Rachel Maddow: Yes, Obama did

[ProSense]

Video: Yes, Obama did

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. To The Greatest Page With You

.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. FDR on steroids!

Other than working Americans are doing worse and worse, and their debt is increasing exponentially so we can give more money to the wealthiest.

[vaberella]

4. Ugh! n/t

[ZombieHorde]

41. FDR minus the institutional racism would be a better way to put it. nt

[reggie the dog]

61. like fdr????

he has changed a lot on non economic issues, health care reform and wall st reform were both very timid, as for ending dadt, gay related hate crimes, etc he has done great things, things that a republican would not have done, now if he could take just as much of a stand for working people it would be great, the fight they put up to end dadt was great, i would have loved to have seen such a fight for single payer national health care, but oh well, at least they have done the right thing about dadt

[vaberella]

3. This needs to be recognized. RM was able to say she was wrong. Why can't Jane Hamsher?

Ugh...seriously. Thanks Obama.

[Phx_Dem]

7. The difference between Rachel and Jane is that

Rachel is a constructive critic who is big enough to admit when she's wrong and/or acknowledge the President's many achivements. There is nothing constructive about Jane's criticisms. She hates Obama and is too small a person to admit that he has had some major accomplishments even though they're staring her in the face.

Rachel is a constructive sometimes critic and Jane is a hater. Simple.

[phleshdef]

13. Rachel is a classy intellectual. Jane Hamsher is a leftist Ann Coulter.

[vaberella]

18. So true. n/t

[66 dmhlt]

44. Damn ... You got that right!!

[vaberella]

17. That is exactly what I've noted. n/t

[MadMaddie]

24. You have summed up the differences nicely! Well done!

[inna]

54. "hater"

[Whisp]

67. hamsher is a little speck of nothing shit compared to Rachel.

Rachel is the smart adult.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

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[lutherj]

37. Well put. Jane Hamsher is more progressive than Rachel, and isn't satisfied with

tinkering around the edges. I don't deny that Obama has some significant accomplishments to his credit, but he basically left all the egregious transgressions of the Bush administration in place. I don't see anywhere in the above list the restoration of habeas corpus, the renunciation of indefinite detention, investigations into war crimes, etc. Obama and the democrats have effectively rubber stamped PNAC and given a wink and a nod to the MIC, and the republicans now know that they can get away with literally anything -- there will be no consequences. The next republican administration will make the Bush administration look like a tea party (no pun intended). Jane Hamsher wants to restore decency and principle to public policy and foreign relations, and then act in accordance with it for once. She thinks we could do better than Summers and Geithner. Rachel, on the other hand, thinks we've achieved Wall Street reform, and that the health care reform bill is pretty neat.

Moreover, the comparison of Jane Hamsher to Ann Coulter is ridiculous and absurd. There is no equivalent to Ann Coulter on the left because people on the left don't froth at the mouth with hatred and make calls for assassinations. These days people on the left generally advocate non-violence and an end to unnecessary war. Even in the 60's when the left was more militant nothing they did compares to the Oklahoma City bombing or the assassination of doctors. And anyway, even if there were a leftist equivalent to Ann Coulter you can be sure he or she would never get any airtime on the major networks.

[ProSense]

38. "Rachel, on the other hand, thinks we've achieved Wall Street reform..." An anecdote:

"The miracle of Dodd-Frank is that it got stronger as it moved through the process."

It's not just Rachel Maddow who believes something was achieved. It may not go far enough, but it's significant.

[Swagman]

49. when you see that list you realise who far to the right the USA

lurched over the past decade. Long time pulling it back to the centre and not easy.

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

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[stevenleser]

73. Hamsher will never be more progressive than Rachel. She is just nastier. n/t

[rug]

5. Yes, he did.

http://icasualties.org/oef/ByYear.aspx

[Name removed]

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[AtomicKitten]

8. I have always had the greatest respect for Rachel Maddow.

Love this new segment:

[Oceansaway]

9. K&R...n/t

[madmax]

10. K&R

[davidinalameda]

11. no mention of the gay ambassador to Samoa

oh the humanity!

I'd say most of these "accomplishments" were simply being in the right place at the right time

[vaberella]

14. Can you give that it's own post. Please. Because I didn't know either. n/

[Armstead]

12. Well I guess Rachel is out from under the bus this week...Now what happens next month?

I don't see this as a mea culpa on her part. She is honestly giving credit where credit is due as she always has.

But what happens after the holidays, when she next criticizes the Dems and Obama? Is she back under the bus?

[vaberella]

15. We said she was wrong. She admitted to being wrong---several times.

She knew she was in the wrong and has seemed to turn it around. Most people thrown under the bus are thrown and rarely see they're in the wrong. Jane Hamsher stated very clearly DADT had zero chance of repealing and went as far as to imply that Obama didn't want to repeal DADT and it was just a measure to shut up the base. That's what she said. Then she goes on tv again and instead of admitting she was wrong---she says well Obama wasn't very important at all in passing DADT. It was pushed by others and not the WH. This is the problem we're dealing with. Rachel did her homework, she spoke to Gates--since she quotes him and says Obama has been on this from day one building military cooperation and establishing the ground work to get this repealed. While the left and the right were criticizing him or complaining he's pushing it to fast or too slow---he got it done despite contentious opinion.

RM ate her crow and said, yeah Obama did do that and I was wrong to assume he didn't care about DADT or he wasn't fighting for it and so on. That is to be respected.

[Clio the Leo]

23. Actually what she said was, "I was wrong!!! I WAS SO WRONG!!!! WHOOHOO!"

... or something. ;)

[Clio the Leo]

22. You're going to be hard pressed to hear anything negative about Rachel...

... there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the President. But she's fair, open minded and informed when she does it. Not everyone is. (ED SHULTZ!!!!!!)

[emulatorloo]

25. Agreed. She's reasoned, rational and sticks with the facts

Even when I disagree with her, I enjoy hearing what she has to say.

[Clio the Leo]

26. And she presents her argument in a way...

.... that makes it easier to empathize with. Not being being gay, I could never truly understand that the speed at which DADT was repealed was too slow for so many. I can never really understand how his position on gay marriage is so aggravating to a lot of folks. But I know, deep down, she's a good old fashioned Obama cheerleader like me. ;) .... If she is upset with something he's done I take it to heart more than I would a lot of other people. (JANE HAMSHER!!!!)

[Kahuna]

57. She admitted that she was "wrong" and is having her serving of

"humble pie." That's a mea culpa where I come from.

[treestar]

66. Why do we have to agree with her all of the time or none?

We are told we are mindless cheerleaders if we support the President and avoid highlighting our disagreements with him. Yet often we are told these pundits must be followed or not. :shrug:

[impik]

16. Yes, he did. Stunningly great president

[lunatica]

19. His accomplishments (and Congress') are beginning to pile up

It's beginning to look impressive. And a hearty thank you to the Republicans who are doing the right thing.

[reggie the dog]

62. impressive within the usa perhaps

but student loan reform?? here in France tuition for most people is between 200 and 300 euros a year, in scotland it is free

child health insurance??? in most E U countries everyone is insured whether they work or not

dadt ended, great for the usa but compared to most countries in western europe no big deal...

hate crimes legislation, great in the usa but once again in most if not all EU nations these kinds of crimes were already considered hate crimes

tobacco legislation?? once again nothing big compared to most countries in the EU, hell you still put additives on tobacco in the usa which have been forbidden in the european union for years, tobacco does not smell the same here as it does in the usa when it burns...

credit card legislation, once again not bad for the usa but light years behind the economic practices of most eu nations


wall street reform??? still less regulation than before clinton deregulated and still basically unregulated when compared to what we have here in france


health insurance reform?? a joke compared to NHS or single payer systems as we have in france and the uk


so basically the reforms in the usa do not go that far and the usa is still far far far to the right of most western democracies, these can be seen as steps in the right direction but there is still far to go

FDR on the other hand actually got reforms passed which put the usa as far if not farther to the left and thus created a welfare state as good if not better than most western democracies in his time, he also said that the right hated him and that he was happy because they should hate him because he stood for all that they hated!

so yes ending dadt is good and all but most gay people are not soldiers, legalizing gay marriage with full adoption rights would be a better step, as has already happened in several eu nations.... but alas the voters in the usa voted out people making centrist reforms and said they were too socialist....
i think the voters were not as brainwashed during fdr's time, obama and the democrats are fucked by too many dumbasses who hear on the msm (not just fox) that the democrats reforms "may just be too leftist for the usa" and actually agree with those planted ideas even to the detriment of their own social economic class

[lunatica]

63. Yes. All of that is true

but progress can't always be sweeping. It certainly can't be right now with Congress refusing to help and corporations flooding Washington DC with money and lobbyists. So there's that reality too, which many here conveniently forget when they want to blame it all on Obama. Could he have fought harder? Probably. Could he have done more? Maybe, and just as importantly, maybe not.

But I prefer to see that things are improving in this country which is so full of orchestrated and cultivated ignorance. And under the circumstances I've written here it is impressive.

[stevenleser]

71. Let's compare apples to apples

" here in France tuition for most people is between 200 and 300 euros a year, in scotland it is free"

What percentage of students in these countries get to exercise that?

The reason that it is so cheap is that a small percentage gets to go. The rest of the country's students, if they dont score well enough in high school, are relegated to trade jobs.

[CakeGrrl]

20. K/R!

[Clio the Leo]

21. Rachel Maddow is the hole in a lot of folks arguments...

.... Rachel is no moderate, she hasn't held back when she disagreed with the President. Not only is she part of "the left" she's an actual member of the "professional left."

Yet shes claps with the giddy glee of a five year old at Christmas as the President finishes this lame duck session.

You have to hand it to the President for what he just did, glad some folks can see that.

[Kahuna]

58. Heck yeah, she was giddy. She was positively giddy and glowing...

I've never seen her so happy. She was actually effusing the praise on the accomplishments of the Obama administration. That may make her a turn coat to some, but to me that makes an intellectually honest person and endears me to her all the more.

[Pisces]

27. K &R Thank you ProSense!!!

[Scurrilous]

28. K & R

:thumbsup:

[davidthegnome]

29. I'd jump for joy

But I've got a bad back and no health insurance. I'm glad he fought for the public option.

Oops, no he didn't.

[sulphurdunn]

30. Obama has not seriously moved

1. to restored Habeas Corpus
2. to initiate investigations into Bush administration war crimes.
3. to keep his word to extricate the country from its foreign wars
4. to reform the financial sector
5. to reform the health care system
6. to restore equitable taxation
7. to eliminate perverse tax incentives for corporations.
8. to lead on global carbon emissions treaties
9. to move the economy away from dependence on brown technologies
10. to create jobs
11. to stop the home foreclosure hemorrhage.
12. to hold BP accountable for its environmental crimes.
13. to uphold the Bill of Rights
14. to: fill in the blank__________________

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

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[ProSense]

36. Here's a good read

Thank you President Obama

[russspeakeasy]

40. keep putting this up about once a week...just to remind us that

the easy shit is done...thanks for the post.

[slay]

42. He also refused to even mention "single-payer" during the HC"reform", gave tax cuts to millionaires,

etc. So like you, I'm not jumping on his centrist-corporate bandwagon either. I'm still hoping for a primary challenger in 2012.

[Hardrada]

43. Exactly. And he won't because he is basically a corporate front man.

[vaberella]

46. Interesting...however he's managed to accomopolish 246 other things.

But he's not seriously done anything as you suggested.

[sulphurdunn]

50. The most important thing

he's not done, and the only thing he is sworn to do, is to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. I saw him take that oath before the entire world. Failure to perform due diligence was more apparent with George Bush because of his overt contempt for the rule of law. I expected much more from Obama.

[LibDemAlways]

56. Some of the items on Rachel's list aren't all that impressive.

As far as I can tell credit card reform means the credit card companies have to provide consumers with more info about how they are screwing them over. That's not the change I voted for.

The items on your list represent the important stuff that would actually improve the quality of life for millions. Too bad Obama hasn't made job creation, real health care reform, etc. the priorities they deserve to be.

[Mosaic]

64. Agreed

Especially he needs to punish the criminals who tortured people and started an illegal war. That is his biggest failure IMO.

[stevenleser]

72. You just proved why he is so great. 246 accomplishments to 14 questionable items that you assert

he has not done.

[Number23]

31. YES HE DID. I am so proud of this man and even happier he is the president.

Happy to rec. Merry Christmas!

[jbfam4]

33. Anything else missing

besides START and health care for the 9/11 responders?

[Tx4obama]

39. Lots of accomplishments from Obama's first 20 months is missing - see below

244 Accomplishments of President Obama
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/11/909590/-The-244-ACCOMPLISHMENTS-of-PRESIDENT-OBAMA

Obama's LGBT Accomplishments
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x485790

Politifact's OBAMETER: Campaign Promises - 127 KEPT, 226 In the Works, etc.
http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter / (right side of the page)

[jbfam4]

48. A very belated

Thank you for posting all of our President's accomplishments. My husband has been looking for a complete list and will find this very helpful.

Appreciate your kindness. Many thanks and Merry Christmas

[Francisco]

35. OK..

health reform WEAK, financial reform a JOKE, everything else ok I'll give him credit for. However his tax plan pretty much cements that everything else he passed is not paid for nor will any programs in the future be paid for. So austerity here we come. YAY

[Mortos]

51. I am sorry you are so bitter

Maybe President Obama can accomplish 244 new things in his next 2 years in office and you will find something you like in those.

Merry Christmas Mr. Scrooge.

[JamesA1102]

45. Thanks ProSense!!!

Merry Christmas!

[norske]

47. Same o...... same o....

Meet the new boss.... same as the old boss. Dreams die hard, the sooner people understand that Obama is part of the problem and not part of the solution, the sooner this nation can get back on track.
The system is broken.

[Kahuna]

59. Are you saying that President Obama is the same as bush?

:wtf:

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Eve Senate]

55. OBAMA is the man!

Not even 2 years into his first term and what he has accomplished is histroy in in making. or just simply put, AWESOME!

[creon]

60. Maddow is excellent

I think that she is the best news/comment person on TV today.

[proud2BlibKansan]

65. And as soon as Rachel next criticizes the president . . .

LOL!

[Honeycombe8]

69. She left out environmental and energy bills. nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

70. not to forget his work during his time as a Senator

[truebrit71]

74. Gitmo = Still open. Illegal Wiretaps = Still going on. Prosecuting war crimes = not happening.

Restoration of the 4th Amendment = not bloody likely....but hey, he managed to not totally give away the farm on taxes...

[great white snark]

75. Obama's is bigger than yours.

His list I mean.