We are a collective piece of work, we are ...... and to be sure, I include me in that.

[Stinky The Clown]

On Tuesday night, we saw the culmination of a very painful, joyful, contentious, agreeable period of nearly two years. The internecine wars brought us a candidate. Barack Obama.

I can say that I was late to the Obama Party. So were many of you. But come together we did. And collectively we prevailed.

We watched and we supported and we hand wrung and we bit our tongues as Barack Obama waged what has turned out to be a remarkable, steady, nearly flawless campaign. He won a large enough plurality to preclude cheating. He made gains in places only he and the great Doctor Dean could imagine us not just gaining, but actually winning.

Who among us would have wagered even a sawbuck that we would have won Indiana, fer krissakes? INDI-fucking-ANA. I never would have guessed that.

Don't even try to tell me you didn't cry some tears of joy on Tuesday night when he and his lovely wife, and those two beautiful little girls walked onto the stage in Grant Park. You know damned well you wanted to be there. You saw the faces in that crowd and you KNOW you wish you were there.

We won it.

Sleep came with difficulty Tuesday night. Not for any reason other than we were pumped and wanted to allow the feeling to last.

On Wednesday we watched the reports come in. We laughed at Bible Spice's rapid departure. We cheered again as the last down ballot races were sorted out and more wins piled up. The electoral count for our side grew.

The word "Landslide" is completely appropriate.

Landslide and the election of a truly historic president. This ain't the bridge in Selma, people. He is IN THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE.

He has shown himself to be decisive and without drama. Cool. Not Joe Cool cool (although he is that, too). But cool as in calculating and efficient.

And yet here we are again.

Squabbling.

A shitload of handwringing comments about his choice of aides. Chief of Staff. Treasury. Defense. Education.

People ... do you not trust him?

Really?

Do YOU not trust him?

He was never a liberal, you know. That was one reason I was late to the party. I wanted a credentialed liberal. Instead, I chose to listen to the dreams of Bobby, and Jack and Martin .... and yes, of Teddy. Teddy spoke for all of them in some way. He and Caroline.

I'm okay with my choice. It was a compromise, to be sure. But isn't all of life?

I'm at peace. And having made that choice, I need to trust him. He got us this far in just fine style, thankyewverymuch.

He has my support. I may not like his choices but they are, after all, his choices.

You know, I never thought I'd live long enough to see a black man as president. That alone is damned near good enough for me.

But look what else. He's got good sense. Better than mine, for sure. He has the perfect temperament for the job. Better than mine, for sure. He's got a good intellect. Once again, way better than mine.

Anyway, I consider all that, and then I read the threads I've been reading here and I get a disconnect. So I post a few of my own. And then I realize ..... huh?

This is the second day after the election and the vitriol here has gone from Zero to Eleven.

On the second fucking day.

Where the hell are we going to be on the one year anniversary?

Three years out?

We'll have plenty to get pissed off about .... but can we at least wait a little?

I KNOW I'm going to be pissed when I see some half assed salve smeared on the festering puss filled sore that is our health care system. I know I'm going to be disappointed. In fact, if all I am is disappointed, maybe I'm ahead of the game. I expect to be really pissed off.

But we're not there yet.

And yet the noise we're making is deafening.

Can we dial back the expectations and the noise?

?aybe for a fucking week?

Maybe till .... I dunno ...... till Bush leaves office?

Jeezus ........

[Xipe Totec]

1. Maybe we already tombstoned the obvious freepers

the survivors are pretty subtle SOBs...

Or maybe we just have our share of dumbshits.

Some of the posts dissing Obama's choices are really pissing me off.

I was late to the party too, but from the other end of the spectrum (Clinton supporter).

But once the choice was made, I turned my support to Obama and never looked back.

I am going to give him wide, WIDE, latitude on who he picks for his cabinet.

I expect results and that's what I will judge him by.

Not now, but four years hence.

Until then, he is MY PRESIDENT.

[Mythsaje]

2. So what else is new?

Some things never change.

[WarbirdForObama]

3. It's not just the sniping at President Obama

I lurked here for a looooooong time before I decided to start posting.

I saw a lot of battles going on, and not much cohesion. It kinda sucked, but DU was always a good source for info, so I kept lurking. Then, a few weeks before the Convention, people started coming together. Most if not all the in-fighting seemed to have gone away, and people were pointing their energy where it belonged, getting President Obama elected.

That's what finally got me to register.

I was pretty excited to finally post here. People welcomed me. I kinda liked that.

Watching the election through peoples posts here was exciting. There were none of the old fights going on, except when the occasional FREEPturd drew the short straw and wandered in here.

Then Tuesday, it happened!!!

Something I had hoped and wished for, not only did we oust the Rethuglican hordes, but we made history, by electing the 1st African American President!

President Obama! I kept repeating it to myself, because I almost didn't believe it.

Heck, I went to bed Tuesday night happier than I've been in years. When I woke up the next morning, I was still in shock. Was it a dream?

Then, things started to turn again around here. Prop 8 looked like it was going to pass. I took great pleasure voting NO on that thing and wanted very badly to watch it go down in flames.

But now the in-fighting is back to DU. People twisting themselves into knots trying to figure out who to blame for it not being defeated. Are they righteously angry about it not being defeated? Not just YES, but HELL YES! I don't blame them for raging about it. Prop 8 was the most discriminitory and bigoted thing I've ever seen on a ballot. Its WRONG, and it needs to be defeated, one way or another!

That being said, rushing around DU trying to decide who to blame for it passing doesn't do shit to help assemble the same group of compatriots who just days earlier had participated in a historic election, to once again, hook up to find a way to help defeat Prop 8.

Is it safe to assume that most, if not all California DUers more than likely voted NO on Prop 8? Is it safe to assume, with that previous assumption in mind, that while some of us may not be Gay or Lesbian, we feel as they do that Prop 8 is WRONG, AND that we are on their side?

I'm sorry for rattling on, but all this in-fighting has me thinking about going back to just lurking, on occasion, because if we're not here to focus our energy fighting against the Reich Wing, and all that they represent, then what's the point?

Again, Sorry about rattling on.

[ananda]

12. Liberals think for themselves.

We don't march in lock synch like good
little fascists.

We have minds and hearts of our own, and
we think that it's healthy to express
our views and disagree.

That's the only way progress and new ideas
and policies get the kind of airing and
vetting required to make good and informed
decisions.

[old mark]

24. ...when we bother to think at all. People here were expressing dissapointment

with Obama 6 hours after he won the election.

I know we are Democrats, but let's give the man a week or so before we want him out of office.


Save it for Bush.

mark

[Hekate]

4. So very well said, H2S. This place is so over the top right now that I'm going to...

... take my good feelings from Tuesday night away for awhile so they don't completely dissipate.

I had a party at my house. We had champagne. We laughed and cried and sang Happy Days Are Here Again and were completely giddy with joy. I went to bed with a sore throat from screaming as the states turned blue.

Today I had errands about town and wore my Obama T-shirt. I couldn't stop smiling. Everywhere I went people returned my smile. Random people struck up conversations to tell me of their joy that Obama won and their relief that 8 long years of Hell are almost over.

:hug: for you and Sparkly. I mean it. See ya around. :hi:

Hekate

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Awwww

Thank you! :hi:

[readmoreoften]

5. Wait. The election is over. There is no danger in criticizing his choices.

I'm happy he's in office. I'm ecstatic about having a Black president and all that means for America. I'm thrilled at the length of his coattails. But Barack Obama himself hasn't done a damn thing to win my trust. I have no idea what the man really stands for. All I can see is that he's a good politician. Only time will tell if he does right by us. It's up to us to let him know our demands. Personally, I'm kind of hoping for someone who isn't just "not Bush" but someone who shows real leadership and a move towards the center (or what in the US is called "the left").

No offense, but I'll criticize ol' President Barry all I want, thanks. He won over a lot of people who believed he'd run the country to the left of where he campaigned.

Only time will tell.

[Hekate]

9. "I have no idea what the man really stands for." Now, that's a problem of thine own making.

We've had the last two years to figure that out. Actually, we've had more like four years. It's true he plays his cards close to his chest, but he has also written two autobiographical books of excellent prose and one campaign book outlining everything he stands for and intends to do.

My suggestion is if you still "have no idea what the man really stands for" that you head on down to your local public library or bookseller and READ what he has to say.

Hekate

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. I TRUST HIM! And I came late to this party for sure but I am here and I TRUST HIM!

[Chan790]

7. I'm reminded of something I was told in college:

“In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the stakes at issue—that is why academic politics are so bitter.” - Sayre's Law.

We pulled together for the big win, now we're squabbling over the small shit. Why? Because comparatively whether Obama chooses RFK Jr. for the EPA, Rahm Emanuel for CoS and Larry Summers for Treasury Secretary matters a hell of a lot less than differences between Obama and McCain...further there is only one opinion.

President-elect Obama...I trust your choices, even if the people you've chosen thus far are not the people I would have chosen.

[Lugnut]

8. I'm cutting him some slack.

I'm not thrilled with some of the staffing choices either but there's no doubt in my mind who will be in charge.

[nichomachus]

11. It's called politics

It's been happening since the beginning of time.

People like to criticize and second guess. It ain't gonna stop.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. That made milk come out of my nose.

[eridani]

13. What you perceive as griping, I perceive as insisting on asking for the pony now-

--so that we might possibly get a kitten or puppy out if it.

[Cults4Bush]

19. What a great response!

Seriously wonderful, thank you... its exactly how I feel too.

[Fumesucker]

20. I agree with you..

That's my attitude in a nutshell, I'm so damn tired of Democrats running screaming in fear from their strongest and most loyal supporters.

[leftofthedial]

14. We should all just shut the hell up

and not discuss any decisions he makes until 11 A.M on January 20, 2009 (Eastern Time)?

No matter what he does?

It is no concern of ours that his first two administration picks, VP and CoS, are both hardcore DLCers. It should not worry us that his administration is beginning to look like the grotesquely ineffective "democratic" Congress of the last decade. That's irrelevant. After all, he is really smart. And besides, we were really happy Tuesday night, so we shouldn't criticize.

...

H2S, I'm not buying it. I'm also not buying into the "maybe Rahm doesn't suck as bad as we think" line either. Like you, I came to Obama as a compromise. I suspended disbelief in his right-of-center record and proposals and supported him. I gave his message of "change" the benefit of the doubt. His administration choices so far have both unambiguously contradicted that message. I have earned the right to do my small part to hold his feet to the fire.

I'm not writing him off. I'm not withdrawing support. I salute him (and us) on a landmark victory. I still have hope for the future for the first time since 2000. But he has two strikes on him. If this turns out to be a DLC-dominated administration, another four years of Democrats completely abandoning the left, I won't support it.

[Fumesucker]

15. I kept a lot of my misgivings to myself pre-election..

For the sake of unity and a common purpose..

At what point am I allowed to stop censoring myself?

[Lyric]

16. I haven't said a word about anything related to his staff picks, but

no, I don't unconditionally "trust" any politician. I evaluate each decision on its own merits. Accountability is the most important thing to me. We've had eight years of a President that wasn't accountable--not to his own party (who trusted him utterly) and certainly not to us. I'm not interested in that again, not even from one of the Good Guys. If he's truly the Good Guy that we all believe him to be, then he isn't expecting us to blithely trust him--he's expecting us to do what the right-wing *refused* to do with *their* President--respect him, admire him, and still hold him accountable.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

17. I came late to the Obama party too, but have supported, donated and voted for him. But I refuse

to keep my eyes wide shut. I am not happy with his selection of Emanuel who has helped to deter chances of progressives from running for Congress. Ask some of the Florida DUers. He has been a factor in bringing our party right of center..a place traditionally held by moderate Republicans.

Obama has not earned my blind trust (and I never blindly trust Anyone anyway) after his vote to recommend Rice for Secretary of State and his DISMAL vote for the FISA bill.

But I am not railing about his current choice yet, and taking a wait and see approach, but I will not be bullied by some posters on this board who are telling dissenters to STFU. Telling good Progressives to leave DU.

That is against DU rules and it is decidedly anti-American.

[eridani]

21. As chief of staff instead of DCCC, he won't be fucking with potential progressive candidates anymore

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. That is one saving grace.

:toast:

[LWolf]

18. I never actually came to the party.

I did shed a few tears of joy Tuesday night; ushering out the Bush era, ushering in the first person of color to the white house, the fact that, while I don't like Obama's political positions, I like the man that he is.

I did reach out to him, sending him a letter of congratulations and a gift before the polls opened on election day, confident that he would prevail.

I do plan to give him a chance; that doesn't mean I won't speak up when he's blowing that chance.

I was not surprised by the pick for chief of staff. I've always known that Obama is a centrist, sometimes right of center, and that while he isn't a card-carrying member, his policies fit the DLC like a glove, and are a bad fit for me.

So I wasn't surprised. I wasn't happy about it, either. I'd hoped to see Obama begin by doing things to reach out: to reach out to me, and my wing of the party that he worked so hard to distance himself from. I was disappointed.

Of course, he still has many opportunities to demonstrate that he is going to be the president of the left, as well as of the center, the right, the republicans, the african-americans, and the religious.

I'll give him through the first 90 days of his administration. I'm keeping score. If the number of positives outweigh the negatives, he'll have my support.

I'm sorry that his first move was to put a weight on the wrong side of the scale.

[acmavm]

25. AND we might very well get ONE electoral vote here in

Omaha/Lincoln, Nebraska!

[tomp]

26. No, I do NOT trust him!

and you would be well advised to do the same.

He has telegraphed quite clearly that he is not going after the bush, inc criminals. that makes him an accessory after the fact. he is already not upholding the constitution. he is already contributing to the corruption and lack of integrity in government.

trust him? no way!

[bigtree]

29. 'telegraphed?'

:rofl: keep pushing those buttons . . . Just remember to stop pushing so many at one time when some of the lights finally come on.

[crispini]

27. Ignore them.

Really. Don't let 'em harsh your buzz. :D

[bigtree]

28. the questioning of our leaders is all part of the Democratic process, H2S

. . . and the leaders we elect are challenged and pledged to come up with some good answers.

[tavalon]

30. Bush who?

I kid. And I don't expect to just forget him, either. I intend to be part of the indict/convict crowd.

I started in being upset around his COS choice but many here straightened me out and yes, I've come to the conclusion that I need to show a little trust. I also came late to this table but it's been well set and even if all we get is chicken noodle soup, it will be sublime compared to the shit sandwiches we've been handed over the last eight years.

I've decided to just keep basking in that which is wonderful and cool my heels around the rest of it.