't see it and hope springs eternal, policy lives only through the current cycle.

[mmonk]

25. I don't follow.

I only mentioned policy as a contrast to a word. Hope without proper action doesn't fix much.

[DKRC]

17. I expect Repugs to be Repugs

I wasn't prepared for Obama to mirror the Repugs in so many ways. Why are the Repugs, & their enablers, the most important people in the room to this President? His bipartisanship fetish is not only confounding, but is losing him the base that worked so very hard to get him elected.
:banghead:


K&R

[asdjrocky]

18. It hurts more when someone you think is on your side stabs you in the back.

[lame54]

20. I was proud of my outrage under Bush...

now I'm just confused and deflated

[CrispyQ]

22. When Obama is on the TV, I turn the station - just like with Bush.

We need a leader, not an orator.

[populistdriven]

23. I am hopeful and depressed at the same time

Thanks to Obama for something I never thought I'd experience.

[Goldstein1984]

24. The President still has three years to turn things around

And he's started making the right noises this past few weeks. Time will tell if the words are genuine or an attempt to calm the masses.

It may be that the system is too complex and too corrupt for his ideals to take root. I can't think of a reason why a man who campaigned on issues like closing Guantanamo, ending extraordinary rendition, restoring the Constitution has chosen instead to continue, and even escalate in the case of targeted assassinations, those practices. I don't believe Obama is a liar, I believe he is a purebred surrounding by jackals.

It may be that the reality that is has robbed him of his dreams of what reality should be. I've read on DU that Obama is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers (Giving him the benefit of the doubt); or the Obama is playing checkers while everyone else is playing chess (Denying him the benefit of the doubt). The contradiction apparent in those opposing metaphors may be meaningless. The truth may be that he arrived in Washington expecting to play by the rules of one game, but instead is facing a game with no rules. As someone posted above, he walked into the Oval Office and was handed a drink and a Cuban cigar to smoke while he was briefed on reality.

And I have a solid belief that the Democratic Party is nothing but Republican Party Lite--part of the problem, not a source of solutions. The evil twin of the Democratic Party that brought us the Civil Rights Movement. Yet Obama has not real choice but to operate within a corrupted two-party system.

Nothing is going to change until the flock turns into a pack and dictates terms to the wolves. Power yields nothing without a demand.

[Winterblues]

26. Obama has the bully pulpit but has used it hardly at all.

I agree with much of what yopu say but Obama himself says he will fight for the people. I want to see some of that fight. If there are Democrats that will block Obama's inititives, then call them out on it. Call the Republicans out on their actions as well. Do it as often as possible. He has not been in the public eye for quite some time now and everything is unraveling at breakneck speed. If he truly has an Agenda he needs to stand up for it and push hard for it, not be the wheeler dealer that apparently he is trying to be. Leave that up to others.. Use that Bully Pulpit and use it often or what's the use?

[Goldstein1984]

33. I've been labeled an "Obama Hater" because of my

criticism of his performance to date, but I stand by all of my criticism, which means I agree with you.

I prefer to think he is a good and intelligent man that has been overwhelmed by circumstances. His catering to Wall Street, including his choice of agency appointees, along with his continuation of what I consider illegal wars, war crimes, and the assault on the Constitution, are probably as much about historical inertia as his own choices. I'm hoping the next three years will provide him an opportunity to be the person for whom I voted.

If he continues as he is, I'll be doing all in my power to make him a one-term president. Since I come from an incurably Red state (Alaska), my financial resources and efforts are freed up to direct where I see fit.

[mdmc]

27. not me..

At least Obama is my corporatist..

[tavalon]

51. What in the world does that mean?

If it was a stab at humor, it fell flat. If it's genuine, I am confused.

[PHIMG]

28. Same here. What can we do about this? n/t

[Kickin_Donkey]

29. I feel the same way ...

Even during the darkest days of the * administration, I had hope that it would one day be over and things would change when the Dems got back in the White House.

Now that I see a continuation of Bush policies from such an intelligent, charismatic man who had a MANDATE for change, well ... I'm depressed and disengaging from politics.

[Kablooie]

30. Obama talks good things but virtually none of them have brought positive results.

Our government is old, tired and dysfunctional.

It will take an earthquake like Haiti's in government to restore anything like competency.

[cliffordu]

31. Change your meds

Change you can really believe in

[jonnyblitz]

34. you might want to take your own advice. nt

[cliffordu]

35. Why would that be?

I think the president on the whole is doing what he can in spite of the blue dogs, the true enemy in this fight.

Blaming Obama for everything is what I'd do if I were ignorant of how washington works.

or I was an operative,

Or just someone with an agenda.

[GeorgeGist]

41. I think Obama is a coward ...

and you're his accomplice.

[cliffordu]

43. I will take that as a compliment from a

pustule.


:hi:

Calling people cowards on the innernet is usually the refuge of people too stupid to form a coherent argument. But you keep coming back, ya heah??

[merkins]

32. It's A Punch In The Gut

from a friend you trusted.

[Peacetrain]

37. I do not know which is sadder, your op or the number of recs

[live love laugh]

42. Me either. I guess they'll vote for Palin then. nt

[scheming daemons]

45. Such drama-queen-ness going on here.... Literally, the OP was happier 2001-2008

Think about that statement.


I swear, most of DU is acting like 15-year-old girls who's boyfriend went out with another girl.

[tavalon]

53. If the other girl is Premera or Blue Cross or

Bank of America or Goldman Sachs, then yes, that's exactly what it seems like. We've been cheated on and we're enraged. Eventually, we're going to have to get beyond this to what comes next. We thought Obama was the next big thing and he isn't. So, yeah, we have to move on, but first we're going to have a DU sized conniption. And if you don't care to join in, don't click on these threads, mkay?

[Winterblues]

64. Mkay.

You made me laugh, this is exactly what I am guilty of. A DU size conniption.. I will get over it as I always do and move on. It was just very refreshing to have it put in such stark perspective.

[tavalon]

65. I'm glad I made you laugh

There aren't enough of those around, especially in our winters up here (and yours are even worse). Conniption and conniption fit were two of my favorite southern takeaways.

[emsimon33]

38. It was that hope thing that Obama kept alluding to

Had he just kept his mouth shut and run as a Democrat Bush III, we would not have built up that thing called hope. Darn his fiery pants.

[FiveGoodMen]

39. Under Bush, we could still hope there'd be a light at the end of the tunnel

Now we have nowhere to turn.

That is even more depressing.

[Lorien]

40. That's the truly depressing thing about it; the loss of hope for any significant

change for the better. It does feel like we had a few months of really feeling good about the future, and now it's all come crashing down and we're right back on the same road that BushCo had us on for eight long years. No end to the wars, no help for the environment, schools, or the poor, and a greater concentration of corporate power. :cry:

[scheming daemons]

44. Then... by all means... vote for Palin in '12... since that will obviously make you happier

Since you were "happier" under Bush.

[tavalon]

54. False dichotomy

But thank you for playing. Might you care to think about a viable option number three?

[gleaner]

46. I think a lot of us ...

share your feelings. It is natural. I thought Obama was the light at the end of the tunnel, but he turned out to be more of the same.

I don't feel better off under Obama, but it is not only financial. It is his endorsement of torture, rendition, unlawful detainment, suspension of Habeas Corpus, endorsement of widespread surveillance and wiretapping of US citizens, and his seeming dependence on more and more of Bush's methods that make me so very uneasy. It is like slipping into a real life 1984 and not being able to stop it.

It does have to get better, but how that is going to happen I can't tell you. And maybe that is the thing that makes me feel the worst. I knew with Bush it had too end. But it hasn't. He is still very much a player, still free of consequences for his war crimes and seemingly bonding with Obama. There seems to be no prospect of an end to it, and that is the worst part for me.

[Mind_your_head]

47. Now you know. Obama is not the man that we hoped for.....move on....and don't compromise. n/t

[NoFace]

48. Where are you getting your news from? It helps to go to the source. Also check this map:

There...there...now don't you feel better?
I look at that every day when I wake up and it just brings a big ol' goofy grin to my face...
even if it is from 30+ years ago.



And remember:
No one is perfect...and even ol' Georgie wasn't evil incarnate, as much as it felt a righteous sort of good to believe that he was.

A lot has been accomplished. Not as much as Obama said, but would he have gotten elected if he told the truth?
Nope.
So we'd just be facing another Dem President that exaggerated in order to win office...it happens every election.

[emilyg]

49. k/r

[old mark]

50. I ignored the Republican presidents starting with Reagan - I just

stopped paying any attention to all political news,regarded myself as living in an enemy country and just did my own stuff. I started to do the same in the later Clinton era and for 8 years of W. I am too angry to do that this time, and I can't forget the great good feeling when Obama was elected and how for away that is now. I can't ignore this administration, they are actually offensive to me more so than W was- I got something totally different than what I voted for.


mark

[Odin2005]

52. I feel the same.

[Bonobo]

55. I share your feelings. It is infinitely more depressing. Because he was our best hope. nt

[Joe Fields]

56. I'm glad to see that some here are beginning to see the light.

[vssmith]

58. K/R

[RussBLib]

59. I simply can no longer stand the sound of Obama's voice

At first, it energized me, but now, his repetitive cadence and speech patterns just grate on my nerves. After one full year in office, it truly seems like the only thing he has done is talk, talk, talk. We see very little action on much of anything. It's rather frustrating to get all inspired and hopeful after one speech, only to be dragged down again thru the mud of inactivity.

I'm afraid that the only thing this guy is good at is talking, and that's pretty depressing.

[Uben]

60. And you were expecting?

My god man,can you even conceive of the disaster that Obama inherited? Even conservatives said it would take a decade or more to recover from the disaster that Bush left. While Obama is the "man behind the curtain", he is not a wizard. Remember, half of his "helpers" are republicans, and we have seen what they intend to do to help......say no to everything!

For those of you who had the illusion that Obama would have everything "rosy" by the first state of the union speech, wake up!
I get so fucking tired of democrats (supposedly) complaining that everything hasn't been solved. It won't happen this year either, so go ahead and "pre-bitch" for next year. LOL! "Pre-bitchin" That pretty much describes the republican party!

[Vidar]

62. It's the feeling of despair with no feasible escape.