Paul Krugman: President Obama is not prepared to deal with the world as he finds it.

[Better Believe It]

The World as He Finds It
By PAUL KRUGMAN
November 14, 2010

The obvious point is the contrast between the administration’s current whipped-dog demeanor and Mr. Obama’s soaring rhetoric as a candidate. How did we get from “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” to here?

But the bitter irony goes deeper than that: the main reason Mr. Obama finds himself in this situation is that two years ago he was not, in fact, prepared to deal with the world as he was going to find it. And it seems as if he still isn’t.

In retrospect, the roots of current Democratic despond go all the way back to the way Mr. Obama ran for president. Again and again, he defined America’s problem as one of process, not substance — we were in trouble not because we had been governed by people with the wrong ideas, but because partisan divisions and politics as usual had prevented men and women of good will from coming together to solve our problems. And he promised to transcend those partisan divisions.

Right at the beginning of his administration, what Mr. Obama needed to do, above all, was fight for an economic plan commensurate with the scale of the crisis. Instead, he negotiated with himself before he ever got around to negotiating with Congress, proposing a plan that was clearly, grossly inadequate — then allowed that plan to be scaled back even further without protest. And the failure to act forcefully on the economy, more than anything else, accounts for the midterm “shellacking.”

Even given the economy’s troubles, however, the administration’s efforts to limit the political damage were amazingly weak. There were no catchy slogans, no clear statements of principle; the administration’s political messaging was not so much ineffective as invisible. How many voters even noticed the ever-changing campaign themes — does anyone remember the “Summer of Recovery” — that were rolled out as catastrophe loomed?

Read the full article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/opinion/15krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[madrchsod]

1. another jimmy carter?

[sufrommich]

8. My biggest fear. It's like watching the whole scenario all

over again.

[Safetykitten]

23. Kinda looking like it. Carter the doormat to a republican future.

I don't care what people say. I don't care what Carter is talking about now. He was a suck president, perceived as weak and inefectual.

[fasttense]

70. Carter was a perfectly good President until Ronnie Raygun bribed the Iranian terrorists.

In fact, people made fun of Ronnie Raygun because of his silly star-wars ideas (hence the nickname). He was seriously down in the polls and would have lost except for the hostage situation in Iran.

Up until then, everyone thought Carter was just fine and dandy - mostly. This thing about Carter being a bad leader didn't start until Ronnie Raygun started slinging the mud and playing footsies with the Iranian Terrorists.

Don't buy the Spin, fight the propaganda, don't be hypnotized by the chattering of idiots.

[mdmc]

71. 1

[Enthusiast]

74. Plus one. I watched it unfold

before my eyes. It was just as you say.

[madokie]

79. Sure was

[Enthusiast]

73. The right wing controlled media

characterized Carter as weak. And the media did this while candidate Reagan talked tough as if he were going to declare war of Iran if they did not release the hostages. The contrast was clear. I was a young man at the time but I could see right through it. Much like the misinformation we see in the media today, it was effective.

[Hawkowl]

55. Jimmy Carter was much, much tougher

Carter made no bones about where he stood. He had the policies, he just didn't have the charisma or charm of Obama. Now if we could merge the two...

[florida08]

76. that's what I was going to say.

People forget how he reduce our oil dependency. Put solar panels on the WH that Reagan took off. He knew where he stood and did not waver.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Obama is ready for the Hail Mary pass.

So, why doesn't he appoint Krugman to a cabinet position?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. IFF (in math terms) he recognizes the problem,

and shifts his approach, he can still succeed. But, this weekend's and last week's stories, mostly coming out of the White House itself appear so clueless, that they make me worry about their ability to finish the last two years.

[Greyhound]

4. K&Rugman. Once again he nails it.

"...he defined America’s problem as one of process, not substance — we were in trouble not because we had been governed by people with the wrong ideas, but because partisan divisions and politics as usual had prevented men and women of good will from coming together to solve our problems."

And that is because he still clings to those wrong ideas himself. For 30 years we have been forced to subsidize them as they bleed this nation dry, and he sees no problem with that.

:kick: & R

[Better Believe It]

9. Where did President Obama learn that crap .... at Harvard?

And now he expects us to buy it?

We're smarter than that.

[Greyhound]

15. Does a fish know what water tastes like?

I think one of our problems is the ubiquitous assumption that because he is black he is one of us.

Remember the Citigroup memo on the Plutonomy? Look at who his 'friends' are. He is of the parasites and fiercely defends them at every opportunity.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

28. ask northern Gulf of Mexico Crabs

I am SURE they taste something.

[closeupready]

18. From Larry Summmers maybe? I mean, who knows.

n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Make way under the bus

[bigtree]

6. funny

I think many of his critics are the ones navel-gazing.

[sufrommich]

10. Not on this issue they're not. nt

[leftstreet]

7. K&R

a good read

[UrbScotty]

11. Utter bullcrap. He was more prepared than almost any President in decades.

I can't believe Krugman would say this - or that so many DUers would agree.

[sufrommich]

12. How so? nt

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

14. Prepared for what?

Do you think the OP is about his resume? It isn't.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

29. to reach over, then pick up his fingers off the floor

hoping to have them re-attached before he reached over to the GOP the next time.

[alterfurz]

34. "Confucius say...

...Do not extend remaining intact hand across aisle."

[closeupready]

19. "More prepared than almost any President in decades" - prepared for what?????

:shrug:

[ProSense]

21. Prepared to deliver

a victory for America's soul.

[Javaman]

82. Yeah, but that soul is still on life support...

my deductable and co pay are about to go up.

We still have 50 million with no health care insurance.

delievered on what?

[ProudDad]

103. "Victory" for health insurance mafia and Big PhRMA... (n/t)

[Hawkowl]

56. He had ZERO executive experience

And I'm not just talking top level exec experience. Aside from being a candidate always running for office.

[grendelsd]

88. You nailed it!

Bush had 40 something freaking years of 'executive experience' and left us in such great shape. I am so tired of people bringing up 'executive experience'. What like Microsoft, GM, HP...?

MBA's are destroying everything that made this country great. Obama simply lacks the sociopathy that people like Cheney use to be successful and, apparently, that is the only way one can govern this country.

Sad, really, that great plans and execution can not succeed without vitriol and venom.

[Hawkowl]

93. Missed the point

"Executive" meaning how to manage a department, a business, a municipality etc. I wasn't referring to being a "businessman". I don't think Obama was even a crew leader at McDonalds. Bush had experience all right--all miserable failures. It is quite apparent that Obama's lack of supervisory/management experience and his steadfast refusal to utilize the power of the office, is crippling his presidency. I don't think one must be a sociopath to be a successful leader, but one must have a firm grasp of oneself, goals, duty, and an ability to put everyone in their place.

[ProudDad]

104. Good point...

If he is Progressive (which I doubt), he still didn't have any experience at throwing his weight around, especially against such obvious monomaniacal fucks as Summers, Gates and the Generals...

At a minimum, he's been a victim (we've been victims) of his insecurity in the face of the blind "certainty" of the forces of Evil...

[Bluebear]

63. lol

[mdmc]

72. woop

"...he defined America’s problem as one of process, not substance — we were in trouble not because we had been governed by people with the wrong ideas, but because partisan divisions and politics as usual had prevented men and women of good will from coming together to solve our problems."

[Enthusiast]

75. Maybe he was prepared on a personal level.

But the choice of those that surrounded him - Summers, Geithner, Salazar, Holder, Duncan and Emanual, to name a few, eroded confidence that Obama was prepared. Many of us that voted for President Obama had the utmost confidence in his preparation when he took office.

[Javaman]

81. Crickets...nt

[theoldman]

13. I think Krugman is correct on this one.

I plan to mail a copy of the web site to my friends. Perhaps we all need to re-evaluate ourselves to see if we make the same mistakes that Obama has made. I prefer to man up like SOS Clinton and have people's respect.

[ProSense]

16. Yes, the President

is utterly clueless about the ways of the world.

"U.S. achieves biggest one-year deficit reduction in American history"

Trade Deficit in U.S. Shrinks as Exports Climb to Two-Year High

Big Win for the Obama Administration

Netanyahu agrees to Obama plan of 90 day settlement freeze.

What the hell was anyone thinking when they voted for this guy?

It would have been better if Krugman used the piece to hammer the point home about the tax cuts and why the Republicans' claims are preposterous. He also could have, like Robert Reich did, offer solutions or state why they should expire.

Krugman seems intent of focusing on the President and his message. In fact, it seems most of the commentary from the left does this. Where is the left apparatus for helping to get the message out? On the right, every commentary from David Brooks to the WSJ is pushing the Republicans' message.

Krugman doesn't take any of this into consideration as apparent by his statement yesterday that the RW jumped on and he had to clarify.

It's as if everyone on the left is oblivious to the media's capacity to distort and block the President's message. Stop talking about how he needs to get the message out and help, especially if you're so vested in the outcome.

This is the current state: RW media hammering their message home; left claiming not to know what the message is.

Why is Krugman writing a commentary about the HuffPo piece that was thoroughly rehashed and debunked? The President made a couple of statements since then that completely contradicts the HuffPo claim and reaffirmed his position about not extending the tax cuts.

Also, Krugman's title focused on the statement by Axelrod that was spun in the HuffPo piece as relevant to the lame duck session. He is perpetuating a false notion that House Republicans are a factor. They are not.

This is a huge country and the media has a significant advantage.

I just wonder why we need a commentary every week about the President's message from Herbert, Krugman and Rich? Every week I read these pieces and I find the criticisms about policy sometimes valid, sometimes not, but the harping on the President not getting his message out is tiresome. Again, where is the apparatus? It cannot be just the President and a couple of spokespeople.

Meanwhile, the WSJ is writing editorials lauding Sarah Palin and John Boehner. They did the same during the Bush administration.

The point is not about criticism. Krugman is mostly criticism, and often spot on. The problem I have is the noise about messaging.

[sufrommich]

24. This isn't about the media. Obama did very well with the media

during the primaries. Obama seems not to know how to negotiate with the republicans from a position of power. The tax cuts are a perfect example.

[Hardrada]

39. The tax cuts and the SS stance will prove once and for all

who Obama is working for. We shall see.

[ProudDad]

106. ...

Obama BRIBES Israel -- $1,000,000,000 per month for 90 day "freeze" on WEST BANK Settlements ONLY...
big whoop! :eyes:

It would have been better if Krugman used the piece to hammer the point home about the tax cuts and why the Republicans' claims are preposterous. He also could have, like Robert Reich did, offer solutions or state why they should expire.

Because he was dealing with the basic cause for Obama's timidity...

Krugman seems intent of focusing on the President and his message. In fact, it seems most of the commentary from the left does this. Where is the left apparatus for helping to get the message out? On the right, every commentary from David Brooks to the WSJ is pushing the Republicans' message.

The "left" was eviscerated in the early 1930s and finally killed in the "red scare" of the 50s. What "left apparatus"? The only media apparatus left is the megaphone of the Empire.


It's as if everyone on the left is oblivious to the media's capacity to distort and block the President's message. Stop talking about how he needs to get the message out and help, especially if you're so vested in the outcome.

If Obama was a person of the left, his insecurity and timidity have hamstrung his potential. I happen to believe that by any reasonable definition he is NOT "left" but solidly pro-capitalist near right.

Why is Krugman writing a commentary about the HuffPo piece that was thoroughly rehashed and debunked? The President made a couple of statements since then that completely contradicts the HuffPo claim and reaffirmed his position about not extending the tax cuts.

Uh, maybe because he's reneged on EVERY substantial promise he's implied?

This is a huge country and the media has a significant advantage.

That is true. The corporate media that supported him every way they could in 2008 (and are reaping the benefits in their tax bills) have a significant advantage.

[Vincardog]

17. And then there’s the tax-cut issue. Mr. Obama could and should be hammering Republicans for trying t

And then there’s the tax-cut issue. Mr. Obama could and should be hammering Republicans for trying to hold the middle class hostage to secure tax cuts for the wealthy. He could be pointing out that making the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy permanent is a huge budget issue — over the next 75 years it would cost as much as the entire Social Security shortfall. Instead, however, he is once again negotiating with himself, long before he actually gets to the table with the G.O.P.

Here’s the thing: Mr. Obama still has immense power, if he chooses to use it. At home, he has the veto pen, control of the Senate and the bully pulpit. He still has substantial executive authority to act on things like mortgage relief — there are billions of dollars not yet spent, not to mention the enormous leverage the government has via its ownership of Fannie and Freddie. Abroad, he still leads the world’s greatest economic power — and one area where he surely would get bipartisan support would be taking a tougher stand on China and other international bad actors.

But none of this will matter unless the president can find it within himself to use his power, to actually take a stand. And the signs aren’t good.

[Gin]

20. the headline makes the President seem delusional.....during the

campaign he was treated like a savior...maybe he fell for his own hype...

[Vincardog]

25. No WE were the Delusional ones. Obama just allowed us to project OUR DESIRED MOTIVES onto him

IT is not as if HE said "If elected I will end DADT in my first year or anything,
Nor did he say he would veto any health care bill that did not contain a robust single payer plan.

[BlueIris]

67. Good point. This goes largely unrecognized by posters here.

As I've admitted before, I own the fact that I chose to vote for him despite acknowledging he had not provided any kind of platform, nor had he articulated any specific goals or proposals for our country's problems. (Well, unless you count telling people he would support a Restore the Americans With Disabilities Act once in office, which is one of the things I used to rationalize my Obama votes.) I am so angry with myself for ignoring my serious issues with his lack of a plan, all in the name of party loyalty and perceived progressive action.

[Better Believe It]

22. It's all about class. Understanding that might help to explain Obama's methods and policies.

[Selatius]

62. His mortgage relief plan is turning into an absolute disaster. Nobody is getting the help they need.

The last I heard the program saved about 250,000 homes from being foreclosed upon, but this is in the same period where there were over 3,000,000 homes logged as having fallen into foreclosure. This isn't working at all; it's too little too late.

[xiamiam]

95. now those milllions hoping for help from the loan modification program

are months and months behind and the banks are going to pull the trigger..get ready, the next foreclosure wave is about to hit..the next 6 months will make the last few years of foreclosures seem like a trip to the movies

[ProudDad]

107. B.b.b.but if we don't pay the bankster's bonuses

they'll go work for some other bank!!! :sarcasm:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

26. K&R

[xchrom]

27. Recommend

[cliffordu]

30. I hate it when that fucker plagiarizes me.

I used 'bitter irony' in a piece just the other day.

[Jakes Progress]

31. K&R Not ready and not a quick learner.

And not able to tell good advice from bad.

I wouldn't be as disappointed if he tried. He seems like he thinks getting elected was all he needed. He shouldn't have applied if he couldn't do the job. He should recognize his deficiencies and start improving. It's not like his failure affects only him.

[creon]

91. Everyone failed

Washington failed.
The entire political class failed: Democrats in Congress; the WH; the commentariat; the GOP; etc. The entire class failed.

There was a job to do and it was not done.

The two priorities: the economy and financial reform.

There had to be real job creation and real and effective regulation of finance. Not done.

I practice triage. Those two problems came first. Tackle those two; then do something about the rest.


Is Obama at fault? So is everyone else in Washington.

[Jakes Progress]

113. No argument here.

We have thee branches of government. All three are inept or corrupt or both.

[creon]

114. true

I vote in favor of incompetent.
Mostly due to an absense of political and moral courage on the part of all three branches.

I would not object to people saying the govt is corrupt.

[katty]

32. yep, too much processing at the expense of focus on the substance

of immediate issues.

[northernlights]

33. I still say he's getting exactly what he wants.

His surprise and despondency are at not being able to fool much of anyone anymore. That's what happens when you believe your own bullshit.

[Hydra]

38. ^ This

We know President Obama is perfectly capable of whatever needs doing...but he seems to think that he can do what the 1%ers want and sell it to us, and we're not going to be mad about it.

That might have worked during the Reagan era. Too many people hurting too much and have too little left to steal means that they aren't buying it.

[deaniac21]

35. .

[creon]

36. This is the result

This is the sort of thing that happens when you do not get results.

And, the Congress and The WH did not get the job done. It was not just Obama.

It was Congress; the field of economics; the commentariat. And, most of everyone else in Washington. Failure all round.


But, failure is an orphan. So, Obama carries the can.

And, when you fail, people will come after you. It is human nature.

[onethatcares]

37. so what do WE do now?

if the end is here and there's not a thing that is going to happen to benefit the average American citizen that's working two part time jobs if they're lucky, or holding on to what they barely have while robbing peter to pay paul to keep the lights on and the insurance paid while putting 3.00 a gallon gas in their cars to take their kids to underfunded public schools where they aren't taught science and math enough to keep up with the rest of the world.

Gauddddammmmmit, what about us. Aside from Alan Grayson, Dennis Kucinich, and who, is going to make this country work for the rest of us that don't have retirement plans or drive mercedes benz automobiles?

I mean, hell,two years ago I was ready for CHANGE, I was tired of WAR, I was tired of treading water and slowly sinking as everything increased in price around me. I wonder where the idea that we all voted for ended.

[Better Believe It]

40. Organize and not sit around and wait for the Democratic Party to do something.

That's the only way we have ever won big and progressive changes here or for that matter anywhere in the world.

Organize and fight for your rights.

[Mimosa]

60. We organise, we email, we make calls but they do what they intended to do anyway.

Obama had a mandate going in to help us change things. Obama met with health insurance, hospital and pharma CEOs and their reps for months in early 2009. Physicians lobbying for a workable sensible Single payer Plan -which included the Obama's personal family doctor of 20+ years- could not get a meeting to discuss anything with the president.

It appeared the fix was in. :(

[Selatius]

61. You vote again for Obama in 2012.

He may be incompetent, even catastrophically incompetent, at cutting deals with Congress, but he can't possibly be any worse than Sarah Palin or another George W. Bush clone. This is what we've come to, electing the lesser of two bad scenarios.

[digidigido]

64. I have voted Democratic in every election since 1968

After this epic fail, I'm starting to consider a 3rd party. If the Democratic party is going to keep nominating
Centrist Republicans, all we are doing is expressing Rove's desire. A permanent Republican Majority.

[Javaman]

84. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9461954

[somone]

41. Defect or Feature? There's something wrong with Obama's vehicle

It can only signal right turns, and it can only make right turns. WTF.

[Subdivisions]

42. '...we're going to get the real solution...death panels and sales taxes.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xjuVRXzl2E

"Some years down the pike, we're going to get the real solution, which is going to be a combination of death panels and sales taxes. It's going to be that we're actually going to take Medicare under control, and we're going to have to get some additional revenue, probably from a VAT. But it's not going to happen now." - Paul Krugman



What does he mean by this and how does it help in squashing the "death panels" meme the rightwing was squawking about?

[StarsInHerHair]

54. death panels already exist in Texas, but wholesale pricing is

the real solution for Medicare, as well as increasing competition for medical procedures here in the U.S. A vat would be a bad idea-the working class would have to put food back on the store shelf-moreso than they already do now. Raising the cap on Social Security taxes, putting in maximum wage laws & introducing them publicly on the House Floor would help. Use the TPs to slice down the welfare for the corporations.

[hay rick]

43. K&R

[politicalmajority]

44. I'd Rather See Obama Submit His Resignation Today Than See Him Lose in 2012.

Howard Dean for President in 2012!

[BlueIris]

69. Sadly, this is the case for me as well.

More and more, I think this is the only reasonable course of action if he doesn't want to see the Democrats get wiped out in '12. Of course, we're not dealing with a reasonable person here, so I have little hope this could happen.

Anybody But Obama in 2012!

[amborin]

45. K&R

[WoodyM]

46. As one who grew up in the Great Depression

and remember the family and neighbors gathering around the radio listening to Franklin D Roosevelt inform the nation in his fireside chats what was going on.

The times when Obama was elected called for another FDR. Obama could have been that person. He could have had the republicans wandering the wilderness for forty years if he just would have said what he was for and fought for it.

It my fervent hope that there is a true democrat that will fight for democrat principles who will primary him in 2012.

[BlueIris]

68. I sincerely doubt Obama could have been that person.

To have been that person, he would have had to have, you know, cared about fixing these problems, instead of caring only about protecting his ego (and his secrets.)

FDR was a leader; Obama is a figurehead.

[sufrommich]

83. What "secrets"? nt

[jwirr]

47. Maybe we should have seen this coming if we would have listened

closer to his speech at the Democratic Convention that turned us all toward him. The America he described in that speech was idealist to the point that it was the place that had allowed him to get to where he is. It was full of hope and had very little to say about the failures of America. Especially when many of us were already aware of the problems we faced during the booooosh years. I don't think he saw those problems because the system was working for him and most of the people he was friends with. We loved him because he knew the America we wanted to see but we did not understand that he did not see the problems. He did not see how deep the hole was. Maybe still doesn't. All of his policy seems to be aimed at rebuilding the same system that has failed and not a new New Deal. Then he surrounded himself with people who are as blind to the problems as he is. Since JFK we have had problems with presidents who are too isolated and this one is no difference. Yes, he gets out but does he really listen to the people or does he just talk to them?

Mr. President we need you to realize that the left wing you seem to ignore is on to something big. Or maybe you will just choose to give up on that change you were talking about?

[Skittles]

50. I said that, back then

REALLY LISTEN to what he is saying - very few people really paid attention

[StarsInHerHair]

53. was it ever his ideas, his words-or was it just speech writers?

how much of his campaign speeches were genuinely Obama's ideas & principles? I keep thinking back & wondering over this.

[QC]

87. A lot of people around here saw it all coming,

but most got hounded off the site for saying so.

[bertman]

48. A HUGE REC and a kick for the KRUG MAN. For more detail on this,

go see the movie INSIDE JOB. It's a must-see. This is a Wall Street government, as one of the interviewees states. No way around it. And Obama is their man. Not ours.

[Skittles]

49. absolutely dead on

[highplainsdem]

51. K&R

[unkachuck]

52. Mr. Krugman is amazingly correct....n/t

[emilyg]

57. Big k/r

[jonathan_seer]

58. We'll know all is truly lost if something Wanda Sykes said at a Press Roast dinner comes to pass

She said that after he was elected, She was proud to be able to say "the first Black President" that is unless he screws up - then it'll be what's up with the half-white guy, who voted for the mulatto....

[jonathan_seer]

59. We'll know all is truly lost if something Wanda Sykes said at a Press Roast dinner comes to pass

She said that after he was elected, She was proud to be able to say "the first Black President" that is unless he screws up - then it'll be what's up with the half-white guy, who voted for the mulatto....

Wanda Sykes video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAyfoMaSpuE&feature=related

[Democat]

65. Great piece by Krugman, too bad for Democrats.

Obama seems to enjoy being president without having any interest in being a leader. I hope he can change, but there isn't much time left before 2012.

[BlueIris]

66. I disagree with Krugman about most things, but this is spot on.

From what I've seen, Obama has no concept of reality. What little gets through to him, (if any does, which I doubt) is spoon fed to him from a very tight knit group of advisors who know exactly how much reality his fragile ego can handle, which is almost none.

In terms of what I see as the president's grasp of the outside world overall, I am almost as uncomfortable having this man's finger on the button as I was Bush's. (Hey, I wrote almost; don't be deleting my comment because you wrongly believe I compared Obama's administration to Bush's overall, because I did not and have not.) This is simply a man who cannot cope with what is actually happening in this country, let alone provide constructive solutions for our problems.

[MannyGoldstein]

77. I disagree, sorry

The only reasonable conclusion is that he's getting exactly the results that he wants. He's using the Republican intransigence to end up where he wants to be. Obama knows what's going on, and he's coping well.

I hope I'm wrong, and that there's a more-plausible explanation, but nothing else makes sense. Why else would the greatest orator of our time go mute since his inauguration?

Nobody hires the DLC to run Washington, or hires Simpson and Bowles to run a "Deficit Commission", if they want to help Working Americans. It'd be like hiring Dick Cheney to run a preschool.

[Klingon]

90. Don't forget about keeping Bernake and Geithner

Two guys who should long have been in court, explaining how they brought about the Great Recession.

Obama is not weak. He prefers to be perceived as weak rather than as the sell out that he is.

Bush did the same. He held the book upside-down to be perceived as an illiterate rather than be fired for reading goat stories after being told that the country is under attack.

People are falling for the "weak" disguise now as they fell for the "illiterate" disguise then.

[Edweird]

97. Yep.

[The Uncola]

78. Krugman, as always..

.. cuts through the BS and lays it out. Lots of other thoughts on this thread. Anything I could add has already been said better than I could have.

[davidwparker]

80. Right. This is why I argue for a primary. If it were a case

of dropping the Lincoln book and picking up one on FDR, that is one matter. But, after 2 years of watching, he is one who avoids confrontation. That is just how he is wired.

As you cannot get blood from a turnip, you cannot get "fight" from Obama. And, this is why in 2012, the party needs to be given the opportunity to take a second look.

In a separate OP, there was something like, "is Obama another Carter?". Personally, Carter was good, but he was set up (October Surprise). I think Obama's legacy will be worse than Carters. And, I do not want the consequences of that to be 3+ terms of an (R) as it was in the aftermath of Carter.

... word to the wise (or my $0.02)

[florida08]

85. have to agree as well

the public sees all this money being printed and spent but not helping Main St as much as it's helping Wall St. They say jobs are always the last to come forth. I don't buy it. Obama talked about jobs for remaking our infrastructure that is crumbling around us. What happened to that idea? We knew Obama wasn't a liberal but he certainly stated progressive ideas. Joe the plumber went ballistic over the share the wealth comment.

Obama spoke as a statesman during the campaign. Refreshing after all those Bushisms, but he was saying something that Bush never did. It was equality. Suddenly we felt we were part of the country again after being ignored for 8 years. I didn't imagine that it was there. As we watched NOLA dying in front of our eyes it was such a relief to hear suddenly that we did matter.

Now what Obama thought was going to happen and what reality has shown to happen are 2 different things. His pragmatic approach doesn't serve him well. He's not commanding respect from his own party. He's allowed his base and himself to be slandered. He invokes Reagan. It's like Bill Maher said. He and some of the democrats are constantly looking at the girl across the room that's never going to bed with them. Our congressmen spend a lot of time defending him. No drama Obama certainly has become his trademark.

Not to negate the good he's done. It's there. But is it over? Krugman points out the obvious. "He could do uplift — but could he fight?" Ali talked the talk but he walked the walk. He promised to roll back the policies of the past administration but slowly he's resuming them. He's pushed back the Afghanistan deadline..in the middle of the worse economy in our lifetime. If he feels defeated he has to know that's exactly how we feel. Take off the gloves Mr. President..at this point what have you got to lose? The pictures of his dancing in Mumbai gave me a shiver. Shades of Bush in Africa.

[meow mix]

86. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” is a phase that now brings puke into my mouth

WTF

[kentuck]

89. We don't have a President who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner...

We have a Nobel Peace Prize winner who is a President?

[joeybee12]

92. Remember their campaign against foreign money paying for Repukes ads?

That had traction, and they dropped it in a week. ADD?

[Name removed]

94. Deleted message

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

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

96. Please don't call him Barry. It reeks of the RW.

[ProudDad]

108. That's what he called himself...

:shrug:

I don't understand pandering to such thin skinned folk here at DU...

[treestar]

98. Like because he failed to appoint this Krugman guy to run the world?

Why doesn't Krugman get himself elected President then? Why sit back and expect others to do it for him?

[Beacool]

99. Well, what can one say..................

Goodness knows many people warned against nominating someone whose main qualifier for the job was his ability to deliver a good speech. IMO, and that of millions of others, was that Obama should have stayed in the Senate and learned the ropes there before deciding that he was ready to run the largest economy in the world. What had he really DONE? He had been a community activist, a state senator who had voted present more than anyone in his class and he barely had been in the US senate 18 months before he decided that he was ready to run for the presidency. Oh, I forgot, he was also a part time lecturer at the University of Chicago.

Forward two years later, and as his favorite former pastor used to say, the chickens are coming home to roost. Many of his supporters are disappointed, his opponents are angry and the Democrats who turned blue in the face warning you that he wasn't ready for the job are now screaming: WE TOLD YOU SO!!!

:shrug:

[florida08]

100. yes

I do feel he's way in over his head

[Better Believe It]

101. Obama is performing his job well. Obama is doing exactly what he was trained and educated to do.

But "they" will be all but done with him after he approves stage 1 of their austerity plan of massive government cuts in so-called entitlement programs, government parolls, wages and benefits and tax increases for working people as presented in the first deficit commission report.

And who is they? Well, it isn't us.

Do I need to draw a picture?

[Poll_Blind]

102. Holy...! That is one hell of an image- is that Markel and Sarkozy up front with...

...Obama? The entire world is shakled to this right now, that's for sure!

PB

[Better Believe It]

105. Yup. End of story.

[mfcorey1]

109. El toro poo poo to this entire article by Krugman. I won't be sucked into the hate Obama campaign.

[ProudDad]

111. It's amazing how many people can't recognize the difference

between criticism and hate...

Get a grip!

[ProudDad]

110. Krugman is an economist after all and does have one major blind spot

He believes in capitalism and the industrial growth paradigm...

That's all they teach in capitalism schools--uh, economics classes...

What we REALLY need is to prepare for the coming crisis of Energy Depletion, Catastrophic Global Climate Destabilization and Economic Collapse...

Power down - NOW!

Utilize what resources are available to re-create sustainable, local economies and transportation modalities (cars and airplanes are NOT sustainable)...

Slash war spending, cut all subsidies to polluting and socially detrimental industries, use the money to create Credit Exchanges in every city and town and bio-region in order to finance (with NO interest) sustainable local economic development...

Let the Earth heal!

Don't keep feeding the same system that's got us here and that will destroy the Earth as a viable habitat for short-term profit...

www.transistionus.org

[zentrum]

112. AS long as Obama frames...

..the problem s being between Left and Right, he will fail. We will all fail. It's no longer Left vs. Right. It's Poor vs. Rich. Period.
He has to stop asking the poor to understand, listen to and compromise with the Rich.
By poor I include the Middle Class.

[olegramps]

115. The Working Class lost the war when they deserted the unions.

The situation will have to become absolutely desperate before the tide will change. Every thing that has happened to the working class was brought on by their own greed and ignorance. Every one of the problems that faces the American worker, outsourcing, inequitable taxes, loss of pensions and no health care can be attributed to their lack of actual representation in congress.

A unionized working class has the power to elect representatives that respect their issues and has the power to force their represent ives to pass pro-labor legislation. The situation is obvious in that corporations have control of congress and the only effective solution for equal access by working citizens is to elect representatives that are not in the pocket of multi-billion corporations.

It really hurts me when I see faithful union members having to suffer because of the abject ignorance of their fellow workers who bought the management propaganda that unions were their enemy and management would take good care of them.

[w4rma]

116. Unions have to look after one another, also. Unions need to act in unity. (nt)