On The Subject Of Quitting

[WilliamPitt]

(Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: orsorama, TalkMediaNews)

On the Subject of Quitting
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

Friday 03 December 2010

My head is swimming. My hands are shaking. My teeth are grinding together so hard that my jaw muscles look like I'm storing walnuts in there for the winter.

For once, these symptoms are not being caused by politics. I have not had a cigarette for four days. I have been gobbling nicotine lozenges like M&M's, and am breathing freely for the first time in twenty years. I think I've got this thing licked.

As it turns out, I picked exactly, precisely the right week to undertake this daunting exercise. I might as well have; with everything that has been going on, the physical symptoms I have been suffering - wooziness, tremors, grinding teeth, anxiousness, sleeplessness, and the occasional bout of extreme rage - would have been present anyway. Might as well have something good come out of it.

It was the right time to quit, because if I had still been smoking this week, I would have been sorely tempted to stab a butt out in my eyes, to spare me from having to witness a Democratic presidential administration fly apart at the seams...and not because of some nefarious right-wing plot or media malfeasance. No, Mr. Obama and the pinheads who advise him did this to themselves, and it is disgraceful beyond all measure to behold.

A federal wage freeze was how the week began. Really, Mr. President? What's next? A big sign on the White House lawn saying, "The GOP was right. - BHO" would not surprise me. Way to concede a very contested economic point without putting up even the slightest indication of a fight. Paul Krugman said it best on Friday:

After the Democratic "shellacking" in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?

On Monday, we got the answer: he announced a pay freeze for federal workers. This was an announcement that had it all. It was transparently cynical; it was trivial in scale, but misguided in direction; and by making the announcement, Mr. Obama effectively conceded the policy argument to the very people who are seeking - successfully, it seems - to destroy him.

So I guess we are, in fact, seeing what Mr. Obama is made of.

It got worse as the week went on. A dog-and-pony meeting between Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans yielded one of the most ridiculous presidential statements since Richard Nixon's demented, gin-soaked farewell address. According to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, Mr. Obama took responsibility for the partisan tone in Washington DC. "The president acknowledged he needed to do better," said Gibbs.

Really.

As a quick recap, before he was even inaugurated, Republican members of Congress were calling President Obama a Marxist Hitler on the House floor. (Had that ever happened before?) Then there was Jim DeMint, who compared Obama to Napoleon and Hitler in the same month. Let's not forget Michele Bachmann's warning that Obama was going to brainwash our children in Marxist gulags to go with her constant hectoring about "socialism."

Then came the Birther Caucus - that group of 17 Republican lawmakers who questioned Obama's citizenship and even introduced legislation which suggested the President isn't quite American. And when Obama planned to address the nation's school children on their first day of class, Republicans rioted.

We can't leave out Republican Joe Wilson's shouting "You lie!" during the State of the Union - which was also without precedent, not to mention the House Republicans cheering their en masse vote against the stimulus, the "death panels," and "pulling the plug on grandma." Can't leave out Lamar Smith (R-TX) suggesting Obama should be impeached for not protecting the border. And who can forget Republican members of Congress proudly speaking at event under a banner that compared the law to the holocaust - all while Republican officials nationwide almost weekly compared Obama to Hitler.

(Link to quoted text available at original Truthout link below)

There is a lot of talk about Mr. Obama's character, or lack thereof, these days. He's not a fighter, he's too conciliatory, he's weak, he's unprepared, he's a secret Republican, etc. I have an outside-the-box theory about Obama that may explain all this: Stockholm Syndrome. The malady arises when a hostage situation goes on long enough that the hostages begin to identify with their captors, and in some cases, go so far as to stand up for them, and even defend them in public and in the courts. The GOP has been pounding on Mr. Obama since his presidential campaign began almost four years ago, and I think the pressure and stress might have blended his sense of direction. Left has suddenly become right, and the Democratic President of the United States has become the most eloquent advocate for everything he was elected to put a stop to.

If the White House needed any further evidence that their conciliatory approach (read: retreat) will never, ever, ever, ever yield results with the GOP, all they had to do was check the news wires approximately 0.0000034 seconds after the "meeting" with the GOP ended. After coming together with the president to talk about trying to get along, the GOP emerged and announced with one voice that they would block every single piece of legislation - including a bill to make sure unemployed people don't lose their benefits on the doorstep of Christmas - until Congress made permanent George W. Bush's tax cuts for rich people. As of this writing, it looks for all the world like the White House is going to cave on this issue as well.

Hope. Change. Fail.

And, hard as it is to believe, the worst was yet to come.

In its first months in office, the Obama administration sought to protect Bush administration officials facing criminal investigation overseas for their involvement in establishing policies the that governed interrogations of detained terrorist suspects. A "confidential" April 17, 2009, cable sent from the US embassy in Madrid to the State Department - one of the 251,287 cables obtained by WikiLeaks - details how the Obama administration, working with Republicans, leaned on Spain to derail this potential prosecution.

. . .

Back when it seemed that this case could become a major international issue, during an April 14, 2009, White House briefing, I asked press secretary Robert Gibbs if the Obama administration would cooperate with any request from the Spaniards for information and documents related to the Bush Six. He said, "I don't want to get involved in hypotheticals." What he didn't disclose was that the Obama administration, working with Republicans, was actively pressuring the Spaniards to drop the investigation. Those efforts apparently paid off, and, as this WikiLeaks-released cable shows, Gonzales, Haynes, Feith, Bybee, Addington, and Yoo owed Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thank-you notes.

(Link to quoted text available at original Truthout link below)

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...and with any luck, he will put some courage in Mr. Obama's stocking this year, right next to the lump of coal the president's dismal, disappointing, demoralizing performance has earned him. In one week, the man certified the viability of Republican economic policy in the face of overwhelming evidence that Republicans have no economic policy beyond "We Like Rich People." He took responsibility for the crappy tone in Washington while being called a Nazi terrorist Marxist socialist non-citizen. He appeared all too ready to capitulate on the Bush tax cuts, even as an overwhelming majority of Americans want them done away with.

And to cap it all off, the Wikileaks document dump exposed the fact that Mr. Obama and his people went out of their way to derail even the most outside chance that some form of justice might be done after eight years of rampant Bush-era criminality. Mr. Obama waxed positively lyrical about the need to seek that justice during his presidential campaign. From the look of things, that promise - like so many others he made on the trail - turned to dust the moment he entered the Oval Office.

I quit smoking this week. The President quit on me this week. I know a whole lot of people who are about to quit on him, if they haven't already.

http://www.truth-out.org/on-subject-quitting65637

[ananda]

1. This deserves a lot of Recs.

Bump

[WillyT]

21. Yes It Does...

:kick:& Rec !!!

[ibegurpard]

51. hmm...wonder if there's some way to make the new logo do that....

[monmouth]

2. Ouch! That one is gonna hurt....n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. You are as eloquent as I have come to expect, my dear Will...

You have said this with irrefutable detail.

And how much it saddens me...

Recommended.

[WilliamPitt]

8. Thank you, my dear

:hug:

:(

[femrap]

135. Get the PATCHES!!!!

They made it so easy for me to quit smoking. And I was a 2 pack/day. Good luck!

So I think we better be looking for a primary candidate. I don't think he has Stockholm Syndrome...I truly believe he was bought and paid for from the start by TPTB. Anyone who took over after the 8 years of W was getting a complete mess. So let's have a woman or Black dude take the fall.

HRC had too much fight in her....so let's give it to the compromising Black dude. That's my theory. And TPTB gave him the best marketing campaign money could buy.

I'm old and cynical...so I didn't fall for it. I've been betrayed by 'my' party too many times. I know better now.

[gratuitous]

4. I was gonna read this post, then I saw how long it was

So I quit.

:P

[WilliamPitt]

5. *snerk*

:P

[Cherchez la Femme]

91. In my experience,

I've yet to find the article by Mr. Pitt that's TL : DR :D


Kick, kick, kick,
Mr. Pitt!

[WilliamPitt]

120. "TL : DR"?

It's been a long time since I came across a DU acronym I didn't understand.

Help?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

124. Too Long/Didn't Read

[Danascot]

125. TL : DR is Too Long, Didn't Read

If used by the OP, it's TL : DR followed by a brief summary of the post for those who can't be bothered to read the whole thing. It's used often on Reddit.

This and every Will Pitt post I've ever seen is well worth reading every word.

[Poboy]

6. Ahhh, a much belated realization that just last week you were posting, lets see,

Yes..."facepalm", to such talk.
I guess this is finally your 'Obama has no honor' article I have been asking you for, everytime you derided and demeaned those making posts such as this one you just made.

Better late than never I guess. Recommend.

[WilliamPitt]

7. Last week

he hadn't barfed up a stupid pay freeze, apologized for getting beat up, and had it revealed that he actively worked to kill Justice for the Bush years. All within about 72 hours.

My learning curve is steeper than most.

;)

Thanks.

[mimitabby]

16. yeah me too

but I'm pretty disappointed as well.

Good luck on being a non-smoker. Right about now you should start feeling SO MUCH better.

[Mira]

74. Good on Will for the 4 days - and for our President, at the moment

I can sadly only underscore what Will said because I myself am simply too proud of him to speak.

Mimi! I'm so glad to run across you. I look at your painting on the wall every day, and still love it.

here is the link from my bookmarks

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=7899071

[Catherina]

35. Well at least you're finally here. Rec'd and good luck with kicking cigarettes. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

41. OK, now you've done it, Will. You've awoken my

inner pedant.

About learning curves--when you plot time on the X axis and the measure of learning on the Y axis, a steep learning curve is one that rises sharply, indicating fast learning. (Short time, much acquisition.) A long, gradual learning curve indicates that the learning is progressing slowly. Much time, little rise in the learning measure.

Other than that, fine. Great piece.

You know, you worry me with these frequent allusions to putting sharp or hot objects in your eyes.

And about that smoking thing--I quit about 26 years ago, and learned some things in the process. First, getting a lot of exercise causes your body to produce endorphins, which help to ease the addiction. (Putting sharp or hot things in your eyes would also probably do this, but I haven't seen this approach recommended anywhere.) Also, I learned that I didn't have a smoking habit. I had a thousand little smoking habits. The First One with Coffee habit, the One at the Keyboard habit, the One when the Phone Rings habit, the Light Up when I Get In The Car habit, and so on. I had to find a strategy for dealing with each of these habits. One thing I did was to change my routines as much as possible for the first week. Since I had some spare time on my hands at that moment, I started going on all-day walks in the woods and then started doing day-long bike rides. I found that within 24 hours of quitting, my blood stream had mostly cleared itself of the CO burden in the erythrocytes that all smokers have, so the extra O2 carrying capacity gave me about a 25% boost in energy and stamina right away. That really helped with my walking/biking regimen, and (almost) made the exercise pleasurable.

Anyway, keep fighting the good fight, both in your smoking cessation and in the world at large.

[ibegurpard]

43. HA!

"a thousand little smoking habits"
that is SO right on!
It's been a year and a half for me and I still find myself doing something that I haven't done for a while during which I would light up a cigarette and now found myself looking for the pack and my lighter.

[WilliamPitt]

45. ..."these frequent allusions to putting sharp or hot objects in your eyes..."

I'm a Hunter S. Thompson acolyte.

Goes with the territory.

:smoke:

[Jackpine Radical]

49. Do you shoot holes in your domicile with a .44 mag?

Do you hang out with fat Samoan lawyers?

I mean, how far do you carry this stuff, Will?

[WilliamPitt]

53. My walls are plaster

And .44s are hard to come by in Massachusetts.

The rest?

...

[laughingliberal]

63. I think the hits are just beginning. I look for him to use the deficit commission proposal as the...

blueprint for his budget. Today, he praised their work and said he will look to incorporate elements of their proposal into his fiscal year 2012 budget.

Something to look forward to.

Good luck with the smoking thingie.

[Name removed]

88. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cherchez la Femme]

92. He APOLOGIZED for being 'beat up'??

Hell, Cheney STILL hasn't apologized for shooting that guy in the face!
Which, BTW, was much more serious than ever reported or let on.


There really IS a difference between the last administration & this one,
although I was looking for something...

...oh, let's say a *tad* more Liberal/Progressive.
Heck, I wouldn't even be near so depressed if it were even more Center than Right/Center Right.




Sorry for capitalizing -- I'm just too tired, or lazy, tonite to type out html. Appy-olly-loggies.

[Flubadubya]

114. Just blame it on the cancer sticks...

They've been "clouding" your reason, so to speak, lol! :smoke: :evilgrin:

[somone]

9. Hope. Change. Fail.

Thanks for speaking out.

[kgnu_fan]

10. Addiciton on illusion is hard to quit....

[JackRiddler]

11. Good luck with quitting. It's tough!

[AndrewP]

12. Interesting n/t

[NightWatcher]

13. more typical Obama bashing

I dont believe that you are "bashing" one bit, but others will say it, so I figured I'd get that out of the way for ya.

It's been a tough week for us

[WilliamPitt]

14. "It's been a tough week for us"

That's putting it mildly.

:hug:

[tavalon]

65. It's been a tough two years

With a few bright spots here and there. This isn't how I imagined the post Bush years to be. Of course, part of my crash landing had to do with actually believing the Hope/Change meme, not realizing I was being sold a product, not the actual thing.

[WilliamPitt]

68. It's been a tough ten years.

50, actually.

Ultimate lesson: the work never stops.

[tavalon]

70. Damn it all, you're right

I know this. I just wish I hadn't invested such hope in the Democratic party. I'm way too much of an idealist for my own good.

I'm thinking about turning to local direct action, and let DC take care of itself since it surely isn't taking care of us. But, yeah, I'm not going to quit the fight. I took the red pill after 9/11 and I have no desire to take the blue one, as hard as the other pill has been to swallow.

[Cherchez la Femme]

95. What? What?!!

(Heck, after writing this thing it's obvious this is a TL : DR post -- just a rant. I'm hoping I'll feel even a little better to get some frustration out. I'm not even going to proof-read it anymore than I have. Spelling & grammar mistakes? Oh well, status quo I guess.
Pass it by... you've heard it all before and by those much more eloquent than I.)



It's only been two years!

Before that, it's only been 18 months

Before that, it's only been a year

Before that, it's only been 8 months

Before that, it's only been 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 month (OK, those I'll give you, with reservation on his Cabinet & governmental DLC & corporatist picks).

Before that, it's only been 'one prayer'

Before that, it's only been one song

Around that time, his statement just before the California H8 vote saying marriage is for a man & a woman and that statement didn't really mean anything -- all those people who voted for him certain won't let his druthers sway them, amirite?

Before that, it's only been uh, well, way more than one Wall Street bigwig
more than one Republican who has his ear waay beyond any fucking retarded &/or drugged our "Liberal" (read that with a definite distasteful and denigrating tone)
waay more than one lobbyist,
waay more than one corporatist, including not only letting BP handle their own 'supervision'
*cough, cough*
but using OUR tax-funded Coast Guard to act as BP's strong arm of the law & keep both reporters and citizens far --out of eye, and camera-sight-- of the "clean up" Yay transparency, Pres-O style!

It's only been that the Pres can assassinate international characters who 'impede our national interests' (says who, & with what evidence? Does it matter many have been executed under our Death Penalty even WITH a trial and will a 'kill-em-cause-I-say-so' really be even on a par, evidentiary-wise, as those trials?)
ditto to only a *couple* American citizens, tops, would be assassinated by the Pres' orders,
Is having a trial soo 20th Century?
Who REALLY needs a trial, anyhow? When a Democratic President says you're guilty, by gum you're guilty! Whatta Constitutional scholar! :woohoo:

It's been still two wars. It's been new peremptory bombing campaigns in new & different countries. We've still Guantanamo running right along. Still Habeas Corpus has not been restored. Still extraordinary renditions. Still holding many Bush laws, procedures, and following Dub's signing statements.
*Disclaimer: Obama: Better Than Bush! *TM

It's only been Summers. It's only been no fucking retarded, drugged-up Liberals among his Cabinet, confidantes, advisers. It's only been no LGBTQI anywhere's near to having any place in D.C. that would even rarely be able to get the Presidents ear. (Can't help but wonder if there's a flag: Don't Hit On Me!"
It's only been Arne Duncan and busting Teachers Unions (I'm SURE that the untrained new "teachers" hired to replace those who've successfully taught for decades will bring up students grades in no time flat! Of that I'm as sure as It's just one song!)
It's only been retaining the Bushie U.S. Attorneys.
It's only been going to court not once, but many times, to defend DADT. To the point of his people saying LGBTQI's are child molesters & engage in bestiality and incest. Oh, and they arguing NOT to give Federal Workers who happen to be Gay (for a shorter term) benefits for their partners because 'it would cause soo much more in monetarial value to give such workers equal rights. Atta boy, you D.C. denizens, you paid flacks/hacks; you GO! I wonder why LBJ didn't see that light when he pushed through all those Civil Rights in the 60's?

It's only been The Catfood Commission.
It's only been Health Insurance,er CARE, Reform with Public Option/Single Payer given up before even begun (see re:campaign promises just below)

It's been Obama's speshul brand of Bipartisanship
strangely nothing like the definition.


Not to mention 'his campaign promises were never meant to be counted on' and we'd be fucking Naive (code for retarded -- what a nice word!) to believe the words coming outta his own mouth! Silly us.


Not to mention his multi-dimensional chess playing, a hundred moves ahead of Spassky, Fischer, et. al. put together,
heck, how he superhumanly out-thinks we little people in every way!



(And this just a partial list. :cry:)


I've sure stood corrected, I can tell you! :sarcasm:

Yes, Hope and Change are still tingling down my leg (no, I don't think it's sciatica -- if it is, it sure isn't going to be treated, not under my bare bones policy which, cut way down & costing me an additional nice car payment minimum per month, I STILL can't afford!).

Yep.
Yep yep yep



And if I can swing it financially, I'm moving to Canada.
Yes, I know I'll be wished a fond bon voyage from those here who never would hear a discouraging word
--if you're in despair and hopeless I guess it should be easy to pull one up by one's own bootstraps and become all Rah-Rah again, eh? Still I can't seem to muster it up and find myself spending all my free time curled up on the couch in one tense, anguished ball--
but if you do wish me so, please by all means refute my contentions. Call it a (Hopefully) going-away present.


And there are many who say that all some do, i.e. we *trolls*, is look hard for something to complain about and since we can't we fabricate it; yet it's passing strange that I keep on thinking about how gottdamm Happy Happy Yay-Yay! I would be if Obama were even HALF of 'the New FDR'.

Too long a post again. Sorry. My frustration and deep disappointment is simply immense.
What I can't help getting back to, in my mind, again and again is aren't we supposed to leave a BETTER future for our offspring? We can't even guarantee the status quo, we're deteriorating their futures seemingly every week with every Democratically sponsored or approved appointment, bill, study or Commission.
:sob:


edit: Oh yeah -- gotta add Carbon Emissions, treaties, lack of.

And sorry to seem like I'm sounding like I'm coming down on you -- I saw the rest of your post
just couldn't believe I heard yet again the "just two years" canard :facepalm: and it was the proverbial straw that cracked the Dromedary's back. That just sent me on a, many, rants & tangents. Please don't take it personally -- it's just a rant on that ever-expanding time value of 'it's just X months/years' :(

[tavalon]

99. I just assumed you were using my post as a jumping off point

Because we can't be arguing when we agree on all points, right?

[Cherchez la Femme]

102. Absolutely!

It just brought up such immense frustration, all this $hit that's been building up
and truthfully I've let some of it out already here
...it just has never elicited any catharsis whatsoever, perhaps because instead of a certain outrageous instance and recovering from it, they build up straw upon straw until the load is unmoveable.

No, I did not mean at all to disparage you, and I'm sorry that I wrote it that way; please accept my apologies
I did not mean it against you... it's just I've heard those words way too many times to hear them again without an all-or-nothing response :/

Thanks for understanding. :hug:

[Cherchez la Femme]

106. Add to:the sentence above

Add the following emboldened to the following (italicized) sentence above written above:

"It's only been deliberately going to court not once, but many times, to defend DADT"

where even the Reprofitcans have challenged the law and it's been found unconstitutional; to which Obama's Justice Department response was asking the judge to "allow the policy to remain on the books throughout the ongoing appeals process"

Additionally, I may have misconstrued this but if my memory (scarily poorer & poorer with each passing day, so don't quote me on this -- if you know definitively please tell me, with links, so I have the facts straight)
something like the DOJ was trying to make the ruling !!!ONLY FOR REPUBLICANS???!!! (I'd love to make those upside-down question marks & exclamation points as they do in Spanish but don't know how)--
anyways, BOTH or either deserve a good hard :banghead::

the wishy-washiness,
the modus operandi of trying to placate both sides
but in reality coming down on the side of NOM bigorty
and actually trying to defend the Defense of Marriage act

--ignore that great speechifyin during the primaries, just weighted, insincere whispered words compared to thunderous actions (see my sig line)

was all done in our Pres' (sic?) own inimitable "Bipartisan" :choke: way and definitely under his direction.

:eyes:

nah, :cry:

[A Simple Game]

143. Thank you, my sentiments exactly.

You saved me from having to do a lot of typing. And you did it much more articulately than I could have.

[Cherchez la Femme]

155. Awww

thanks -- very kind of you! :hug:

Now I wish I HAD worked harder on my grammar & spelling :D

[Danascot]

128. ... and at this rate

in two more years, we might as well just hand the presidency, the congress and the country over to the Repukes with barely a whimper. Then the next four years will be down hill from there.

[alittlelark]

15. I'm on 1 week now... The day after Thanksgiving

I feel a little floaty sometimes.... anxious.

I ordered an e- cigarette kit.

It was a good choice.

I'm feeling confident that it will 'stick' this time.

I'm also deeply concerned about Obama.

Good Luck.

[Jackpine Radical]

50. Congratulations and good luck.

[malaise]

17. Three out of Four Americans liked the chicken crap

from House Democrats yesterday.

[WilliamPitt]

18. ...until it died in the Senate today

And gets rolled over the weekend.

Again.

[Raven]

19. It's about damned time you quit that lousy habit. Don't know where

in the world you picked it up :-(

[WilliamPitt]

22. College

Go figure.

:hug:

[Raven]

23. Yeah, right. Now I'm gonna have to bite the bullet.

[WilliamPitt]

33. Commit lozenges

4mg.

Like voodoo.

[11 Bravo]

20. Slowly, and with almost indescribable sadness ...

I am inching toward a similar conclusion. While I will continue to respond negatively to some of the more over-the-top threads, you have stated the case civilly and in a straight forward fashion.
I'm not ready to hang it up yet, but my "Aww FUCK!" threshold has been crossed.

[radiclib]

24. Will--ever tried a nicotine patch?

Honest to God, man, it worked wonders for me, and I haven't even had a modicum of craving for fourteen years now. You're gonna need the nicotine delivery while you break the physical habit, especially in light of the ongoing horrendous shitstorm we're all enduring.
I kinda saw this coming once Obama named irredeemable asshat Judd Gregg to his cabinet.

[WilliamPitt]

26. I did

About fourteen years ago. The lack of craving-to-putting-something-in-my-mouth foiled me. These lozenges work like voodoo, and satisfy that craving-to-mouth thing.

I'm hanging in.

:hug:

Thanks.

[donco6]

25. Et tu, Will?

Wow. Good post.

[ibegurpard]

27. sorry to welcome you to the ranks of the disillusioned

hopefully he can pull out of the nosedive...assuming he's not exactly where he wants to be.
edit: I quite smoking a year and a half ago. You can do it but you have to actually WANT to do it.

[WilliamPitt]

29. Derp.

We'll see.

*sigh*

(P.S. The above captioned Derp is how I've felt all week)

(Derp)

[VMI Dem]

28. Admittedly not a huge fan, but I am rec'ing this.

:toast:

[Kceres]

30. It gets better, I swear. Hang in there.

Snacking on Red Hots helped me a lot. I kept them in my car, by the phone, anywhere I'd usually smoke. That was 20 years ago. If I could do it, you can do it. Your life will improve dramatically. You'll feel better, have more money, live longer. What a great holiday gift to give to those who love you.

[WilliamPitt]

31. "It gets better, I swear. Hang in there."

I was going to ask, "What? Quitting smoking or tolerating the Obama administration?"

The I read your post.

:hug:

Thanks.

Red-Hots are a pretty novel idea. :)

[tavalon]

66. Tolerating the Obama administration

Nah, not really, I've just become less easily shocked.

[madmax]

132. Why torture yourself, get Chantix to stop smoking.

Never was quitting so damn easy. Good Luck Will, you will feel grrrreat after a few weeks.

[Greyhound]

32. Learning is learning and the knowledge remains no matter how it is got,

or how long it takes.

I've been hoping to be proved wrong for the last four years. I would love nothing more than to write a long apology for failing to see the grand design.
:kick: & R

[bigtree]

34. It always amazes me how worked up folks get

. . . when politicians do something they disagree with. It's even more curious to see the livid reactions to statements; clips of statements, really. And the posturing from commentators about 'caving' and insinuating that their snark and bluster would have a chance in hell of succeeding in doing anything else except turn the ground between the legislature and the White House into a mine-laden combat zone; as if that belligerence was some sort of panacea to effecting the initiatives or policies they insist are so important to them.

OMG! A proposed pay raise freeze for federal workers. Everybody out there knows that's a republican idea, right? Do they? I mean, how many of us have had a pay increase in the past several years? Is there really a groundswell out here to raise the pay of federal workers? Go ahead. Fight for one. Good for you. Just don't assume that it's going to be some liberal/conservative litmus issue. I don't think you have to be a republican to be nonplussed about the prospect of a two-year pay raise freeze.

And, OMG! The President of the United States was conciliatory in his rhetoric about his relationship with republicans. I guess he should have assumed the same jack-ass, obstructionist posturing as republicans have. The only thing that threatens to cause those typical and unremarkable comments to influence anyone is the hyperbolic and inflated caterwauling from those few who are invested in inflating petty words as the totality of all said and done.

Certainly there have been many aggressive and challenging words from this President (and many record accomplishments) which have gone unmentioned and ignored in favor of picking out snippets that fit the 'failure' narrative that's so conveniently popular among critics on both sides of the political spectrum these days. Is there going to be any point where we fairly measure those aggressive statements and accomplishments against these petty disagreements?

You've come up with a regrettably new slur. Now the President is some kind of dupe in a bubble. "Stockholm Syndrome" you call it. After two years, with a weak legislative hand and record legislative and executive accomplishments, you want to define his principle and belief as a product of some sort of brainwashing; mainly because you disagree with his strategy and tactics on a couple of economic issues.

And good luck with the campaign to legitimize and qualify leaked snippets of hijacked cables into some definitive window into the conduct of the administration. Did Obama ever say or hint that he'd support prosecuting Bush officials? Is this really a shock? Or is it just more piling on?

I thought you understood that this President wasn't our progressive savior. He's a politician who's made a few contrary proposals. None of the latest events should cause any Democrat to abandon their comity and start running around with their hair on fire. On balance, this President has held the line on our Democratic agenda, as much as Congress has accommodated that defense.

He's not going to be satisfied with just fighting and posturing; which is basically the heart of every criticism from the left; as if just bluster and snark is all it takes to manage the balance of power and motivation in the legislature.

[WilliamPitt]

37. He actively derailed an inquest into the Bush administration.

I have always enjoyed your contributions here, and have agreed with them more often than not. I still do, and will.

Please don't treat me like someone who has flipped out after one perceived slight. I know you pretty well by now. You should know me, too. I'm not made of glass.

The retreats and capitulations of the last year were one thing, despite the achievements that none can deny.

This week cut deep. I said so. Someone has to.

Cheers.

[bigtree]

44. nice seeing you posting Will

I hope you win the battle of the smokes. They really can become history. Good to hear you can feel the difference.

Not all of that ranting, of course, is directed at you, but I don't see 'capitulations', I see many compromises that made sense, given the political limitations and the consequence of doing nothing. That's his thing right now. I have seen this President act independently when he's convinced there's no legislative remedy available. I think we'll see more of that with Congress tied up in republican hands.

I think that there were unrealistic expectations and demands that folks are now looking to hold the President accountable for. The only surprising thing to me about his conduct in the past year is how little he's strayed from what he told us he'd do.

I do acknowledge that most of us here are fully invested in our views to the point where it feels like betrayal when these politicians do something contrary. Most of our disagreements have been on strategy and degree, rather than substance. Yet, I think we need to continue to accept this presidency for what we always assumed it was: a centrist presidency which has pledged to 'reach across the aisle'. We were never going to realize our progressive agenda behind his leadership. I thought you had accepted that. Stepping off right now over these issues you've outlined just seems a waste.

[JDPriestly]

90. bigtree, we deserve better.

And I suspect that, although it may take time, we will get it.

Contrary to the meme in the pro-Obama fan club, Obama is not yet dealing with reality.

To the misfortune of the whole country, come January, I fear that Obama will, to his chagrin get a taste of Republican reality. I know and have worked with a lot of Republicans. For the most party, they are mean, self-satisfied, arrogant, cruel and without scruples or any moral sense. They really believe that plutocracy is superior to democracy. And once you get to know them, they do not hide their contempt for those who have not "succeeded."

Obama will soon learn just how painful it is to be bitten by the Republican reality.

I'm sorry this has to happen to him. He is a nice guy. He has a wonderful family.

But he blew it. He had a large majority of the country on his side. He was basking in, filled with, buoyed up by the admiration and love of the American people. He spent his "political capital" to use a Bush expression, on snuggling up to Wall Street and BP.

He has lost the young people, the independents and the cross-over-Republicans who made his victory possible in 2008 because he lost us liberals. Our enthusiasm, our energy, our experience in grass-roots organizing and campaigning were what drew the rest of the country to him. It takes practice and understanding of the issues as well as the interests of your community to knock on the doors of independents and Republicans and persuade them to vote for a Democratic candidate.

In my opinion, the problem isn't that Obama had to compromise once he faced reality. He had sold out long before he was elected. He never meant the things he said during the campaign.

Obama does not have the values of the old Democratic Party. Unfortunately, I and most DUers do still have those values.

Unless Obama wakes up and stops currying favor with Wall Street, he will not be re-elected.
Edited to correct a little of the grammar.

[bigtree]

101. two years in he may well have 'blown it'

. . . with DU, who's collective opinion I do have a great deal of respect for. But when you talk reelection, you must realize that our views here haven't translated into the opposition that we saw during the last election which came mostly from republicans and others voting republican in response to our Democratic president and party's political and legislative victories in the two year since they lost Bush. There should be a similar dynamic in the next election to the last presidential one. This time President Obama has the benefits and elevation of incumbency. There's no evidence at all that he's lost the majority of Democrats who elected him, including minorities who came out in record numbers. He hasn't even lost self-identified liberals, so I think his demise is greatly exaggerated as justification for expecting more of a progressive defense from him. That said, I do think he will become necessarily more populist as republicans parry their initiatives with the Senate.

It's been two years. Not a big reign by any standards and much to show for that time, albeit, just a drop in the bucket of our challenges.

[JDPriestly]

151. I hope you are right on this point:

"I do think he will become necessarily more populist as republicans parry their initiatives with the Senate."

I met with a lot of friends this morning. So many of them have lost their businesses or their jobs and have lost or are on the verge of losing their homes. These were middle-class to well-to-do, comfortable people. They all voted for Obama -- very enthusiastically last time. They are utterly devastated at this time. And the information that the Fed has admitted to about the bail-outs of companies like McDonalds and Caterpillar and others really hurts the small business owners who have already lost their businesses and now face bankruptcy. Why was McDonalds given super-cheap loans while other smaller business failed. Same for Harley Davidson.

(If you haven't seen the list of companies that received loans at super cheap rates around the time of the bail-outs, go to Bernie Sanders' website. He has an article on that.)

My friends are all in their late 50s and early to late 60s, and they are facing bankruptcy. I'm not talking about one or two friends. I'm talking about a number of people. I'm sure that my friends are not unique.

Obama, like it or not is blamed for what happened in the bail-out and certainly for the economic problems since he took office. It's not just Republicans and Tea-Baggers who are unhappy. Everyone is unhappy with what the Fed and the Treasury Department did during the Bush administration and have continued to do during the Obama administration. I think that Obama needs to fire both Geithner and Bernanke. He should have done that right away. They are burdens on his administration.

Have you seen the movie, Inside Job? It tells the whole story very well.

[City Lights]

36. K&R

:thumbsup:

Good luck with quitting smoking. Stay strong!

[rtassi]

38. Fortunately, I never took up the habit! n/t

[PuraVidaDreamin]

39. so disappointing on so many levels

Mr. Obama that is.

BUTT----not for you!
Your body will thank you.
Nice writing too.

[derby378]

40. Would that Wikileaks had this much pull during the Bush/Cheney years

Not only would we have had impeachments, but also a few prison sentences.

[AndrewP]

42. It's been one of those weeks. I guess I was expecting a change in strategy....

after the November ass kicking. The politics of the White House are not winning, regardless of their intentions. Now we are actively giving away leverage for no reason. I don't get it.

[H2O Man]

46. Outstanding!

This is one of your best works. Thank you for it, and I definitely "recommended" it.

I was talking to my brother earlier in the week. He expressed his disappointment in President Obama for the first time. In the past, he had blamed things on the snakes in Congress. The President's utter failure to fight for those other than the obscenely rich changed his mind.

I told him that the icing on the cake will be apologists attempting to convince the angry, betrayed base that recent events are some type of victory. I could puke.

Again, thank you for this.

[WilliamPitt]

47. Highest praise.

Thank you, sir.

:toast:

[H2O Man]

54. It's absolutely

the best essay that I've read on this forum in some time.

On another topic: I'll be in Boston in March with Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. If you are interested in sitting down with us for lunch some day, I'll let you know dates when they are set.

[WilliamPitt]

55. That would be an astonishing pleasure

You know how to find me.

And I know Boston like the back of my hand if you need suggestions for places to go, etc.

Thank you again, sir.

[H2O Man]

56. Great!

Then we will make this happen.

[bigtree]

57. I can't help it

I'm just a working-class fellow. I work and limp home. I've got nothing more invested in this presidency than anyone else here. I have an opinion which is not meant to be an 'apology' for anyone. In such a cauldron of anger and resentment over this presidency, I'd like to think that the few dissents that emerge against all of the vitriol and discernment would be respected as something more than just an apology. Instead, they are treated like they're some sort of threat here - like I'm going to work tomorrow and the product I put on my shelves will reflect my disagreeable politics and taint the electorate. One poster actually told me that my views in support of this presidency were a 'danger to myself and others'. Imagine that.

The President has certainly fought for folks other than the obscenely rich. That's rather easy to prove, yet, I won't bother here. I will say that I think that inflating these disagreements with the President's policy into a character test or some ideological litmus test is absurd and unproductive. Our party has always been a coalition of liberal and conservative views. We didn't elect a progressive president (or nominee), we didn't elect a progressive majority in our legislature, and now some are hell-bent on making this centrist presidency the bane of that failure. Fair enough, but he's just one element of any political strategy for advancing our initiatives or concerns into action or law.

You look to want more of a fight from the President. I don't think that all of the bluster and posturing from the presidency that's been suggested by many as a strategy would change anything that's occurred. All we'd see out here is more fighting with less accomplished. We assume republicans would get the blame, but that hasn't worked before. We can have our disagreements with the folks we work with, but we have to remember that we'll be back the next day and will have to work together for a time afterward. We shouldn't behave as if there's nothing left that republicans will be compelled to vote for. We shouldn't be whipped back and forth by the political posturing.

The President is fighting for most of the issues and concerns we care about, but we mostly disagree on his strategy for achieving those. We want jobs, but we don't agree on how to spur employment. We need revenue, but we're fixated on tax cuts because of the faltering economy and the fragility of the incomes of millions of Americans that would be affected by the expiration of the breaks they have right now. We want to win elections, but we're not certain how to deal with the conservative states and districts. Those are just a few of the needles politicians have to thread.

The President's committed himself to finding a workable balance. He's no more naive about that prospect than anyone else, but he has adhered to that bipartisan rhetoric as part of his strategy. That's certainly a flaw for some, but it's not indefensible; and it's certainly not so far outside of Democratic politics to be characterized as 'capitulation' or betrayal. The President has made what he believes are reasonable compromises where he feels doing nothing isn't the responsible option. That's not always in line with our own expectations, but I don't think he's moved so far from a Democratic agenda to deserve the type of ire we used to reserve for the republican opposition.

[Martin Eden]

76. I agree with almost every part of what you wrote, but ...

... on the whole you didn't address perhaps Obama's biggest failure that has led to the distressing level of disappointment and rage evident here at DU:

It is this president's failure of leadership.

Barack Obama was elected president largely on his ability to articulate our values and to inspire us, and yes -- this included a large measure of the spirit of bipartisanship or at least reaching out to all Americans regardless of Red state/Blue state. He demonstrated leadership ... at least oratorically.

President Obama entered the White House under the most dire economic circumstances since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR's greatness was due in part to his New Deal policies, but more than that he reached out to the people of this country and gave them confidence that better times were ahead and that their government was working hard for them to make things better -- and FDR took no guff or bullshit from the Republican opposition. He threw it back in their face. The bullshit repeatedly flung at President Obama is orders of magnitude more odious, yet by comparison he has turned the other cheek.

When the people who turned out in droves to put Barack Obama into the White House feel betrayed and bereft of hope, does the fault lie with them, with the Rethuglicans, or with the man we all look to for leadership? This goes beyond mere oratory; it also involves the policies this White House has and has not championed ... but at its core and the very heart of the matter is the bully pulpit of the presidency and how the perception that translates into political reality can be and needs to be shaped by someone who knows how to lead our country out of the wilderness we now find ourselves in. This includes firmly proclaiming in unmistakable language what is true and what is not; what is right and what is wrong; and what needs to be done.

But that has not been done. Far from it. I hesitate to accuse this president of not being on our side, but at the very least I assess he is not up to the task.


bigtree,
I do not mean to be harshly critical of you. I replied to your post because I think it was heartfelt & sincere, very well written, and made sense on a lot of levels. I think much of the vitriol in DU against this president is hyperbole borne of severe disappointment and unrealistic expectations after 8 years of Orwellian horror. I have come to the point where I have little in terms of expectations, but I continue to be engaged and do what little I can to speak my mind and support our causes.

[lyonn]

149. "Failure of Leadership" seems to sum up how many of us feel

The Democratic Congress needs help, a cheerleader. The 700 billion plus interest that the repubs/rich want us to borrow for their tax break is crazy. Obviously their tax break didn't add jobs in the last 9 years, what's not to understand about that?

Like your post a lot.

[H2O Man]

81. A few thoughts .....

First, I do not think that you could ever be confused for an apologist for the President. There are many people who do fit that description, and many more who are sincere in their opinions that he is doing his best in a tough place. I believe that you are an intelligent person, with a strong sense of what's right and what's wrong. And so my disagreements with you are not only far smaller than agreements, but they are merely differences of opinion -- not values. But, again, there are people, even here on this forum, that I do have stark differences in values with.

President Obama is unlikely to be as naive as most people here, regarding the difficulty in getting the things that the democratic left values. Now, that isn't to say that he has never been naive -- his history as a community organizer in Chicago, when he was confident he could harness most of the churches in an effort to coordinate programs to benefit a local population, was definitely naive. Yet there is a strong case to be made for that being a positive at the time.

Harnesses the factions in Congress, within each party, as well as with the two, is clearly more difficult that trying to harness those churches. For at least the ministers pretend to be interested in God, and love, and the unity of mankind .... whereas the high priests of DC only worship the dollar and the power (and comfort) that money brings.

Thus, it may be more positive to suspect Senator Obama was naive, rather than pulling the wool over the public's eyes, when he ran a campaign that promised a different way in Washington.

That is not to say that he hasn't done many good things. Surely, he has. But there are many issues where democrats -- and not just those on the left -- have very real, and valid, concerns.

When Barack Obama was elected and took office, there was a great energy force in this country. No politician could meet all of his supporters' expectations. But that energy has been largely lost. Now, certainly part of the responsibility falls upon the public: people should not have sat back, and thought, "Mission Accomplished." As I've said many times, that created a void that was quickly filled by the dark forces of the Tea Party, etc.

Still, the administration failed to harness and maintain that great energy. This is admitted in Jonathan Alter's book. More, there has not been a serious attempt to rebuild it. Let's take just one example -- the taxes cuts for the filthy rich. Wouldn't you prefer that President Obama get on stage, on national television, and address the nation on this? That he lay it out in dollars and cents? That he ask citizens to contact their elected officials, and demand fairness?

Remember President Kennedy doing that with US Steel? It worked. It was done on Civil Rights. That's the type of bold leadership that people want to see. And need to see.

[bigtree]

86. okay, I am the political hothead here

. . . but you do make more sense, and, you still seem to have some hope for the things you want to see from the President . . . and your upset stomach?

You're right, H20 Man. Barack Obama isn't a jaded and weak old man we've elected, and he's no fool. I'm also not buying the arguments of some that he or his presidency is institutionally and intractably corrupted by industry (not yet). So I have a good feeling about the future of this man, Barack Obama, in fully realizing the power of his office to effect lasting and meaningful good. I still expect a Renaissance in this presidency.

[H2O Man]

117. Well, I think

that I'm probably the "hot head" between us ....since I campaigned early and solidly for Senator Obama, and am now doing some complaining about half of his policies.

Yes, I do have hope. It would have been impossible to hope for anything good under Bush2. But it is not unrealistic to think that President Obama will do more good things in the next two years. In fact, I still hope that he will, in a second term, become a great President.

Yet I am convinced that a rise in the voice of the democratic left is essential for that to happen. That ring voice cannot be limited to angry statements on the internet: it has to become a more visible factor in the communities across the land. An organized, active force that translates its voice into political power.

[dave29]

100. "No politician could meet all of his supporters' expectations."

I want to address what appears, to me at least, to be the dissonance in thought on this subject.

I read this part of your response and then watch you and countless others here beat the President over the head for supposedly not doing it. This is what drives me, personally, to want to START smoking. I, like thousands of others, who are not a minority anywhere other than this Discussion Forum, believe this President is doing far better than advertised.

"Still, the administration failed to harness and maintain that great energy"

First off I do not concede this point. There are many of us who continue to work hard to put the policies this President backs into law. We have had many successes, which you will quickly blame the President for not advertising well enough in an echo chamber resoundingly against him, including many of us on the left. We did not elect him to go on TV, we elected him to govern. We did not elect him to be a bully on the pulpit, but that is what is now demanded, even though when it actually happens, he is accused of "all talk no actions". We did not elect him to just change the way Washington was run, we elected him to change the tone -- A CENTRAL component of changing Washington -- and now we call him naive for thinking he could. We are a peace loving people who suddenly demand a warrior-like President that this man was never going to be. And now it is HIS fault for saying yes WE can.

When he gave his speech on his pastor, Wright, did you see a man who lashes out at those who are against him, or tries to bring them together? Did you see that in 2004? Do you not understand that this is the core of Barack Obama? And now the outrage that he wants to do that with EGADS! Republicans?!

For those whose dreams were crushed so quickly, I submit, for the thousandth time... this was hardly the fault of the administration: as the second he followed through with his promise of bipartisanship, many fair-weather supporters jumped ship -- and they didn't just jump ship, they advertised as loudly and as possible that everyone else should jump right into the sea with them. I have watched this chorus turn into a groundswell, a bonafide movement of ship-jumpers, if you will, that is sadly relegated to the confines of the left's very small by comparison echo chamber. So what do we have now? Two very loud, very angry, very devoid of productive suggestions echo chambers coming from both the right and the left that has produced the effect of non-stop harassment of our nation's first African American President. This massive failure in dialog that he himself personifies overcoming -- is having a tsunami like effect with all the ship jumpers sending waves onto the shores of those who continue to try and rebuild the eroding shoreline of our conversation.

It is one of the saddest things I have watched happen in my adult life.

It's like watching an ant death spiral of self-defeating thought:

http://www.neatorama.com/2010/09/13/ant-death-spiral/

So this is the point I am getting at: The President is doing fine. Maybe not by the standards of yourself or the OP. His inability to build coalitions, which has sadly to date, only rebuilt global support for our country, resulted in complete capitulation from BP, resulted in the most sweeping changes in health care this country has seen in half a century, brought DADT to the brink of repeal, brought fairness to women vis a vis pay equality, resulted in a fierce advocate for main-street now slowly building a foundation to watch Wall Street, saved a flailing industry (maybe not big Steel, but Detroit may take you to task on Barack's lack of accomplishment), never mind all that silly stimulus stuff.

Can we argue on all the other big tent items? Of course. Am I happy about Guantanamo, of course not. But I don't see a failure of leadership, I see a process in motion. Am I happy about what we have not gotten from this President yet? Of course not. I want all the same things you want. But I have not given up, and what you see as capitulation, I most certainly do not. That is the difference. I am not interested in goldilocksing this opportunity, this Presidency, away.

I do not see a weak President. I see a President who remains strong, even in popular sentiment, to this day. I do not demand marching in lock step. That is the irony, as that is what I see those here like yourself demand of him. This is not the change we voted for.

It truly isn't.

I think the real problem is not that Barack was not up for the challenge.

It's that those who like to yell, scream, and claw their way to change were not up to the challenge he presented to them. Maybe with all that wisdom, intelligence and talk we are good at on the left, there is some naivety still swirling around in there as well. It's easy to second guess in the second year.

Even the best and brightest sometimes find themselves walking in circles.

And I think maybe I understand why it's hard for even this President to quit smoking... it will kill him, if we don't do it first.

[H2O Man]

121. Interesting response.

Well done. I agree in large part. But not entirely, of course, and so while I will focus more upon what I disagree with, I do want to make clear that it is in the spirit of good-natured discussion.

First, while President Obama has been in office, I've certainly posted many OPs, and commented on other threads, about the things that I believe he is doing well. Included in these have been his standing up to the military, which is constantly trying to force their will upon him ....and I've quoted from both Alter and Woodward's books on this.

I also have wrote something about his administration's efforts to reform the "youth facilities" which presently serve as prep-schools for the prison industry. It's not a topic that one will read about or see reported in the mainstream media. I'm aware of it, because one of my nephews is in a position in DC that allows him frequent contact with some people in the administration who are close to Barack Obama. I noted that generations of my family have worked in a wide range of human services/forensic positions over the decades, and that this is one of the areas where policy is most important to me.

In fact, on another DU:GD thread yesterday, which asked the question, "how do you keep hope alive?," I wrote about my personal experiences, and how the angry, rebellious youth of our land keep me both motivated and hopeful. I mentioned my relationship with Dr. Rubin Carter, himself a product of youth facilities, which is consistent with a number of my recent OPs on current work with the Hurricane. His new book will be out in January. He has many positive things to say about President Obama, and I do wish that I could quote them today, even here, on this thread. But that will come, soon enough.

This does not mean that me, or anyone on the democratic left, should not express frustration or strong disagreement with the President. Indeed, exactly the opposite is true. I think of the example of Martin Luther King, incarcerated in Selma. Malcolm came to town, and gave voice to the community's anger. Some of King's advisors were concerned, and pulled Malcolm aside, and asked him to tone it down, just express support for Martin. Then Malcolm explained that no, he would tell the truth, and so that those in power knew that they had better deal with King, because there was an enraged alternative waiting if King did not suceed. Mrs. King undrstood that Malcolm's anger was actually helping her husband. She had greater insight than his aides who tried to silence Malcolm.

Now, regarding the example of Senator Obama's Philly speech regarding Wright: it was beautiful. It was powerful. But there are two things to keep in mind. First, he noted that Wright was like a family member from an older generation. This is distinct from his relationship with the republicans in DC. None of them married Barack and Michelle. None of them baptized the Obama children. None of them were advocates of liberation theology, the spirit of the church that Obama belonged to. Second, when Wright continued to attack Obama in a manner intending to harm him, their relationship no longer was such that another Philly speech could help. Wright's attacks on Obama pale in comparision to the republican's.

Some of the complaints about President Obama are in the spirit of those republicans'; some in the manner of Wright's; and others are intended to help him. It's important to be able to identify the differences, although the context of an internet forum does not lend itself to easy identifications.

[tavalon]

129. He had an army of people who were waiting for orders

and he dismantled and ignored it. It's gone now.

[rtassi]

116. bigtree ... I guess after all this time, factoring in JFK'S assassination ...

And what that proved ....that there could be any remaining question as to what a President, even with full good intentions, can actually accomplish ... Who they are beholden to as a result of there candidacy, and what one can expect as a result of there required alliances ... It just boggles my mind that we are still conjecturing about who and what the office is designed to serve ... Humbly, it appears to me, that we are expending the bulk of our life force energy, attempting to exercise some control over and in a game we have not been invited to play! Your posts as always, are passionate and well thought out and written ...
RT

[lapislzi]

48. I'll be in the basement with a needle and a spoon

I sure picked a bad week to give up heroin.

[WilliamPitt]

52. :)

:toast:

[timdog44]

58. On the subject of quitting

I quit, thankfully now, 15 years ago. Smoking that is.
I quit voting, disillusionedly, 2 days ago.
I won't quit the fight, though, for equality and doing the right thing for Americans.

[Laelth]

59. I haven't recommended one of your posts in a long time. This one is an exception.

Still doesn't change what I think of you, generally.

-Laelth

[TK421]

60. Rec'd...sums things up quite nicely in fact, well written

[mike_c]

61. dude....

Congratulations on quitting smoking! I quit nearly 30 years ago and cannot imagine ever doing it again. You'll be healthier and happier, and live longer to enjoy it.

Rec'd the essay, of course. Excellent. Mail it to the White House!

[sendero]

62. Better late..

... than never.

[tavalon]

64. From a writing standpoint, The President quit on me this week, is a winning turn of phrase

That said, this week is your line in the sand week? Really? I'm at the point of rage fatigue with this administration. And don't even get me started on the waste of precious air by most of Congress.

I find lately I spend a lot of time using a rift from Saturday Night Live. Really, Mr. President, Really? I mean really?

[proud patriot]

67. Hey Congrats Will

:thumbsup:

[WilliamPitt]

69. Thanks!!!

:hug:

:hug:

:hug:

[Autumn]

71. Will, try the e- cigarettes

you can buy the cartridges without nicotine, just vapor. They really work well on the mental and nervous habit. You can also get the cartridges with lower nicotine. I buy mine at a 7 11 convenience store. They taste like shit but they work.
K/R for your post, I'm sorry it has come to this.

[purrFect]

72. Phew, now I need a smoke ;)

Well stated, sir! :toast:

[20score]

73. Great article. Thanks for posting.

For over a year, many of my friends have been beyond disappointed with Obama. (All of whom were extremely excited by his election and many of them volunteered on his campaign.) No one seems to have an answer on what to do. Some have just given up. Some have said they will continue to vote the Democratic ticket but won't volunteer and others are just at a loss.

There is only one thing I am absolutely sure of. That is to point out when Obama - or any other leader for that matter - is wrong. Otherwise, it is the same as condoning.

(Not saying there should be no compromise. Just not on principle and not on policies that actively hurt the country.)

You've done well and I hope this article gets the attention it deserves.

[spanone]

75. k&r

[OneGrassRoot]

77. K&R n/t

[DainBramaged]

78. Nicely done, hope your 'quitting' is getting better

:hi:

[NeeDeep]

79. I Quit Him, Before Ever Getting Started!

The republicans really give a good lesson on how to manipulate the electorate, it is obvious that caring takes a distant second or really tenth!
Obama learned this lesson well, he gave speeches while running for the US Senate stating that the way to end the Iraq war was to quit voting for special appropriations.....obviously he never did! Let's FIND ANOTHER CANDIDATE FOR 2012..... because he will loose!!!!

[WilliamPitt]

89. "...because he will loose!!!!..."

*sniff*

[tavalon]

130. snarf

Glad I wasn't drinking anything just then.

[Tatiana]

80. Probably the most well-written criticism I've read on here for a while.

P.S. I'm going 6 months strong now... that first week is the hardest, I think. It gets easier after that. Give in to some of your favorite food cravings, exercise as much as you can, and keep up the lozenges or something to suck on (I like Jolly Ranchers, myself).

As for our President, our only option right now is to minimize the damage that he can do. I think he'll continue to nominate good judges. I think he is a very good representative for America abroad (which, after Bush, is a good thing). Our focus has to be on the Congress, at this point... both now and in 2012. I don't think we can field a strong enough primary candidate at this point, so we'll likely be running Obama again and hoping for the best.

Pelosi gives me hope. Yes, this vote should have come up in October... I don't think she had the votes then. Since winning the election to become minority leader, I've seen her draw a measured but distinct distance from the President's conciliatory comments. I don't think it's a case of good cop, bad cop. It's a case of "OK, we tried it your way, but this isn't working so I'm going back to basics."

As hard as it may seem, we've got pull together and figure out how we're going to f*cking clean up Congress first and elect non-Blue Dog/New Dem real Democrats.

[Mira]

139. All of this is extremely well reasoned - and congratulations on 6 months.

You have learned by now that there actually is life after cigarettes

:)

[bertman]

82. Good work on the habit and the OP, Will. Rec. nt

[DeSwiss]

83. Hang in there.....

...I quit after forty years.

;) - Of course the Triple-A and the bladder cancer encouraged me too.....

[Hubert Flottz]

84. All I can say is...

I'm glad I've been off the Camels for seven years. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done. I wish you the best of luck. Tell yourself that the next one you smoke will lead you straight back to an even worse addiction.

You have done yourself the best favor you could do. Turn off the TV and throw away the paper if the political stress makes you want to smoke. I stayed off DU for six months when I quit. Get off the coffin nails and come back a stronger man when you feel better. I respect anyone who can quit smoking, because it took me forty years to finally put them down forever.

[T Wolf]

85. So well-said that it hurts even more. Such a good balance of head and heart tapping the

essence of what is happening.

Thank you.

[slay]

87. A lot of us feel this way

and I know Hunter would too.

[harmonicon]

93. quitting?

That's it! I'm leaving DU!

[UrbScotty]

94. Well, 81% of liberal Democrats haven't quit him

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

[Bluebear]

96. You just keep hanging on to that little poll.

And keep posting it on every thread. Oh, wait, you already have. Anyhow, it's cute.

[mwb970]

107. I'm pretty much done with Obama after the federal pay freeze.

Watching him cave in time after time to the damned republicans, in advance, without getting anything in return, has finally worn me down. If a hypothetical poll-taker calls today and asks if I approve of his job as president, I would, for the very first time, have to reluctantly say "No, I don't".

I like the man, I like his wife, I like his family. I like everything about him except the way he has acted as president. I want a real Democrat in the White House, one who will stand up for liberal ideals against the onslaught of anti-American conservative idiocy and treason. But no. He caves on everything. And I cannot approve of that.

:(

[emilyg]

140. Dream on.

[Bluebear]

97. I was on those Commit lozenges for two years.

No matter, they finally got me off the cigarette addiction. Well done, don't get complacent, and realize that you can't have "just one"...one is too many and a hundred will never be enough.

On Obama, you said it all.

[Tuvok Obama]

98. The 2012 Democratic primaries might have to be the next battlefield

I would have thought a primary challenge against Obama unthinkable as little as a month ago.

But now it's clear that a lot of liberals are going to want to fill some of the free time that will be made available by the whole not-campaigning-for-Obama situation.

[midnight]

103. K&R for quiting tobacco. That is the best thing to quit...

[Evasporque]

104. If you hate Republicans and glare at them...they are nasty back to you x 10.

If you agree with them, and be nice to them, agree on things...stroke their egos, you can them make them do things they would not immediately consider.

[Name removed]

105. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tomp]

108. two things: 1) best wishes on quitting the smokes. been there. 2)......

....Stocklhom syndrome?

oh, Will.....just when i thought we were getting somewhere. as i started out reading your article i thought, "oh my god, Will Pitt is finally coming out AGAINST the democratic party, halle-fuckin'-lulia!" Then I get "Stockholm Syndrome". That is perhaps the cheapest shot to defend democratic policies i've ever seen you use. as usual, sometimes even the best and the brightest can only go so far.

obama is working according to plan. bones and crumbs to the people while continuing the massive shift of wealth upwards and protecting the corruption of our government. until we all get that the future is lost.

you're almost there, will. go for broke, just like with the smokes.




edit for k&r, anyway.

[WilliamPitt]

113. You're not much for irony/sarcasm, are you.

Stockholm Syndrome?

You really think I was making that argument for real?

[tomp]

118. well, yeah, but then, i've missed shit before.

i didn't think you meant it literally, but that you were excusing his actions based on the extent of opposition.

sorry if i misinterpreted.

[WilliamPitt]

119. No worries.

:)

If I were excusing his actions, that paragraph would have been the conclusion instead of an aside. "The President quit on me" was the conclusion.

Cheers.

[Swamp Rat]

109. k&r

[pokercat999]

110. Welcome to reality, it's about time. nt

[QC]

111. Good work, Will. I quit three years ago and I am thankful for it every day.

Watching a friend suffer through lung cancer is what gave me the push I needed to make the break--glad to see you didn't require something so dramatic.

[RagAss]

112. Excellent Job !

[sandyj999]

115. When I quit smoking

it was a hell of a lot easier than putting up with the crap we are being fed every day. I am so disgusted with all of it and actually happy that I am 75 instead of 35.

[Yuugal]

122. K&R

[GrpCaptMandrake]

123. K&R

If for no other reason than to recall that even WRP became persona non grata around here, if memory serves me correctly.

[Phlem]

126. Finally catching up are we.

And thanks for the crap you handed me while venting about Mr. O and how he's pissed everything away that we the people gave him during Tuesday night elections.

-p

[Phlem]

127. Finally catching up are we.

And thanks for the crap you handed me while venting about Mr. O and how he's pissed everything away that we the people gave him during Tuesday night elections.

-p

[ProudDad]

131. Hang in there on the quitting smoking thing

One of the best things I've ever done was to quit 26 years ago...!

Hang in there, friend! It's worth it!

[ProudDad]

133. We went to see "Inside Job" last night...

I've closely watched the machinations of our corporate capitalist masters since I worked at a company I'll call the Evil Empire back in the early go-go 80s. Its corporate mission was to pump the stock price so the shareholders could get richer...while laying off workers, increasing hours and cutting service for customers (it was a "utility company").

As I watched this truly great summary of the rise of the banksters and the collusion of Dem and repub politicians and pResidents in the great Ponzi scheme designed to transfer the world's wealth from the Commons to a few uber-rich, I knew the punch line was coming but still felt a smash in my gut when it did.

Obama HIRED the MAJOR architects of the Ponzi Scheme, ALL OF THE ONES LEFT WHO WOULD WORK FOR HIM, to engineer the "recovery for the uber-rich" that has inevitably been accomplished over the last 2 years.

Bernanke, Geithner and WORST OF ALL Larry Summers, the Deregulator in Chief for Slick Willie, the guy who moved the repeal of Glass-Steagell and who tromped all over Brooksley Born when she hinted that they might have to regulate the Credit Default Swaps that were the CAUSE of the collapse!

OBAMA HIRED THE guys who supplied the burglary tools and drove the getaway car for the banksters!!!

His appointment of Summers to lead his "ecoomic team" in '08 along with his escalation of the useless occupation of Afghanistan and complete sell-out of "health reform" to the corporations told me we weren't in for any "change"...

Gee, I was right...

[BrklynLiberal]

134. GREAT post. But the Stockholm Syndrome does not explain why, right from day 1,

the President surrounded himself with advisers that would encourage, allow, and suggest the things that have led to this debacle.

Obama has selected Wall streeters, corporatists, DLCers, and in some cases, some of the exact same people that were in the Bush administration!!!!!!! Change? Hope? My GAWD..WTF has happened???

I am numb with shock and disappointment...and do not even hold out any hope that things will get any better int he next two years.
My sympathies go to the few really Liberal and Progressive Congressional members. They probably thought they would get some support form this President...and must feel as frustrated, alone and helpless as the rest of us.

The repukes are in charge....and so it will be...until who knows when.

We are screwn.

[earcandle]

136. thank you! well said.

[Still a Democrat]

137. You accuse Obama of being worn down by his opponents

I wonder if that is true of you here at DU?

Perhaps just the relentless drumbeat of "Obama bad" started to set in just because it was repeated so often.

Congrats on all those recs, though.

[lunatica]

138. I took one hit of a cigarette yesterday for the first time in 15 years

I couldn't get the the slimy, filthy taste out of my mouth for hours!

Kicked and rec'd. It's been a very disappointing week. I don't think anything good is going to happen for a long time.

[Mira]

141. I don't care what you say about the nasty taste = that was dangerous.

Please, just for me, don't do it again.
It could lead to years down the road having to quit all over again, from a weakened premise.

My son did that after 10 years of quitting. 3 years later he is struggling to quit again.
Cigarettes are sneaky and deadly.

[lunatica]

144. I have no desire to smoke. Even less after the slimy taste

[cjbgreen]

142. Hypnosis

I was hypnotized which helped me to quit and I was encouraged to focus on how healthy I felt and how fresh the air smelled. I never wanted another cigarette.
Maybe I was hypnotized by Obama. I thought he was more progressive than Hillary and I didn't want the Clinton brand of politics which I thought contributed to out-sourcing, de-regulation and right of center policies. I yes believed Obama's rhetoric, I was convinced that we could reclaim a government for the people and by the people.
But the spell is broken and even hypnosis won't work for me to reclaim "Hope". Yes I knew that there would be trade offs, that things would take time and that there will always be policies that I disagree with, and I made excuses. I didn't agree with his environmental policies, I didn't agree with his selection of Geitner and Sumner, I didn't think we should be escalating the war. I was confused by his response to BP. I was shocked by his educational philosophy which is basically privatizing schools. How could we have lost the Governor's race in Virginia. I think about how we lost Ted Kennedy's seat. I thought it was complacency, maybe it wasn't. I heard progressives described as "pot heads". I watched the war escalate, the BP disaster management turned over to BP, health care turned over to insurance companies, banking turned over to bankers, our civil rights violated, torture ignored and enabled, and finally this week with the Federal employees pay freeze and rumors that tax benefits will be extended for the richest Americans I too am quitting. I am angry and I won't be bullied into thinking I should re-elect him because the alternative is worse. Ban me from this site but I can't compromise my values. I will vote for my senators who work hard. If we don't have a nominee I will write in a name. The spell is broken.

[Goldstein1984]

145. Quit Obama a long time ago

Mainly because of his path on the security state and the wars.

But he never ceases to give me more reason to be more quit on him.

[hfojvt]

146. silly me, by the title I thought this would be a plea to not quit

Instead of just another stale attack on Obama.

BTW, Joe Wilson did NOT shout 'you lie' during a State of the Union.

But congrats on quitting smoking, although I understand that is the easiest thing to do. Mark Twain said he did it thousands of times.

Now if you could stop seeing the glass as always half empty ...

[lyonn]

147. I feel like an effin traitor, but,

watching Obama today explaining the Korean deal and the Senate vote I felt like he was weakly patronizing me and most Democrats. It's like he truly doesn't care - or - repubs scare him? He was stellar the time he had his discussion with the repubs concerning health care, or was it the economy, how embarrassing I forgot the subject, anyway, it was a face to face meeting and Obama had them whipped. What happened?

Tues. evening I started smoking e-cigs and since then smoked 6 real cig, four on Wed, one on Thur & Fri., none so far today. My gawd do I feel better! Breathing better, Frisky and no freak outs like I have had in the past when trying to quit, even while taking Welbutrin or Chantrix for a crutch. If you find yourself thinking of giving up you might try the e-cigs. The only time I think of a cig is when I need to change atomizers, obviously still need my nicotine. hell, I'm 72 and really wasn't going to try again at my age but figured those fake ones certainly wouldn't have all the junk that's in real cigs and the smoke, ugh - truly excited about my choice.

[hay rick]

148. I gave up smoking 30 years ago.

The first week was tough, but after that, not so much. I also gave up smoking 5 years before that. That attempt imploded sometime during the second week when I was starting to feel cocky and decided to emulate one of my roommates who would only smoke one or two cigarettes a day. He could do that- I couldn't.

I don't know the precise date when I quit Obama. I know I had one foot out the door by the time he signed the mini-stimulus bill and the other was surely out by the time he announced the Afghanistan surge. Giving up Obama is way harder than giving up smoking for a couple reasons:

1. I hoped Obama's election would improve my life, or at least stop the disintegration of the society around me. I never had any illusions about cigarette smoking being anything but a vice.

2. The imputation of Obama's failure is little different from the imputation that our democracy has failed. I don't have much invested in President Obama, but the country and the political system we inherited and allowed to be hijacked is another matter entirely. Giving up smoking gave me a bad week. Giving up our democracy is an open-ended misery.

[cjbgreen]

153. hay rick

K&R

[somone]

150. Hey, Frank Rich is using the Stockholm Syndrome!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9691040

[Javaman]

152. when george w. moron* was pResident, I never once watch any of his* SotU addresses...

after having to deal with the asshole* as my governor, I couldn't stomach to listen, let alone watch him* on tv.

I watched Obama's first couple of SotU speeches.

I'm seriously thinking of avoiding his next one.

that is if, of course, he suddenly grows a spine, then I will consider it.

but if the song remains the same, I will be doing something else.

I'm not holding my breath.

[Tatiana]

154. kick

:kick: