8 years of suffering under Barack Obama

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

The sentence I hear most from well-meaning, conservative friends since President Trump’s election is this: “We suffered 8 years under Barack Obama.”

Fair enough. Let’s take a look.

The day Obama took office, the Dow closed at 7,949 points. Eight years later, the Dow had almost tripled.

General Motors and Chrysler were on the brink of bankruptcy, with Ford not far behind, and their failure, along with their supply chains, would have meant the loss of millions of jobs. Obama pushed through a controversial, $8o billion bailout to save the car industry. The U.S. car industry survived, started making money again, and the entire $80 billion was paid back, with interest.

While we remain vulnerable to lone-wolf attacks, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully executed a mass attack here since 9/11.

Obama ordered the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.

He drew down the number of troops from 180,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan to just 15,000, and increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He launched a program called Opening Doors which, since 2010, has led to a 47 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans.

He set a record 73 straight months of private-sector job growth.

Due to Obama’s regulatory policies, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 12%, production of renewable energy more than doubled, and our dependence on foreign oil was cut in half.

He signed The Lilly Ledbetter Act, making it easier for women to sue employers for unequal pay.

His Omnibus Public Lands Management Act designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness, creating thousands of miles of trails and protecting over 1,000 miles of rivers.

He reduced the federal deficit from 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2016.

For all the inadequacies of the Affordable Care Act, we seem to have forgotten that, before the ACA, you could be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition and kids could not stay on their parents’ policies up to age 26.

Obama approved a $14.5 billion system to rebuild the levees in New Orleans.

All this, even as our own Mitch McConnell famously asserted that his singular mission would be to block anything President Obama tried to do.

Even more at https://tericarter.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/8-years-of-suffering-under-obama/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Suffering? They don't know the meaning of the word. n/t

[lagomorph777]

70. I can see why they were suffering. Very humiliating experience, when you juxtapose that

against the record of Junior Bush.

[AJT]

2. From a decent man to a garbage can.

The trumpies spew conspiracy theories, they have nothing else.

[Initech]

4. Garbage can? This is a straight up dumpster fire.

Burning some foul smelling manure in it.

[corbettkroehler]

25. Beautifully Put!

My, oh my, do I miss PBO!

[Haggis for Breakfast]

50. Where, oh WHERE, did you find that t-shirt ?

I want one.

[corbettkroehler]

74. Alas, I Don't Actually Know

I just spotted that image on Twitter one day and made it part of my DU footer. It's the best!

[Beartracks]

79. Right here!

I tracked it down with my leet search skillz!

https://www.amazon.com/Funny-Spurs-President-Impeachment-T-Shirt/dp/B07T6BC1Q8

========

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. And they were sincerely "suffering" ...as racists and bigots, seeing a POC in charge

giving healthcare to other POC and gay folks, seeing justice being done for minorities was a nightmare for them

The worst people in this country and there is a shitload of em.

[Garrett78]

6. That's really it right there. A Black man was president and they're still beside themselves over it.

[Eliot Rosewater]

17. Not just a black man a black man named BARACK OBAMA

[Harker]

21. That's Barack HUSSEIN Obama. n/t

[corbettkroehler]

26. Let's Remember He's Biracial, Too

Those bigots still operate under the ridiculous notion that the only way Barry's mother engaged in coitus with his father was via rape.

[Harker]

28. Something for every bigot to hate.

Community organizer... Chicagoan.... tan suit...

[Doc_Technical]

81. Don't forget about the Dijon Mustard!

[Harker]

86. Right... get a free shot in

at France!

[SummerSnow]

82. and don't forget she planned a coup of the WH for her son to be POTUS on the

date of his birth. She's a genius.

[corbettkroehler]

83. Luv It! She Did That From Hawaii!

Not bad for conspiracies in the maternity ward!

[SummerSnow]

85. No, no. it was from Kenya all the way to Hawaii.lol

[BumRushDaShow]

23. And not just BARACK OBAMA

But BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!

[Eliot Rosewater]

72. perfect

[mokawanis]

5. Obama earned respect all over the world

with Trump the whole world can see what a corrupt and immoral prick he is.

[treestar]

7. None of that matters to them

Their "suffering" was having an educated and intelligent black man in the White House, who they could not stand to acknowledge was smarter and more educated than they. But they had to, deep down on their tiny minds.

[Clash City Rocker]

80. He destroyed their myth of white supremacy

By proving he was brilliant and a decent human being. They can never forgive him for that.

[Turbineguy]

8. Suffering

as in having your dogma made to look like shit.

[George II]

9. Imagine what he could have accomplished if he didn't spend so much time playing golf!!!!!

[Pepsidog]

10. A truly decent human being. The definition of class.

[Lonestarblue]

11. Their idea of suffering is different from mine.

They suffered because they had to endure the indignity of having a smart black man in the White House when that position should be reserved only for white men. How dare Obama be smart and a respected, effective leader admired the world over! That’s the cause of their suffering.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

12. +1

[smirkymonkey]

14. +1000

Suffereing, my ass! The imagined "indignity" of racist white people having to bear two productive terms - despite republican obstruction - of an intelligent, dignified, competent black man is fucking bullshit. These people suffered nothing but white humiliation at being proved inferior to a superior black man that made this country a better place than it was before, even though he was thwarted by racist republicans the entire time and never whined or complained once about his persecution.

I am so fucking over this shit and the whiny little bitches in the republican party who think they are being dealt with harshly because they are finally being held accountable. They can all go to hell.

[Martin Eden]

18. "they had to endure the indignity of having a smart black man in the White House"

Now they have someone in the White House who has restored the kind of dignity they hold dear.

[Harker]

30. I think that's exactly it for some people.

Now they have someone who stands for what they believe in... someone who embraces their ignorance and bigotry -- and waves it around over his head for all to see.

They're not appalled - their hopes have been wildly exceeded, and they're thrilled.

This is just the beginning.

[Martin Eden]

33. Hillary was right

Deplorables.

[Harker]

35. That's a more elegant word than they deserve. n/t

[lastlib]

53. And according to them, their beloved "First Stripper" shows more class....

...than that "angry black woman," Michelle Obama.

[eppur_se_muova]

57. You forgot the sarc .... or, wait, never mind.

It's good sometimes to let people figure things out for themselves. Not that any lurking tRumpers will manage.

[Cosmocat]

13. The disconnect is as bad, but inverse to 45

And frankly, how they gin themselves up to believe For No Good Reason how horrible BHO was, is part of what set them up to justify the current POS.

[struggle4progress]

15. Air fa la la lo

And whether the blood be highland, lowland or no
and whether the skin be white or black as the sloe
of kith and of kin we are one,
be it right
be it wrong
if only our hearts be true to the lilt of the song

[spanone]

16. they are not 'well meaning' they are racists.

[emmaverybo]

19. We can use reminding that Obama, despite lack of enough support from Dems, and constant Republican

bat ruction, as well as bearing the brunt of historic and systemic racism, accomplished significant changes on so many fronts—saved us from the brink economically, protected us, restored our reputation internationally, and, BFD, ACA, the Iran deal, gay marriage, Osama Bin Ladin.

As dear old mom used to say, “when Obama was President, I slept well at night.”

May we deliver ourselves from the long nightmare Trump and company have inflicted on our nation, and the danger his policies (Putin’s) present the world.

[Progressive2020]

20. History

History will treat Barack Obama well, I think. He is one of the smartest and most careful President that we have ever had. He had no major scandals during his Presidency, especially when compared with certain others.

Health Care, getting Bin Laden, and saving the Auto Industry and the Economy will be the main accomplishments that are recorded and remembered. These are the sort of results you get when you elect someone that is smart, strategic, and prudent. Trump, on the other hand, I would not trust as a dog-catcher. He is a threat to Democracy and American National Security.

[milestogo]

22. They suffered because he was black and extremely competent.

[lunatica]

24. Showing hateful racism made them suffer

Pigs.

[elleng]

27. 'Well-meaning?' 'Conservative?'

[Grokenstein]

34. I'm just gonna assume a sarcasm tag was forgotten.

[elleng]

36. On the OP, maybe,

not on mine.

[Grokenstein]

39. That's what I meant, sorry.

[elleng]

46. Gotcha

[sop]

29. Imagine their suffering when a woman is elected president, or a gay man.

[zipplewrath]

31. He drove them crazy

I worked with alot of GOP people. Their complaints were often baseless. Yes, some of his positions and policies were contrary to their beliefs. But really they weren't PERSONALLY affected by them. Alot of them did end up paying a bit more for health insurance, but these were very highly paid people. And many of them were getting BETTER insurance at the same time. Yes, some of them saw their income taxes go up, but mostly just a little. And in the mean time he was cleaning up a huge mess that W had left behind. That's why we ended up with so much "tan suit" crap year after year. They had to work really hard to find anything to complain about.

[Grokenstein]

32. Yes yes yes, but he's one of THOSE PEOPLE

We had one in the Oval Office for eight years.
What a nightmare!!
/sarcasm

[doc03]

37. I always tell the Repubicons Obama was the

best president in my lifetime.

[titanicdave]

38. ....I Will Accept...

.....that type of....."suffering"".......any day over the BS we are tolerating today.......THANK....YOU....PRESIDENT....OBAMA....for 8 wonderful years of civilized governing.....

[ArtTownsend]

40. They saw a black President, and any hint of rational thought evaporated.

[New Breed Leader]

41. THIS.

[underthematrix]

42. As an African American I'm gonna break it down

so there's no misunderstanding.

When white conservatives say they suffered under President Obama for 8 years what they means is this:

For those 8 years, they did not feel good about being white. This is an important distinction because most pundits talks about how white people feel about people of color instead of how they feel about themselves. By not using this frame, the MSM can maintain the illusion of white supremacy. But the bottom line is President Obama made white folks feel bad about their whiteness.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

43. I think it's fear...

They are very close to not being the predominate ethnic group and that scares the shit out of them because yhey're afraid roles will be reversed. As an old hippie white guy talking.

[underpants]

44. Let's not forget- he is a middle class single mother kid

I am too.

He did what anyone with a brain does when they get a new position- he reads and listens. Okay, most anyone.

They blurred the line with W...well. The media was a willing participant. The tea baggers were on the air every morning, lead story. The media needs two horses in the race. "Socialism" wasn't the broad swath that we hear now...but it was.

He is what the conservatives have preached about for decades. He threw it back in their face. They hate it.

He came from a different background. Chaotic. Smoked some weed. And then did right, keeping what he knew to heart.

[Doodley]

45. IMO, he was the best president in US history, replaced by the very worst.

[marked50]

47. Their suffering was listening to any rightwing media source like Fox ,but

they just didn't realize the brain drain that was happening. The one thing is that they are no longer zombie food.

[Cha]

48. Poor things let themselves be brainwashed

and don't have a ******* clue went happened during President Obama's time in office.

[Aussie105]

49. Is it too late

to declare Obama President for Life?

[Thomas Hurt]

51. The suffering was that they had to suffer a black man in the WH.

[brewens]

52. They mean seething with hatred that a black man was elected President in this country.

They won't admit it, but that's what it was all about. That kind of hate is stressful on them though.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

54. I had to brace myself to open this.

Because I knew it would break my heart.

[VOX]

55. Everything that drove the Obama haters nuts is here in this video:

Grace. Comfort. Connection. Empathy. Erudition. Maturity. Confidence. Team builder/player. Rational. Savvy. Genuine. Proud African American.

[tclambert]

56. Yes, but the racists had to suffer the humiliation of a black man proving he was smarter

and better at performing the duties of president than most white presidents. That daily embarrassment had to sting.

[honest.abe]

66. Yes, that is exactly the "suffering" they were referring to.

It reminds of that scene from 12 years a slave where the white boss was humiliated by the smarter black slave.

[progree]

58. There's a lot more to the ACA then the pre-existing conditions and up to 26 year olds..

For all the inadequacies of the Affordable Care Act, we seem to have forgotten that, before the ACA, you could be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition and kids could not stay on their parents’ policies up to age 26.

For one thing, before the ACA, pretty much all there was in the private individual health insurance market was junk insurance.

And prior to the ACA, it was practically impossible to compare plans, since there were no standard set of benefits ...

And the ACA did away with the annual and lifetime caps.

The ACA capped out-of-pocket costs.

The ACA provides subsidies for those under 400% of poverty -- didn't have anything like that before the ACA, at least not for mid-lower and middle income people under 65.

It expanded Medicaid which fortunately most states implemented.

I'm sure there are many more benefits of the ACA if I worked on this some more.

[Joinfortmill]

59. Obama, one of the great Presidents

[Dirty Socialist]

60. "Butbutbut..."

"What about Obama's apology tour???"

[grantcart]

61. Well I did suffer, and a lot

Almost from the first day I would hear "why can't you be more like Barack?"

Then there would be reports about how he had spent the day crafting a solution to the Burmese problem and that he would break to go have dinner with his kids so that he could help with their homework and then he returned to the office to make calls to secure other countries to sign in on the resolution.

Watching the TV my daughters and my wife then looked at me.

I managed an awkward smile and a little shrug.

When the President interceded on a domestic crises with a perfectly balanced speech that showed compassion for people who were on both sides of a confrontation three sets of eyes turned to me.

Meekly I said, "when I got home tonight I cleaned the hummingbird cleaner. They seemed to like it".

This was met with rolling of eyes and "give it up Dad", "yeah really, how lame".

Considering how, in comparison with Michelle Obama's grab, my wife contemplated how 'short shrifted' she ended up in this whole marriage deal my nick name was changed to "Kae Kaa" which means "useless object in the way". For example "Dinner ready 'Kae Kaa'".

After the ACA was passed I defended my cosmic usefulness with "At least I don't smoke". After the loud noises of disgust family members joined in the "You can have three packs a day if"

" . . . play basketball that good"

" . . . looked that good"

" . . . sing like him"

When relations with Cuba were re established in 2015 I responded with "about time" and was rewarded with a two week stay on the sofa.

The pressure was unrelenting. How to bear the burden of such an unfair comparison.

Then Donald Trump was elected.

Almost immediately my stock went way up. The first and most obvious was "what a monstrosity on his head" "you got lots better hair than that slob".

Compliments flowed daily as we watched the Presidency descend from Mount Everest to a subterranean level. Now when a clip came on the TV my family watched with disgust and then looked at me with happy eyes.

I could hear my daughters talking with their friends, "Oh no my Dad hates Trump 10 times more than your dad" and they would share one of the Letters to the Editors that were published or the 44 seconds that made it to the TV after 2 "man in the street" clips made after protests.

There was much greater concern for my health as well. In addition to my diabetes and Meniere's there was growing concern about my worsening Parkinson's

I would be watching TRMS or Last Word and my wife would take her earplugs off and pause her Thai soap and tell me that my Parkinson's was getting much worse. My face was red and my arms were shaking as if I was boxing someone. "No its OK, is there any pineapple left".

My wife would look at Trump, look back at me and get up and spend 10 minutes preparing a plate of Mango, Pineapple, Green Apple and grapes with the first three cut in decorative cuts. You should know that my wife's super power is picking the best tasting fruit in the store. You think I am kidding, I am not.

So perhaps you will forgive me that I haven't told her that I actually don't have Parkinson's.

I only have one more year and then things will go back to normal. No more fruit trays delivered. At least I won't have to suffer like I did under Obama. That was a once in a lifetime experience.

[PatrickforO]

62. Another very nice post! I've bookmarked it for future reference.

Obama was the best president in my lifetime.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

63. Eight years of having their racism challenged

That's their suffering.

[Owens]

64. DELETE THIS POST - REPORTER RETRACTED STATEMENT

REPORTER ADMITTED HE WAS WRONG AND RETRACTED THE STATEMENT. DU THIS IS A VIOLATION OF ACTING DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES!!

[unblock]

65. this is a reprint story from 2017. probably not the topic you're thinking of....

[honest.abe]

67. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PETE.

[Niagara]

68. I almost alerted on your response

thinking you came here to disrupt. You might want to stop yelling and self-delete since this article was written by David Starkey on October 3, 2017. It has absolutely zero to do with Pete.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

69. I'm sorry, what on earth are you yelling about?

[Niagara]

75. Owens is confusing your OP with this article in the primaries forum

One can read it here:https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287342549


However , if Owens would have actually read your OP, they would know what your OP is about.

[honest.abe]

71. Excellent post.

God I miss that guy.

[Hamlette]

73. love this

and would add that the US was respected then, something we all took for granted.

[SummerSnow]

76. Yep, that tan suit made alot of people suffer. Oh the humanity!

[Thekaspervote]

77. Love the photo... so very much miss him!

[Beartracks]

78. The supposed indignity of having a Democrat (and for some, a black man!) in the White House.

So many times I hear unfounded stuff like, "After what Obama did to our military..." Looking at you, Inhofe. Uh - what did he do, exactly? I never hear the details. However, I certainly don't remember our military losing a country while President Obama was in office.

==========

[Gothmog]

84. I miss having a real POTUS