:Facepalm: Obama On 60 Minutes

[WillyT]

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I think, first and foremost, it was a referendum on the economy. And the party in power was held responsible for an economy that is still underperforming and where a lot of folks are still hurting. I mean, we've got 9.6 percent unemployment. We've got higher than that underemployment. A lot of folks who would like to be working full time can't work full time. Families are struggling paying the bills. People have seen their home values decline all across the country. In some cases, so that they're under water. Their house is worth less than the cost of their mortgage.

And so, people I think expect that we would have made more progress than we have on the economic front. And I think that was uppermost on people's minds.

I do think that what was also true was that there are a lot of folks in this country who voted for me, hoping that we were gonna be able to get Washington to work again. And what they've seen over the last two years is a lot of partisan bickering. A lot of the same chronic problems that we've seen in Washington over the last several decades now. And that frustrated them. And I think they rightly said, "Okay, President Obama, you said you were gonna do something about this. We haven't seen enough change in Washington." And so in both those instances, I think people rightly said, "You're the President, you committed and promised that we would see changes. We haven't seen as many changes as we'd like. And we're gonna hold you accountable for it."

Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/07/60minutes/main7032276.shtml

Yeah... that's why I voted for you... to bring civility to Washington D.C... NOT!!!

Somebody on this site, many months ago, spoke of "the right guy but the wrong time".

Sounds exactly right.

:shrug:

[TheWraith]

1. If you expected a hate-filled Democratic equivalent of Bush, you voted wrong.

That has been kind of apparent for a long time.

[WillyT]

3. No... I Expected Him To Kick Some Republican Ass !!!

I expected him to be smart enough to know when the knives were drawn, and to act accordingly.

I expected him to put (the political equivalent of) the FEAR OF GOD into the powers that be.

Many presidents before him have, why not him?

:shrug:

[TheWraith]

8. The "fear of God"?

:eyes:

And what does that consist of?

How many votes does that add in the Senate? Is it like a circumstance bonus in a video game, +3 for being extra super duper angry?

[WillyT]

12. Oh I Don't Know... LBJ, Truman, FDR, Teddy R...

Broke up monopolies, twisted arms, got shit done...

Just to name a few.

:shrug:

[Nite Owl]

5. Actually I just thought I voted for a Democrat

you know, one that would stand up for democratic principles not one who would cave to the GOP even when they were wrong just because he thought the right would be friends with him then and say nice things about him. No matter how much he caves they will call him too partisan!

[TheWraith]

7. Yeah, that exaggerated, obnoxious nonsense is EXACTLY what Obama thinks.

I mean, it's not like he continuously fought unprecedented levels of Republican obstruction to create healthcare reform, Wall Street reform, an end to the war in Iraq, and 50 other things. :sarcasm:

Fact of the matter is: a lot of people around here wanted a far-left Bush clone who would do everything their way, and fuck all the other 80% of the country who didn't like autocratic leadership.

[WillyT]

15. Yeah... And Where Was That 80% Last Tuesday ???

:shrug:

[WillyT]

18. Yeah... And Where Was That 80% Last Tuesday ???

:shrug:

[Nite Owl]

19. Health' insurance' reform

and the bankers weren't punished they were rewarded. There are still tens of thousands of troops in Iraq. We voted for someone who was supposed to stand up for us, all of us and the people didn't think so last Tuesday did they?
How much work did you do this election cycle or did you do all your work sitting here criticizing those who did get out there and actually talk to voters? People were not happy with him.

[de novo]

2. You are right. He was post-partisan and post-racsism before the counrty

was ready.

[bigtree]

4. politicians can always find time to fight and argue. That's what we do outside of government

In fact, our political system and legislature provides the opportunity to either argue or compromise. There's not much room for dictating one point of view or the other. Voters send legislators to Congress to represent their particular pov, but the disparate composition of our national legislature is representative of the myriad of diverse opinions from around the nation about the direction and solutions to the problems and challenges we face.

Voters may well expect absolute attention to their concerns, but it's still like shouting in a crowd if all they do is argue and fight. Hell, we can do that out here in the street. Government is meant to bring us together where we're able. It's an instrument of our collective conscience. That's no guarantee that your ideals will prevail. It's an opportunity.

Now, voters have divided our legislature between parties to a greater extent than when the President took office. That makes the challenge of resolving the differences between legislators that much harder, and much harder for our ideals to prevail. But, it doesn't change the basic premise of our democracy which intends for Americans to work together to resolve our nation's challenges.

I'm encouraged that, as the President proceeds with his own partisan agenda, he's mindful he represents more than his own perspective in his national office. That's something that voters persistently insist they want from their elected officials. It makes sense to echo that sentiment as he presses forward. It makes even more sense to contrast his intention to cooperate against the republicans' obstinacy.

[NYC Liberal]

6. Well that's why I voted for him.

I was sick of Bush and the Republicans not just because of their horrible policies, but also because of the way they governed. And a lot of other people were too.

I did not vote for a liberal Bush.

[Rex]

9. You can compromise as Rome burns all ya want....

it is still going down in flames.

[laughingliberal]

14. +1000 nt

[SidDithers]

10. Unrec...nt

Sid

[cottonseed]

11. You get a hernia there? It's one part of a lengthy interview dude. Chill out.

Don't worry, you've got another 2 years to whine about him until the next election.

[USArmyParatrooper]

16. That makes a total of 6 more years of whining. nt

[HughMoran]

13. I think Obama is a different person

than you think he is.

[WillyT]

17. Sir, That Is CRYSTAL Clear Now

Thanks for the reminder.

[donheld]

20. Yes, he's much different than the Obama that ran for President.

The guy who ran for president seemed to have a strong backbone. This guy doesn't