Sirota and Greenwald say it better than I ever could:

[placton]

http://www.salon.com/news/social_security/index.html?story=/news/david_sirota/2011/07/07/obama_social_security_cuts


http://www.salon.com/news/budget_showdown/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2011/07/07/social_security

[xchrom]

1. ...

'Indeed, when a political candidate promises to try to pass a public option to compete with private insurers, attempt to crack down on Wall Street abuse, do what he can to stop unfair trade deals, oppose extending his predecessors tax cuts and avoid initiating initiate costly new wars sans congressional approval, and then once in office works to kill a public option, refuses to prosecute Wall Street crimes, presses the rigged trade deals he opposed, supports the extension of his predecessor's tax cuts and starts a new war in Libya with no congressional authorization -- whose fault is it that he ends up in reelection trouble?'

http://www.salon.com/news/social_security/index.html?story=/news/david_sirota/2011/07/07/obama_social_security_cuts

[Doctor_J]

10. Splendid excerpt

which captures my :puke: perfectly

[bemildred]

2. +1. nt

[jefferson_dem]

3. Yet another "last straw" for Sirota?

:boring:

[placton]

4. seriously? are you defending Obama?

at long last, have you no conscience?

[jefferson_dem]

5. Seriosly. I'm saying Sirota has zero credibility.

He, who comically argued that Obama illegally assassinated bin Laden.

No need to defend Obama on anything. All we have now is rank speculation and irrational histrionics. I'll await the actual details before passing judgment.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Yet another insubstantial response from you?

Characterization of the author rather than countering the content is what many call a 'tell'.

[alarimer]

11. Anyone who criticizes Obama is fair game apparently

From the unquestioning loyalists.

I happen to think the Osama assassination was possibly illegal but the USA can do whatever the fuck it wants so long as Obama is in charge.

[placton]

7. Let me make a bet:?

when Obama sells out social security and medicare/aid, you defenders will tell us, yet again, how peachy keen it is!

[bemildred]

8. "Thank God it Passed!". nt

[theaocp]

9. Stick your head in the sand at ALL OF OUR PERIL.

Obama knows full well that he can slash Medicare, Medicaid and even Social Security -- just like he could sign an extension of Bush tax cuts, escalate multiple wars, and embrace the Bush/Cheney Terrorism template recently known in Democratic circles as "shredding the Constitution" -- and have most Democrats and progressives continue to support him anyway. Unconditional support ensures political impotence, and rightly so. He's attending to the constituencies that matter: mostly, Wall Street tycoons who funded his 2008 campaign and whom he hopes will fund his re-election bid, and independents whose support is in question. And he's doing that both because it's in his perceived interest and because, to the extent he believes in anything, those are the constituencies with which he feels most comfortable.