TYT: Jon Stewart Slams Barack Obama

[DeSwiss]

Well, now.

There it is.

We've come full-circle.

- How shall we answer?, with TRUTH or more obfuscation (lies)........

[marym625]

1. BRAVO CENK and JON!

K&R!

[840high]

7. ....x10

[zeemike]

2. I agree with all of that but one thing.

That Obama is the most powerful person in the world...I don't think he is and not even the most powerful person in the US.
That person is unknown to us, but it sure is not the president....power lies in the shadows not on the stage.

[Thespian2]

9. Yes

I agree with you. The people pulling the strings are in the shadows...perhaps we will never know them.

[marym625]

10. I agree with that

I think whoever it is, Larry Summers is his mouthpiece

[C Moon]

14. +1

[Enthusiast]

23. +1

[jtuck004]

24. Agreed. But one sits in a seat where that is uniquely possible, if they can fill the position.

It is clear, however, that it takes far more than winning an election and a selection of donors and cheerleaders to do so.

[swilton]

35. Why does there have to be

THE most powerful person in the world - why not multiple people calling the shots...

That there has to be a singular entity in charge goes back to the myths promoted by Western Judeo-Christian cultures that were patriarchal, hierarchical and militaristic.

[zeemike]

37. Well or course you are right.

I don't think that there is just one individual that is all powerful.
It is more like George Carlin said, It's a big club...a club for the big.

[swilton]

38. And they have one thing in common

although different ways of expressing or achieving it.

[pa28]

3. "People would like to have seen a more noble failure".

I don't think he failed. His intention all along was shoring up the status quo and improve it a little around the edges. That's it.

All the rest was rhetoric and he wound up having pretty much the presidency he wanted.

[DeSwiss]

11. It all starts right now.....

[swilton]

34. Precisely

A little window dressing/a few cosmetic changes here and there results in reactionary blow back that in the long run strengthens the status quo.

It was evident that Obama was not going to make fundamental changes when he appointed such staff advisors as Rahm 'Mayor 1%' as his Chief of Staff, and left the neo-con hold overs from the Bush Administration in the State Department. The foreign policies of Obama have resulted in 14 years of neo-conism and counting.

Obama from the get-go superficially had no political courage - maybe it was his plan all along just to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[Zoftig1]

40. Agreed

Most Democrats projected all their wishes on an Obama that never really existed. When he said that Ronald Reagan was a President he greatly admired, that should have been a clue.

[SoapBox]

4. Well...

DADT was not a small deal.

Osama bin (forgotten by BushCo.) Laden was not a small deal.

And that's just two things (I'm REALLY tired at this moment).

I used to watch Cenk and I used to watch Stewart...but I'm tired of the beat up on President Obama crap. Did he Storm Trooper his way through D.C.? Not fully but the option was unacceptable.

And now, we have Pukes and Baggers in control of Congress and lay odds, there will be a Puke in the White House...no thanks to the likes of these guys. I find their incessant whining tiring.

The combination of FuksNews, Hate Radio, PulpitPounding Rightie nut jobs, vote rigging and lazy ass fucking whining Dems, Libs and Progressives...means we are fucked.

The President Obama years will be looked upon from our home as darned golden.

[rep the dems]

6. Not to mention

Cenk speculates as to what would happen if Johnson hadn't gone hard on the Civil Rights Act, saying sarcastically "'You're gonna get the whole south to stop discriminating against blacks? That's too hard!" Uh hold on...since when is THAT how it played out? The reality is that guys like Cenk and Stewart would be the first to say how short the Civil Rights Act had fallen when it didn't produce immediate success. Guaranteed. He also seems to have no appreciation for the fact that something called "Citizens United" happened in 2010 with the help of Justices that he had no role in appointing and that the President himself has zero authority in amending the Constitution. No, Obama isn't perfect, but it's not his fault some folks don't have a good enough understanding to, well, understand.

[uhnope]

43. good point but that will be lost on people who don't have a sense of the arc of history

Pretty ironic that the same people who celebrate the achievements of the civil rights movement now would have been condemning it then as too slow, too sold out, or too moderate.

[renegade000]

13. have to say amen to that

at least the last bit. i'm perhaps a bit more hopeful that a GOP return to the white house is not inevitable in 2016. don't underestimate how odious the GOP has made themselves seem in the eyes of the increasingly diverse electorate.

i think too many people are constantly looking for that "great, progressive hope" that will finally make all their political dreams come true. much of obama's rhetoric during the 2008 election i think fed into the notion that he was "the one." i guess i was never under that illusion, so i was never disillusioned. i think what we got was pretty good all things considered.

looking to 2016, i definitely prefer someone like elizabeth warren over clinton, but i fear many of her supporters have anointed her as the progressive messiah. once a warren presidency moves from theory to practice, we'll have much the disillusionment i'm sure.

[still_one]

27. and don't forget the blue dogs. They were almost as unreasonable as the republicans in the first

two years.

[Eko]

5. I would suggest some people "Ahem"

Actually educate themselves on their own rhetoric. Civil rights, WW2, Social Security, the Great Society, none of those things were done just like that, most of them were passed with weak laws that did hardly anything until later or were done with the president kicking and screaming. That being said I like both of them, but they are entertainers and lets not forget that.

[rep the dems]

8. I like both as well

But years from now, they/similar minded progressives will be saying the same things about how much Obama accomplished while criticizing whichever Democrat is doing the job at that point. Don't know what you've got till it's gone

[Scootaloo]

16. The key is EFFORT

This obsession with only taking the smallest possible steps towards the surest of shots is going to be the downfall of the democratic party, just as it was with the Whigs.

[Eko]

18. Wow,

you didn't even try to look up the history of the things they were talking about. Civil rights? small steps, just like the others. I can only shake my head at the lack of knowledge of you are espousing.

[Scootaloo]

20. And you didn't even try to understand the point being raised, about timidity in the Democratic party

yes, these achievements were incremental. but hte increments themselves were all pretty damn big steps, and large political risks at the time. You can't tell me that desegregating the entire armed forces with the stroke of a presidential pen at the height of Jim crow is something tiny, because you and I both know it's fucking not. Not every example is so large, of course, but even modest changes to the situation of blacks and other minorities at that time carried very real risk - not just political, but literal personal risk.

Don't get me wrong. I like president Obama, he's a good guy. But I can't imagine him doing anything of the size that Truman did. I can't even imagine him doing this:

and not just him, i can't imagine any modern democrat taking such steps, advocating such positions.

A good case study is the Iraq war. We know the Bush administration perpetrated war crimes and crimes against humanity. They admit to it. it's well-documented, stamped and signed. Reams and reels of video evidence. millions of witnesses in multiple nations. Illegal invasion, displacement, occupation, ethnocide, torture, false imprisonment, murder, extortion, crime after crime after crime.

Out speaker of the house makes a post-election promise that impeachment of the president responsible is "off the table." Our Senate majority leader warns us of "keeping our powder dry." Our Democratic president tells us we're being sanctimonious about it all. No effort to investigate is made, much less to prosecute, despite the fact that these criminals are very literally still getting wealthy from the crime they committed!

Why?

Because it might be difficult. Because it might "cost political capital." because 'we have to look forward." I'm sure the millions killed as a result of these crimes didn't have an easy time, paid a higher cost, and wish they still had a future, but whatever; it's not like bush was getting his cock sucked or something truly important.

That is what is being spoken of. it might be difficult, so we don't try. it's not an absolutely 100% sure thing, and so the democrats don't even consider it.

They only take the tinest of steps, to the surest of things. And it's going to end up costing them. Fortunately for them it's going to cost them a lot less than it costs people in Iraq and Syria (and before too long Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon) but whatever.

[Eko]

47. Desegregate the Army,

Let Gays be in the Army. Stroke of the pen. The president is timid though.

[swilton]

36. Window dressing around the edges

results in reactionary blowback that entrenches the status quo.

[mountain grammy]

12. I'm conflicted about this because I wonder what they expected.

I voted for hope and change, but after 8 years of watching the complete destruction of everything I thought was worth saving about America, my expectations weren't high. Obama restored credibility to the office of the presidency, and that's saying a lot after Bush. His stimulus package saved my family's ass for a year, and eventually put my husband back to work.
I owe him for that, and there's a bunch more of us out here.

When voters don't vote and money corrupts everything, I figure it's almost time to give up ever getting my country back. I feel damn lucky to have lived in a time when government did work better than it does now and money didn't buy everything. Not that life in America was ever a bed of roses. Everyone here knows our history. Maybe that's why I'll cut the president some slack.

Besides, with climate change on a runaway course, none of this will matter much. Nature will win.

[DeSwiss]

25. From what I gather.....

...Cenk and Jon wanted Obama to at least try to start some process that would begin to decouple politics from money, ''not just make government work better under the present conditions,'' or words Obama had supposedly previously made to that effect.

I'm not disappointed in him in the way they indicate, per se. I never expected any change in the system that he could actually effect. Although I admit that I wasn't expecting a Democratic President to excel in things like denying clemency and pardons even though he professes to abhor what drugs has done to young black men. Like all that killing back home in Chicago?

Then there's the total disregard of constitutional protections with his Star Chamber Death Memo system they use now. The inability to stop torturing people or letting them go home after realizing they hadn't done anything. Not to mention his more recent foisting-off of ALL FOIA requirements of any kind for the White House to submit to, after professing he would be the most transparent regime down the pike.

At least now I suppose that the lobbyists won't have to meet at so many different hotels and bars with WH officials and can give those expense accounts a breather.

- Bummer.

[mountain grammy]

33. True, and I sure can't say I haven't disagreed often

with this president. Many of his appointment were dismal, in my opinion. I know the Senate was obstructing, but I don't think Obama fought for them hard enough.
I think the conservative media has allowed and even promoted the unbelievable disrespect and hatred from the "loyal opposition." But Obama and his family held their heads high through all the crap and hate this country could pile on, and, for that I am grateful.

I hear what Cenk and Jon are saying, and I don't completely disagree, but they were working in 2008 and 2009.

[uhnope]

41. "Star Chamber Death Memo"?????

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=247487

[whereisjustice]

15. lol - well, give Hillary credit, she's running a campaign based on no change I guess that way

she can't be accused of failing to deliver.

[Eko]

19. And exactly what does Hillary

Last edited Mon Mar 23, 2015, 03:42 AM - Edit history (1)

have to do with this, guess you couldnt help getting your anti-hillary jab in. I'm going to take you as serious as a pancake.

[DeSwiss]

26. The only kind of change Hils can bring to the table......

...is change for the worse.

- Unless Obama gets to the end of it before 2016.....

[NanceGreggs]

17. So Cenk and Jon are "disappointed" ...

... I'm not.

And a lot of people aren't.

In fact, a lot of people are pretty happy with the guy they put in charge.

[DeSwiss]

28. And I have no problem with that.

- I gave up worrying about shit I have no control over, for Lent.

Now, I'm with George.



Termites got to eat too.......

[Dustlawyer]

31. They are not saying he is a bad President. They are disappointed in his not being transformative!

He could have been despite the Republican obstruction. He could have used that Bully Pulpit to pound out and shame the politicians for all of the campaign money. Instead, he let Wall Street have their way with us with no repercussions. He spyed, he rendition end, he even sold out to BP in the oil spill.
Sure OBAMA has done better than many other Presidents, but it is clear where his handlers have a stake in things, then he doesn't seem to do much. I don't expect perfection, but to sell us out can never be forgiven.

[Jamaal510]

39. I'm only disappointed

that this country no longer has a reasonable and patriotic GOP anymore, and that not enough people (including certain media personalities) appear to pay close attention to what they've been doing to block progress. As it stands, there is only one major party that is sane and wants to govern. If Republicans were willing to work with Pres. O more often, then the low turnout in 2010 and 2014 among Democrats wouldn't have hurt so bad. R's capitalized on the piss-poor turnout among D's in a variety of ways (whether it was by gerrymandering or by obstruction). What's unfortunate is that real people's lives (including my family) get jeopardized by the unwillingness of today's Republicans to moderate and to cooperate.

[canoeist52]

21. And this is what "Hold my feet to the fire" and "Make me do it" sounds like.

[DeSwiss]

29. Oh yeah.....

...he did ask for it, didn't he?

- Legacy creation can be so tedious sometimes. Always a loose end somewhere.....

[Enthusiast]

22. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

We have been the victims of an elaborate masquerade. That is why everything has gotten worse, not better. And don't bother to quote stock market figures.

[DeSwiss]

30. You're looking for the Alternate Dimension DU.......

...that's two doors down the hall on the left.

- You'll smell the incense when you get close, you can't miss it.

[still_one]

32. You have no idea what you are talking about. The whole course of where things were going under bush

have been reversed, and willful ignorance will not change the facts.

Net Neutrality
Open-enrollment for the ACA has exceeded all expectations, bringing the rate of uninsured down from 17.7 percent to 12.4 percent.”
Obama throws a lifeline to over five million undocumented immigrants through the use of expansive executive actions protecting them from the threat of deportation.
Signed off on a new EPA rule that significantly limits ozone emissions.
Opened up negotiations with Cuba
Opened up negotiations with Iran
Rejected the Keystone Pipeline project.
Dodd-Frank
ACA

and a lot more:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/accomplishments-of-president-barack-obama-by-dccc/111-accomplishments-of-president-barack-obama/377659576289

What is even more remarkable is he was able to get so much through in spite of the hatred from the republicans, and yes, also the blue dogs.

[Enthusiast]

44. The President also

created the Catfood Commission and appointed two anti New Deal zealots to head it—Bowles and Simpson.

The President never once said, "Social Security doesn't contribute to the deficit. The American worker has contributed 2.7 trillion Dollars more into Social Security than they have used. If only the rest of our government was as well funded as Social Security"

Instead the President did the exact opposite.

Instead of proposing that we remove the cap on FICA contributions so we could preserve Social Security far into the future he proposed that we use a new way to calculate inflation Chained CPI. This action would have cut the benefits of seniors undermining their standard of living.

So the president handed the Republicans the Democratic Party's single insurmountable advantage by suggesting Social Security is a problem and contributes to the deficit.

Additionally, the President allowed the criminal Bush Administration to escape any kind of scrutiny for their actions leading up to the Iraq War. And torture! Torture! After WWII Imperial Japanese and German NAZIs were executed for the same thing our CIA did routinely after 9/11.

And those responsible for the economic collapse costing millions of middle and low income families their homes and jobs also escaped prosecution. The President and his DOJ sided with the greedy. After voting for and supporting candidate Obama as I had this was the thing that cut the most.

Yeah. Tell me about willful ignorance.

[still_one]

45. And guess what, he did not accept the proposal by Simpson or Bowles. The country, including some

democrats in congress did not like the idea of an African American being president.
Obama tried to work accords party lines, but not only did he have the repukes, and the media against him, the left was against him also because he couldn't just wave his arms and open the Red Sea or walk on water

I don't know what the future holds, but this country doesn't deserve Obama , they deserve exactly what they have been getting, 8 years of bush, along with rethugs blocking everything

[Enthusiast]

48. He didn't accept the proposals?

The proposals were voted down by the committee, not the President. In appointing Simpson and Bowles the nature of the proposals was virtually guaranteed.

I don't expect the President to walk on water. I expected him to act on our behalf.

[uhnope]

42. Red meat for the wingnut America haters

I'm a fan of Cenk but I knew this would be used by people who, unlike Cenk, have a whacked, America-hating, crackpot POV.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

wingnut (right-wing or extreme-fringe).

Democratic Underground is an online community for politically liberal people who understand the importance of working within the system to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of political office. Teabaggers, Neo-cons, Dittoheads, Paulites, Freepers, Birthers, and right-wingers in general are not welcome here. Neither are certain extreme-fringe left-wingers, including advocates of violent political/social change, hard-line communists, terrorist-apologists, America-haters, kooks, crackpots, LaRouchies, and the like.

"America, is a goddamned racket. Pretty. Much. All. Of. It." -DeSwiss
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017246220#post2

[mrdmk]

46. Cue the, 'Wall of Blue Links" n/t