What would be your breaking point with President Obama?

[Truthiness Inspector]

What is the ONE thing he could do, or not do, that would make you disgusted to the point of swearing off all support of him?

The one point that would be a deal-breaker for you, all other good things considered, and decide it's time to reform/regroup?

[snowbear]

1. Good f'n grief...

.
.



.

[Truthiness Inspector]

3. Non-informative answer, but thanks anyway. n/t

[gristy]

9. If the Truthiness Inspector drowned his dog in oil, that would be it for me

[Truthiness Inspector]

16. Don't you have that backwards?

Don't you mean if he drowned my dog? Strange, disturbing, and backwards insult.

[NYC_SKP]

22. If he ate a baby....

Good fucking grief is right...

:eyes:

.

.

[cliffordu]

35. Well, maybe if it was an AMERICAN baby.....

Yo, SKP - Howarya??

:hi:

[NYC_SKP]

51. excelente, mi amigo!

brushing up on my espanol, no particular reason.

:hi:

How have you been?

[cliffordu]

60. I'm good. Might be taking a loooong bicycle ride real soon....

I think I need to see the US from my mountain bike.....


I like spanish. Be sure to learn all the cusswords first.

[NYC_SKP]

63. I had a college bud who rode from coast to coast.

I don't see myself doing anything like that but have done 30-40 mile trips on my road bike.

What kinds of trips are you thinking about?

Spanish curse words...hmmm, all I can thing of is "puta" and "cabron"...

:odd:

[cliffordu]

65. I rode from San Diego to Florida a couple of years ago...

I want to ride down the west coast.....Seattle to San Diego...

And then ride an impossible route call the milly -

www.milly.org

And the map of the ride:

www.milly.org/0.1/

Yep - them's the words...


Chinga du madre, stuff like that. don't ever say any of that stuff of course...

[NYC_SKP]

67. Oh yeah, chinga, forgot that one.

"chingate" for example. (not you of course):P

So, one route goes right though my town.

I'll buy ya lunch!

[cliffordu]

69. DEAL!!!

I'll let you know if and when.....

c

[bluestateguy]

2. If they get an ugly dog

That would be a deal breaker for me and I'd have to say "Nader/Sheehan in '12!"

[firedupdem]

4. Come on......let's not.

I'm still celebrating this wonderful President.

[Posteritatis]

5. Eating a baby on live television

Come on, seriously? I don't script my reactions to someone out in advance like that, and I'm not nearly single-issue enough to have some clear, bright, One Thing One Must Not Do like that. The example in the topic would do it - well, unless the baby had it coming - but I've got more important things to do than try to get my final straws all laid out in a row.

[FrenchieCat]

6. There are many more things that President Obama WILL do

that will increase my support for him.

After 8 years of mysery and consistent negativity towards my government,
I'm ready to concentrate on those positive things that are bound to happen under
an Obama administration.....and so, instead of dwelling on the hypothetical negative,
most that he won't do....I'll stick to looking on the upside, based on the things he said
he'd deliver throughout the campaign.

But thank you!

[BlooInBloo]

7. His betrayal of the very fabric of the universe has already done me in.

I will turn into anti-matter in 3... 2... 1... (pop)

[NoPasaran]

8. If he shot a guy in the face

And then made the guy he shot apologize for being in front of the gun... honeymoon over, Barack!

[Hawkowl]

10. Depends who he shoots

He can shoot any rethuglican and it wouldn't bother me a bit.

[Hawkowl]

11. Pardoning Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld or Gonzo

The chances of that happening are similar to winning the lottery.

[fishnfla]

12. If he logged on to du and responded to this thread

final answer

[Canuckistanian]

13. Actively STOPPING the investigations into Bushco

And he's coming dangerously close with this "look forward" rhetoric.

[Truthiness Inspector]

17. Thank you for a non-snarky answer.

That's what I was looking for, actual issues.

[jeff30997]

18. Yep.

That's what I'm disappointed about too.

[Zhade]

97. Indeed.

Another big one for me is allowing the DEA to raid medijuana clinics and go after patients, when he has explicitly promised several times not to do so.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

14. Weak.

[blonndee]

15. Ha.

Cute.

[nevergiveup]

19. Appointing Alan Keyes to SCOTUS

would be a deal-breaker for me. I also think we should regroup if he declares war on Canada or Greenland.

[camera obscura]

36. I'm stealing your answers!

[EmilyAnne]

20. If he peed in my cheerios or if he didn't allow every person in the entire world access to a trial

in the United States.

[Kokonoe]

21. Not support President Obama?

We would lose. supporting Obama is for ourselves.

[MannyGoldstein]

23. Subsidies For Hedge Funds Are Close

I'm hoping he'll wake up and understand that Summer, Geithner et al are fringe-right Republicans by any reasonable historical standards.

[Ioo]

24. Leave DOMA on the books.. I am almost there with his Gay tossing bus agenda.

Sorry, I do not feel like this is very progressive.

[stillcool]

25. I'm still waiting to 'form' and 'group'....

before the 're' happens.

[QC]

26. If he gives the girls an inadequate allowance. n/t

[PBS Poll-435]

32. But that can be SOOO subjective

WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE!!!

[creature of habit]

27. Netanyahu

I think President Obama should meet and listen to Benjamin Netanyahu. If he does not I would be very disappointed.

[dionysus]

107. are you serious? that evil crazy murderous fucker bibi?

:rofl:

unfortunately someday he might actually have to..

[Proud Liberal Dem]

28. I'm honestly not sure WHAT exactly would completely destroy my support for him

:shrug:

-although I definitely wouldn't want a replay of Bill Clinton post-1994 where he basically co-opted the Republicans in Congress by "triangulating" through the rest of his Presidency and adopting more right-wing positions/causes such as "welfare reform", DOMA, de-regulation, etc. (more or less out of political necessity but still.......). If the GOP hadn't recaptured Congress in 1994 and Clinton had kept his pants zipped, he might not have felt that he had to bend so much to their agenda. However, that all being said and all of his flaws/mistakes laid bare, Bill Clinton was and always will be head and shoulders above his immediate predecessors and his "successor".

Obama, of course, is already more of a "centrist", both socially and economically, but he seems to have a much more progressive bent overall and, at least so far, hasn't seemed particularly interested in attempting to pander to the fundies and wingnuts even when it might have been politically advantageous to have done so, particularly during the campaign.

So, short of him maybe adopting parts of Bush's far-right extremist agenda (i.e. "Unitary Executive"), nominating hard-core conservatives to SCOTUS (if and when the opportunity presents itself), suddenly switching his affiliation to the Republican Party, or attempting to declare himself Emperor/"Dictator-For-Life", I'm not really sure that I can think of much of anything that would completely destroy my support for him. Surely, there are going to be some things that I disagree with him on and I'm waiting to see what he does in terms of cleaning up the MASSIVE mess left by Bushco, particularly in regards to the eponymous "War on Terror" and its fallout in terms of human rights and constitutional abuses such as those perpetrated by the CIA and authorized/encouraged by Cheney, Addington, Yoo Baybee, et. al. However, every day since the election and, particularly the inauguration, I've been able to sleep much more soundly knowing that HE and HIS team are in charge of the country and that if anything particularly bad happens, he and his team will be able to take care of us and respond to the situation competently and rationally- in deference to the public good.

[Runcible Spoon]

29. If he stopped being an exciting and satisfying part of my nighttime imagination.

Bow chika wow wow

[OwnedByFerrets]

30. Pardon Monkeyboy.

[PBS Poll-435]

31. Internment Camps

For Accountants.

[mikehiggins]

33. a dead woman or a live boy

That's what used to do it in Louisiana, I'm told, and it works for me.

Short of that you really have to ask yourself "as compared to who?"

I'd hate to say I'm giving a blank check to any politician, but it looks like this time I am.

It's so nice to have a grown-up in charge.

[Zavulon]

34. After eight years of BUSHCO, anything Obama could do do lost all of my support would be

so illegal he'd be removed from office without my support meaning anything. He's done a couple thing I haven't liked so far, but holy shit, compared to Bush he's been a dream and I expect that overall sense to continue.

[pnwmom]

37. Starting up a draft for another insane war. n/t

[alwysdrunk]

38. Try to move us to the metric system

Now THAT I couldn't ever support.

[indimuse]

39. Desperate much???

BIG FAIL!

[asteroid2003QQ47]

40. "Presidents" are figureheads

existing to be loved, hated and replaced, a safety valve pulsing a message
to his employers
(not to be confused with those deluded souls oft referred to as the 'Electorate').
Why would any cognizant person ever "support" a figurehead is the real question.
------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, y'all know the drill. Lefties over here, righties over there. It's showtime, people! Places!
--Gore Vidal

[old mark]

41. Nothing I can imagine would be a "breaking point".

I would really like to see him kick some more GOPs ass because it's so enjoyable, but after 8 years of the stinking white trash that was the previousl regime, I am loving every minute of the first Obama Administration.

mark

[WinkyDink]

42. If he switched Parties.

[stray cat]

43. If he declared himself emperor for life and started shooting anyone who objected

I would find that worrisome...:sarcasm:

I find it hard to believe I would prefer McCain/Palin policies over anything Obama does or does not do. Does anyone really believe McCain/Palin would be more friendly to the issues that are important to them - at least on DU?

[mmonk]

44. Well, legitimate question I suppose. I guess it would be ignoring

the Constitution and/or abuse of power from the executive branch.

[CJCRANE]

45. This is just an inverted "where is the outrage?" post!

Instead of finding a topic and asking "where is the outrage?" you are pre-emptively trawling for things that would outrage DUers. Good maneuver!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

46. He's been in office for a month and you're already looking for a "breaking point"?

Jeez. Give ME a break.

[Uzybone]

47. Here we go again

One month in and some people miss Bush too much.

[liberalsince1968]

48. Obama's complete lack of interest in holding the Bush administration accountable

for its war crimes, and worse, his continuation of so many of Bush's torture/rendition policies, is pushing me very close to the breaking point. Sometimes, I think I've already reached it. Some things are simply non-negotiable to me and I will not try to spin them or rationalize them away as I see so many here doing.

I will not excuse Obama for anything that I would not excuse Bush for doing! And I seem to remember Obama saying that nobody was above the law. Yet his behavior shows exactly the opposite and I find it very, very disturbing.

The fact that a republican president would be infinitely worse is irrelevant. I believe in principles over politician or party. And if any other dem had been elected president other than Obama, I know THEIR feet would be getting held to the fire here for the positions the Obama administration has taken on torture.

[HamdenRice]

49. Eating the facial flesh of small live children Hannibal Lector style on national TV

That would do it for me. There are probably many, many things he could do short of that, but you didn't ask, what is the mildest thing that would be the breaking point, so I assume you ask for any breaking point.

Ordering a saturation nuclear weapons strike against the small defenseless African nation of Swaziland without provocation would be another.

[treestar]

50. Leaving his wife to hook up with Sarah Palin

That might do it for me.

[Jennicut]

55. OMFG, that made me spit out me soda! That would be gross.

[damonm]

68. Then you'll LOVE this...

[Jennicut]

111. Ha! That is hilarious yet scary.

[rvablue]

76. I would have to agree with you on this one. Oh.My. n/t

[Johnyawl]

52. SOCIAL SECURITY...

...is the deal breaker. And not just for Obama, but for the Democratic party as a whole.

[ensho]

53. if he keeps on letting our military and CIA kill people

nt

[Occam Bandage]

54. Fire a nuclear missile at Baltimore. That would be very bad.

[damonm]

89. Ever BEEN to Baltimore?

Considering the Orioles play there, that MIGHT be doing us a favor...

[Numba6]

56. Anyone who responds w/ a "non-snarky" answer has already reached their break, they're just waiting

for an excuse & a platform to spout their nonsense

Der uber-progressives will get you if you don't watch out!

[freemarketer6]

57. That is not a question that can be answered on this forum........nft

ss

[DevonRex]

58. You go first. What is yours?

[Hutzpa]

59. Choosing Joe The Plumber as VP

:evilgrin:

[vaberella]

61. He's only been around a short time and my breaking point is extremely high because of Bush.

So I can't think of anything except maybe killing someone in the WH and I'd have to see all the proof of that before I take a stance. Yet, Bush has made the barrel of shit rather deep for me, so I can't tell you what it would be, but it would have to be monumental or piling for 20 years.

[Robeson]

62. If he wears boxers instead of briefs, he'll lose my support.

[Binka]

83. If He Wears Boxers Not Briefs He'll Lose HIS Support n/t

[Dappleganger]

64. If he breaks his promise of getting the girls a puppy...

there will be HELL to pay!

[Peacetrain]

66. The point to this is????

[Phx_Dem]

70. If he murdered someone who was not a Republican.

[saltpoint]

71. The deal-breaker for me would be if he didn't like Lyle Lovett.

I could never support a president who didn't like Lyle Lovett.

[mvd]

72. Moot IMO because I don't see it happening

Yes, I might be disappointed at times, but I don't think he'll lose my support.

[lunatica]

73. Before that could happen I'd have to become really stupid and ignorant

He's already done much I like. Just getting the ball rolling in the right direction is a major accomplishment in my eyes. So I would have to basically lose at least 2/3rds of my IQ.

[saracat]

74. If he breaks his promise to Planned parenthood and disses FOCA.

[ecstatic]

75. If he hugged Sarah Palin... that would be my final straw

:shrug:

[LWolf]

77. Here are a few:

Rejecting universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care in favor of pandering to private, for-profit insurance companies.

Squandering any more of the nation's resources on the bogus "war on terror."

Continuing NCLB and high-stakes testing in any form.

Continuing NAFTA/CAFTA.

Continuing the funding of "faith-based" programs with public monies.

Allowing the economic players, their philosophies, their agenda, that got us into the current disaster, to help formulate current economic policy.

Edited to add:

Refusal to actively hold the Bush administration accountable for their crimes by prosecuting them.

[Two Americas]

78. nothing, I guess

Since I didn't fall in love with the President, there is nothing that could make me fall out of love. As with all politicians at all time, you speak out - as a duty as your responsibility as a citizen. It isn't all or nothing - love them or hate them.

In the 60's we had a Democratic president, one who had accomplished great things on poverty and Civil Rights. He came under tremendous criticism for the war. But I don't ever remember anyone accusing dissenters of being disloyal to the party. Right wingers accused us of being traitors to the country.

LBJ came under far more criticism than Obama has - no comparison. Yet very early in the administration we are seeing more aggressive calls for suppression of dissent then we ever saw with LBJ, even though one would think there was much more cause for that then.

When did party loyalty become such a big deal? Is it really not about party loyalty at all, but just the same old "America love it or leave it" suppression of dissent disguised as party loyalty?

Strange how the less there is to be loyal to about the Democratic party, the louder the calls for loyalty become.

[Political Tiger]

79. For some here, that seemed to happen the day he was elected.

eom

[LWolf]

80. That's right,

since I opposed his nomination to begin with.

Does it count, if I didn't expect to support his presidency, based on the policies and agendas he campaigned on?

He is simply living up to my expectations.

[Political Tiger]

81. If you never supported him and have no intentions of ever supporting him

why should anyone take your criticisms of him seriously?

In other words, why waste your time on this board when you could post your long held dislike for Obama on other like minded boards such as FR or a PUMA board where the members never did or never will support the president?

[LWolf]

82. To answer your questions:

Why should anyone take my criticisms seriously?

Because they are valid. They are non-partisan, and they are MORE than valid. If you haven't read any of them, just browse through the archives of my journal. I'm sure you'll find some. I oppose him on issues, and I always have. I never suffered from the delusion that he was somehow liberal or left-of-center or would be the savior of the nation. Since I believe that saving the nation involves moving her left-of-center, I'm obviously critical of an agenda that seeks to keep us center-right.

As for your other question....

It's interesting that someone who has been here for 11 months, as opposed to my 6.9 years, should be deciding that I ought to go "elsewhere," or that FR and PUMA would be places for me to find those who are "like-minded."

I've been at DU since before Obama was elected to the Senate, and I participated in thousands of discussions before his name was ever even mentioned on DU.

I'm not a "puma." Neither am I a freeper. I'm a leftist. You know; the group that Obama firmly distanced himself from in the early days of his primary campaign. The group he was not referring to when he talked about "bringing people together."

The irony is that this board still bills itself as "...one of the premier left-wing websites on the Internet, publishing original content six days a week, and hosting one of the Web's most active left-wing discussion boards." It was, many years back. That's when I found plenty of like-minded people. It's why I showed up and became part of the community. It's why I'm still here; because there are still a few of us left.

[Political Tiger]

85. I see. So there's you and a "few of us" who are true "leftists."

And the rest of us are what?

[LWolf]

88. A collection of

centrists, dlcers, blue dogs, independents, partisans, and mainstream democrats. Liberals and progressives, as well, although those terms cover a damned wide range of positions, and aren't really accurate labels, imo.

What did you think?

[mvd]

92. I think there's one category you left out

pragmatic leftists. I agree with you on many issues (winding down both occupations/wars, diplomacy works much better than force, single payer health care, strong safety net, end the death penalty, pro-choice, pro-marriage equality, stepping down the drug war, making the tax code more progressive, etc.) I just don't think it can all come at once. I'm so happy that with Obama there is sanity in the WH, and that he has the intelligence and skill to lead us. I think the conservative Repuke wing will self-destruct (and that's what they were doing despite their smugness at sticking together,) meaning the political center will shift left. I also know that everyone else isn't as liberal as I am, so other ideas will work their way in to legislation. :hi:

[LWolf]

94. You're right, of course.

As one of those damned idealists, I often overlook the pragmatists.

When I know that both idealism and pragmatism are crucial.

:hi:

[vaberella]

103. I'd like to consider myself such but I just go by Independent since it's on the ballot. n/t

[dionysus]

106. ah, the i'm more liberal than you shtick....

weak sauce

[AtomicKitten]

84. Prosecution of the war criminals is non-negotiable. n/t

[Zhade]

98. HEAR, HEAR.

NT!

[Political Heretic]

86. It's sad people think like that. How about thinking in something other than binary pairs

Obama's presidency will be a mix of good and bad. When there's bad I will vehemently oppose it, when there's good I will voraciously support it.

[avaistheone1]

87. Continuing and expanding Bush policies.

We want change.

[Trajan]

90. 89 Kicks .... Zero recommendations ....

Some threads are just lame ....

OK ... Ill play: If Obama cut up little boys and little girls into tiny pieces, and cooked them in a giant cast iron pot, adding herbs and spices as he want, and laughed wickedly as he stirred his Cauldron of Evilness .....

THEN ... THAT would be a deal breaker ....

As I said: Some threads are just fucking lame ....

[Hekate]

91. Why even go there? "Truthiness"? -- your name is interesting. Colbert means "It's Not True"

[agentS]

93. No breaking point- so jaded beyond belief

I was so disappointed with the Bush administration and its sheer incompetence (9/11, the USS Cole, Katrina, etc) that there really isn't anything Obama can do to truly disappoint me. oK, maybe sell America to space aliens for space nickels (what, are we not worth at least several space dollars), well actually if he just sold off members of the Republican party to space aliens I might overlook it.


I might be disappointed with some of his early decisions, but compared to the alternative (McBush), Obama is Golden Child +1.

Even if he started showing up to press conferences stark naked he's still done more in his first 2 weeks than Bush did in 8 years.

[Samantha]

95. If he had an affair with Sarah Palin --

that would do for me.

Sam

[Clio the Leo]

102. I'd say infidelity with ANYONE.....

.... because so much of my opinion of him .... how he treats people and how he approaches life ..... is evident in the way he treats his wife.

It would shake all of the assumptions I have about him to the very core.

[Zhade]

96. Breaking his promises.

NT!

[Raine]

99. Absolutely NOTHING except perhaps

register as a rePUKElican.

[incapsulated]

100. If he doesn't repeal the Bush tax on French Blue Cheese

It's impeachment.

[jeanpalmer]

101. If he keeps bombing innocent civilians in Afghanistan

It will show he doesn't have a conscience, and all his rhetoric in the campaign was bullshit. Dropping hellfire missiles on women and kids living in tents.What a scumbag.

[WilliamPitt]

104. After 33 days?

He'd have to declare his intention to crash the earth into the sun for me to give up so soon.

[dionysus]

105. oh for crying out loud. what a foolish OP

:rofl:

[Forkboy]

108. Disbanding the NHL and outlawing Black Metal.

I suppose nuking someone might do it, too. :shrug:

[otohara]

109. If He Cheated on Michele

but that won't happen.

[geek tragedy]

110. Naming Tellurian to his cabinet. n/t

[dionysus]

112. OH SHIT

:rofl::spray::rofl::spray::rofl::spray::rofl::spray::rofl::spray::rofl::spray: