We all knew what was coming....

[Uben]

After the bush administration, we knew whoever won the presidency was gonna have a tough row to hoe. They had spent so much money, gotten us into two wars, and left the U.S. on the brink of financial disaster. We knew no one president was gonna be able to get us out of the mess created. In fact, I don't think the republicans even wanted the job...look who they nominated.

Economists were saying it would take well over a decade to get us back to where we were before Bush. Two years in and everyone is already jumping ship because Obama hasn't created 2 or 3 million jobs. NEvermind that this administration has created more jobs in two years than bush did in eight, it isn't enough.

Personally, I can't see why anyone would want the job. I would liken it to someone stepping in and taking over Enron in 2001.

Obama and Clinton stepped up and ran, and Obama won....or lost, depends on how you look at it.

While employment hasn't made big strides, the economy has began recovery, and the markets are back to early 2008 levels. If you had told me that two years ago, I would have said you were crazy.

We needed a savior to take control and fix everything immediately. We got Obama, a mere mortal.

[Tippy]

1. K&R....So true..

[vi5]

2. We didn't need a savior....

We simply needed someone to put a stop to the economic policies and beliefs of the previous administration (one being that "the market" is an indication of the health of the economy) and to fight hard for Democratic principles.

We didn't get that. Now we are all paying.

[FreakinDJ]

3. It takes a House and Senate too

Spineless Bastard Blue Dogs don't count

[Uben]

5. Isn't that the truth! nt

nt

[Uben]

4. We needed so much more than that....

..to think otherwise is very naive.

[vi5]

11. To fix anything and everything....yes.

But fully put us on the road to anything other than a cosmetic recovery we just needed someone to adopt different policies and approach the economy from a different, non supply-side, non-wall street-centric approach.

And someone who thought that a federal economics team run by Ben Bernake, Tim Geitner, and Larry Summers is not someone who was willing to make the changes that needed to be made.

He didn't need to be a savior he just needed to be strong and cut ties to the past. He chose not to do that. Which is fine. We all make our decisions. But this whole "Oh poor guy just couldn't have done anything differently to make things better because the deck was stacked against him." completely ignores the decisions he did make that were completely within his control and which went no way towards helping the economy.

But I know it's just easier to assume that everyone that has issues with what he's done wanted ponies or wanted a savior or whatever other trope it's easier to trot out than to acknowledge very real and very pronounced mistakes that were made with eyes fully open.

[mrcheerful]

14. What I personally think is after seeing the R's ramming garbage through for 8 years

people were under the impression that when D's got in they in turn would seek vengeance on R policies, those of us that have been around knew that once R's started something there was no going back to the way things were before the R's got power. There is no going back, it has never worked that way in my life time, after Nixon/Ford we got Jimmy in and look at what the people did to him. After Reagan/daddy B we got Bill, yet neither Jimmy or Bill could totally undo all that the R's did before them.

Another thing I have noticed is when R's are out of power the majority expect the D's to work with the R's, as far back as I can remember splitting your ticket was the norm because somewhere the talking point got started that by splitting your vote meant that neither party could do what they did with the early shrub years and the rubber stamp congress. Reagan also changed the political field by dividing the country with us vs them so that the wing nuts had more power then they ever had since Hoover.

Another factor is the majority of people are not interested in politics, you have the R base and D base that are politically active but then you got the majority who only pay attention a few weeks before the election, they are the ones who vote out the people they see as the cause to their misery. Never mind who was behind the cause, they tend to blame the party who holds the highest seat in the state or nation ignoring the house where the problem was created. They seem to think the president or governor have unlimited power to force congress to vote their way.

I heard the split ticket voters make the claim that by giving a D president/governor an R house meant their powers were limited, at one time it was both parties facing that thinking but since Reagan they expect D's to be limited but not the R's.

[chimpymustgo]

9. No savior. Just a good, smart, tough man or woman willing to work for the PEOPLE.

[Gaedel]

6. I always thought.......

The 2008 presidency was a "poisoned chalice".

The country was heading into recession.

Keynesian ways of restarting the economy:

1. Lower interest rates.

2. Increase deficit spending.

3. Reduce tax rates.

Those tools were really not available because interest rates were already rock bottom, the deficit as already too high, and tax rates had already been reduced.

[asjr]

7. Every time a Republican brings up

the deficit I wish every Democrat would come back with You put us in hock, shut up.

[T Wolf]

8. NO ONE asked for immediate recovery! The only ones complaining about the lack of total

recovery are the pukes and the reich.

The left is unhappy because the direction of this administration's efforts has not been toward the left/liberal/progressive side but in the opposite direction - toward the enemy that has wreaked so much destruction.

His obsession with bipartisanship has ruined any chance for real success (from the left point of view) and killed any possibility for real progress for the foreseeable future by killing the enthusiasm that too many of us naively had in 2008.

I won't get fooled again.

[KharmaTrain]

10. Whatcha Done For Me Lately

Perceptions are our political realities and our corporate media doesn't do nuance well. While anyone who was cognizant and had a functioning brain cell during the boooosh years saw how screwed things were getting, once he was gone and the rushpublicans were vanquished the short-term memory slipped in. All of a sudden despite the fact the market crash and massive damage happened in the final days after the election and before Obama's inauguration (the market was around 7,000 on Innauguration Day) it's now "Obama's economy". The fact he needed to defecit spend due to the major drain on revenues thanks to that recession/depression and the booooosh tax cuts for the rich became some heinous crime...nevermind that the previous regime ran up the defecit to its current sky high proportions and that's not including two war that were kept off the books. The narrative is it was all Obama's fault.

I've stood with administration and still do, but I also see the non-stop attacks on it taking a toll and making the perception of weakness turn into the new "political reality". And what makes it worse it the administration is buying into it.

While President Obama is a mere mortal, he also was elected to offer strong leadership and he's not showing it. Caving in on tax breaks to the rich while another 2,000,000 Americans face economic armageddon and nothing is being done doesn't help one's ability to stay supportive.

[Uben]

12. Leadership does not equate to stalemate

We know the republicans have pledged to say no to everything. Introducing legislation that has no chance of passing is a waste of time and money. The reality is he must reach out to get anything passed. That is the situation he was put in when elected. HE had to bargain with his own party to get some of it passed, and will have to deal with republicans to get anything else passed. That is reality, and a leader will do what is necessary to get the job done.

Are you for:

extending unemployment benefits.

Repealing DADT?

extending the tax cuts for the middle class?

winning in 2012?

All of the above will entail engaging republicans to get any of it done. A strong leader finds ways to get things done. Let's see how things turn out. I'll bet they all get done. Now that would be leadership, wouldn't you agree?

[KharmaTrain]

17. Comrpomise Yes...Caving In...Not So Much

I long defended this administration for the reasons you describe. To get anything done in our system you need a few of the opposition to crossover...and it was designed that way; especially the Senate. And for the most part of our history there were those who you could bargain with in good faith...who put partisanship aside when the national welfare required. That was then, this is now. The GOTB has a deliberate strategy of obstruction no matter what...no matter if it makes them appear to be hypocrites and those that dare to stray from the party line face both financial and media scorn. It's like that party is operating like the Mafia with no one daring to break the Omarta.

A strong leader does find ways to get things done, but they also know how to negotiate...to give a little get a little with an opposite party that bargains in good faith. That doesn't exist. What's worse, they're trying to play him publicly for a chump. This "slurpee" summit was a great case in point. First they stand him up, then after he goes out to declare a meeting of the minds, they move the football and that becomes the story. Hard to be a leader when you have an opposition that is out for your failure and those within your party who are opportunists rather than legislators.

I truly wish for President Obama to be that strong leader and at times has shown it, but right now he's boxed himself into corners where compromise appears more as capitulation as there's precious little his opposition is willing to offer in return. So the question is to be a strong leader and gridlock an already messed up legislative or give in for the sake of getting something/anything done.

Cheers...

[dkf]

13. His big mistake was focusing on HCR over jobs. That one was a doozy.

Unfortunately we are all in the car with him.

[Safetykitten]

15. We haz the began of recovery. Not even close.

[treestar]

16. A savior to take control of and fix everything - that's a cop out

Our President does not, rightfully, have such powers.

I'm amazed at the alleged left being so in love with the idea of an all powerful leader who is like a Daddy who will take care of everything.

We are never going to have that in this country - thank God!

We got ourselves into a mess - we can't just sit back and blame Bush. As a country, we went along with him. We have a government of the People. Then we get lazy and just focus on the President as if that figure were meant to be the Big Boss, the Kim Il sung of the West.