I did have a lot of hope invested in Obama. I wish I still did.

[cali]

I was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Obama's. I thought his background and intelligence were attributes that he could utilize to make some needed changes. For the first year and a half I supported him through what I felt were some bad policy and personnel decisions. I understood that I wasn't going to agree with every decision he made- that I'd support some and disagree with others but over time I've reached a tipping point- I disagree with more than I agree with. It's incomprehensible to me that we still have two expensive pointless wars going on. He's bent over backward too many times to find common ground with republicans; common ground that punishes the poor and middle classes and rewards the corporations and the wealthy. He's made a point of dissociating himself from his liberal base to court the supposed middle. He's ratcheted up the security apparatus.

I don't hate President Obama. I'll vote for him in November next year. He's preferable to any republican, but my vote will be a somewhat painful one, freighted with the disappointment of the past years.

That's just the way it is.

[ProSense]

1. Thanks for sharing.

Obviously, I have a completely different POV, which is reiterated here.

[rury]

43. My sentiments exactly ProSense

I will work as hard for President Obama's re-election as I did for his initial election in 2008.
In fact I will work HARDER!
I will again knock on doors, make telephone calls and donate money enthusiastically.
I am proud of his record of progressive accomplishment!!!!
OBAMA 2012!!!!:dem:

[Pisces]

60. Me too Pro.

[vaberella]

74. Here, here. n/t

[kjackson227]

92. +1

[AtomicKitten]

2. I'll alert the media. In the meantime, Democrats are * AT WAR * with the teabaggers/GOP.

nt

[Name removed]

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[frylock]

14. what strategy are they employing to defeat the GOP?

you know, aside from trying to find common ground.

[lector]

3. Obama

I am sorry to say I feel the same way. What I voted for, and what I got were two different things. I would say he is weak but that would be a gross understatement.

[ClarkUSA]

27. Why am I not surprised?

:eyes:

[tekisui]

4. I feel the same way. DIsappointment, day after day with moments of light.

It is true, with a repuke, there wouldn't even be those moments of light. But they are so few and far between that I have largely given over to cynicism and mistrust of the Administration.

Like you, I'll vote for him in November, but it will be a vote against repukes more than a vote for Obama and the Dems.

[treestar]

5. I didn't vote for you

I really don't think you're qualified to decide who should be appointed to any office, or that you have any idea what it entails. You really couldn't make better decisions regarding the wars.

It's one thing to disagree about politics (as with Republicans) but another to second guess carrying out the terms of a job you'll never hold.

[tekisui]

8. That makes so much sense! You will not second guess.

That really does explain a lot. Fuck critical, independent thought, am I right?

[Cali_Democrat]

13. That has gotta be one of the dumbest posts I've ever read

Ordinary citizens can't second guess the actions of politicians like Obama because they will never hold that job?

You've gotta be fucking kidding me.

[treestar]

56. So you really think your opinion on how to handle the details of

the job is so important?

Do you tell doctors what to do?

You second guess every little decision? You must be impossible to work with for any professional.

Why the fuck do you think you know who should be appointed to every post a POTUS appoints people to? Why should I give a shit for your opinions.

Get yourself the fuck elected POTUS so you can make those decisions. Until them, STFU.

[Cali_Democrat]

68. So I should just shut the fuck up and not express my opinion until I'm elected President?

Should I have refrained from criticizing George W. Bush as well?

[Skittles]

72. you're sounding as desperate as a teabagger now

fucking pathetic

[Skittles]

71. they are getting more and more desperate

thereby sounding more and more stupid - it's approaching teabagger territory now

[cali]

16. of course we're supposed to "second guess" our elected pols

that's called being a responsible voter and making judgments. I'm somewhat aghast that anyone would take exception to this. You're advocating not making a judgment on the job a politician is doing simply because we don't hold that job.

Just yikes.

[treestar]

57. Er, no

Where did you get the ability and expertise to do anything? You don't have a fucking idea of what to do. That's why you don't hold office and never will get elected to any office anywhere, not dog catcher, let along state representative or council person. POTUS is way beyond your dreams.

You haven't the slightest idea how to run the executive branch of the US. Why should anyone who actually got elected POTUS listen to you and follow your edicts?

You second guess no doubt every professional who deals with you, even though they know their profession and you don't.

IOW, a know it all.

Why should I care who you think should be appointed to every office? Why should President Obama? You don't even offer candidates. I'll let him decide over you.

[cali]

79. er, yes. that's the job iof the informed voter.

your post is absurd. voters make judgments. your post is breathtaking in its inanity. it's the equivalent of saying how dare you judge this milk as sour, you're not a cow! What if Palin was elected to the Presidency, whould I still be overstepping by judging her?

Actually, your post is frightening in its utter and complete mindlessness and slavish devotion.

[superduperfarleft]

19. Classic!

:rofl:

[Forkboy]

33. You should make this post your sig line.

[tekisui]

36. They really should

It is a great disclaimer.

[superduperfarleft]

87. *cough* See mine. *cough* n/t

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

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[Jefferson23]

59. No kidding you didn't vote for her....she has no say then..only Obama. She has no idea

what it entails but you do? Obama wasn't appointed to office..he was elected by voters..like her.

Forming an opinion on how Obama came to make decisions, his policies choices etc. are all what aide in shaping
an opinion. According to you, it's ok to disagree but another thing to second guess carrying out the terms of a job she'll never
hold. This statement, I do not believe I have ever read anything that so poorly attempts to insulate a politician from accountability as yours.

[fishwax]

70. I'm guessing cali didn't vote for you, either

:shrug:

[Very_Boring_Name]

76. i voted for her

[Name removed]

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[Autumn]

11. The iraq war is over for the 10 US soldiers killed 2 days ago,

The US soldiers still there? Not so much. So I would say we still have 2 wars, and their dead bodies testify that the Iraq war rolls on.

[Robb]

21. By that logic, WWII hasn't ended for the two US soldiers shot in Germany this month.

[Autumn]

23. We have Assist Brigades in Germany?

Is that what we are still doing in Germany? Those two soldiers were not in a war zone when they were shot and killed and they were not shot by Germans and they were not there to train German soldiers.

"Americans aren't done fighting, and dying, in Iraq: It's true the "so-called advise and assist brigades" that remain in Iraq don't "have a formal combat mission, but some of them will accompany Iraqi forces hunting al Qaeda fighters, so they "could indeed be drawn into combat." And our soldiers may be needed for years — Iraq's military chief warned last week that Iraqi forces won't be ready to provide security for all of Iraq until 2020.
"U.S. brigades out of Iraq, but not necessarily out of combat"

The 10 are still dead. And as long as our Troops accompany them hunting al Qaeda the war rolls on. No matter how it's spun.

[Ikonoklast]

22. Do a little search and find how many military not in a combat zone who die

on a daily basis, around the world.

It's a dangerous job, even stateside.

[Autumn]

25. I agree with you on that. It's a very dangerous job

But Germany is not an unstable nation. Iraq is.

[Ikonoklast]

35. And they are just as dead.

[Autumn]

39. People are dead every where.

These 10 were killed in Iraq, under hostile combat conditions. Bush put the troops there based on a lie and Obama kept them there . Change the name of the mission all you want to. They died in a war zone. You can't change my mind and I have no desire to change yours so we just have a difference of opinion. You have a nice evening.

[Ikonoklast]

44. And if we leave Iraq now, today, untold thousands more will die.

Sectarian violence in Iraq would erupt the day after we left; you would see Lebanon on steroids with no way to fix it.

You just cannot leave.

There would be no stabilizing force left. The resulting power vacuum would be filled by every faction looking to settle scores, eliminate political opposition, gain political dominance through the threat of armed violence, or have some megalomaniac set up shop and hope to become the new Saddam Hussein.

Iran would dearly love us to leave. Dinnerjacket would have a field day in Iraq.

That is the reality. If it was any different, we would have been long gone.

We broke it. We have to try to fix it.

Saying "Just leave" is simplistic, unworkable, and would be a humanitarian disaster as the civilian population in Iraq, once again, would suffer the most.

That is the mission. Our troops will stay there until the political situation stabilizes, and unfortunately, it will take years.

I don't particularly care for that scenario, it is costing us billions of dollars and many lives, but in all reality, it is the least shitty of all other options.

[ClassWarrior]

67. Straw man. Nobody's saying we can leave "today." We're saying we need to begin...

...the process that will lead to withdrawal today. Yesterday if we could.

Why do you feel a need to distort the poster's position?

NGU.

[Ikonoklast]

77. And that is exactly.what has been going on.

You just don't want to admit it, but troops have been drawn down, and will continue to be as the situation improves.




And there are plenty on this site advocating leaving "today". I'm sure you are aware of that.


If there is any distortion going on, you just did it.

[frylock]

28. is that the new talking point?

FTS.

[Autumn]

29. It must be since the Mission has been

Accomplished.

[frylock]

31. shit. there are people being murdered in america..

let's blame it on the civil war ffs.

[Autumn]

32. At least the war ended before they died.

so none of the 10 are the last to die for a lie.

[Name removed]

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[Imagevision]

64. The only reason US. troops remain in Iraq is to keep the oil rigs from being bombed

[frylock]

15. i'll be listening more to what obama DOESN'T say..

you know, kinda read-between-the-lines. awwwhhhh.... who the fuck am i kidding. dude lost my vote a looooooooooooooooooong time ago.

[CakeGrrl]

So you won't be posting anymore once he has the Dem nomination in hand? n/t

[CakeGrrl]

61. So you won't be posting anymore once he has the Dem nomination in hand? n/t

[Name removed]

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[truebrit71]

18. Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Oh wait...

..you're being serious?? :wtf:

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

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[Armstead]

58. On some issues Richard Nixon

[ClarkUSA]

30. And he's had the most successful first two years of any president since FDR w/a smaller # of Dems

[ClassWarrior]

63. So that makes him perfect?

NGU.

[uponit7771]

88. Why does the black guy have to be "perfect", why would you expect that out of ANYONE?! This is a...

...reason why some people feel that there's an inordinate amount of Obama bashing on these boards by FUDrs

[Kermitt Gribble]

37. It's fact just because you say so, huh?

FYI, Cali is one of the more informed posters on DU. I don't always agree with her opinions (I do agree with her opinion in the OP), but her opinions deserve respect for the simple fact that she is very informed on political matters. Maybe you should spend some more time here getting to know everyone before you insult a long-time poster's political knowledge. Just sayin...

[otohara]

62. Aren't We All?

We all see the same headlines and visit DU many times during the day.

There's a meltdown happening in a beautiful country, with some of the sweetest people on this planet. I think most of us have more on our mind these days, worried sick for Japan - and it seems like our Cali never misses a day to whine about the president. We get it, he's not doing what he said - he over promised, shit happens, he's pounded everyday by those vile people on the right, and by the same people on this site.

The "smart" thing would be to give it a rest when so much is at stake.

[Autumn]

7. I'm not going to vote for him.

I am going to vote against the republican. That's how I am going to get myself up to go and vote.

[PurityOfEssence]

9. You're not alone, and many of you are handling it well

Big shock here; as you know, I've been a very vocal member of the loyal opposition from late '06, but I still voted for him and will again if he's the nominee.

Many are disillusioned, and many are carrying that well. At the risk of sounding saccharine, this too shall pass, and many are also reorienting themselves to the current reality and moving on as constructively as possible.

It's hard to let go of the exuberance of a bright and shining movement of possibilities, and it's doubly hard when so much is linked up in the trust of an individual. People are a package deal, and that's that; those who seem too good to be true often simply are.

There are many lessons to be learned here, and it's important in the thick of things to remember the moments and the dynamic. Still, time will tell its own little stories, and that all remains to be seen.

Sorry for the disappointment, and thanks for voicing this to others in a polite and matter-of-fact way.

[damntexdem]

12. A lot of people lost their investments in recent years.

And we thought it was only going to be money investments.

[RandomKoolzip]

20. Rarely has any public figure squandered so much goodwill in such a short span of time.

[jefferson_dem]

49. Rarely, have so-called supporters of a public figure been so eager to turn and smear...

with such little (or even NO) cause.

[RandomKoolzip]

55. Right - we're all insane. Clearly that must be it.

I didn't suddenly wake up one morning and decide to "hate" the President. There is a cause and effect relationship between the uneasiness about him on the left and Obama's actions, words, and direction.

[vaberella]

75. The "all" you speak about is a very small number, indeed. n/t

[jefferson_dem]

93. Not insane.

Just sorely misguided...in my opinion.

[ClassWarrior]

69. Makes no sense, does it?

Maybe that's because it's not true, that it's simply a meme ginned up by people "eager to turn and smear" Democratic values and legitimate criticism "with such little (apparent) cause."

NGU.

[uponit7771]

89. WOW!!! You forgot your ./sarcasm tag....Bush, 911?! You live in the US? Thx

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[27inCali]

38. I've had a lot of patience as the GOP out-maneuvered him

and again and again we settled for half a loaf.

I could rationalize the extension of the Bush taxcuts, that the HCR bill was watered down by the Senate etc.

But he's losing me with a lot of what's been proposed lately, especially this new bullshit about expanding copyright rules to go after internet streaming -fucking stupid considering his base is made up of young people who use such streaming every fucking day of their life. I don't imagine I'll be voting for any one else, but every day he disappoints me more. But I'm really hoping in 2016 we can get a Liberal with some balls to run.

[Armstead]

51. What's that about copyright?

Haven't heard about that.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

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[JVS]

41. I sympathize with you.

[Splinter Cell]

45. Brother....

:eyes:

[jefferson_dem]

46. "I don't hate President Obama. I'll vote for him in November next year."

Good enough.

[ReggieVeggie]

48. ...for some

[great white snark]

86. I don't care which levels of hell you go through at the voting booth just so you vote D.

Whatever caveats you need to use, in the end you are doing the right thing.

[Imagevision]

65. Personally I feel Obama ended up being a sell-out...! (sad to say!)

[femmocrat]

50. I have just lost interest in him. He is like a non-entity to me.

We all had such high hopes--- remember Grant Park? Maybe our expectations were just too great, too demanding for any human to meet.

Now, if I see him on TV, I change the channel. I don't hate him either, I'm just not interested in what he has to say. He kind of treats us liberals the same way.

I have participated in politics since I was a teenager, but I won't work for him or contribute to his re-election campaign. You're on your own this time, Mr. President.

But I would still vote for him vs. any repuke.

[Solomon]

83. "You're on your own Mr. President"

Classique. Says it all doesn't it?

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

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[Bluerthanblue]

54. I respect what you have said, but I don't

see this quite the same.

There are several things which I don't agree with the President about, most of them things he addressed before the election. I campaigned and supported him in NH's primary.

Maybe people figured "we" could retire after the election. Things didn't suddenly become "yes HE can" when the Pres. was sworn in imo.
Part of the "we" which was especially critical included our elected representatives.

GW Bush couldn't have done what he did without the resounding support of those in his party. Pres. Obama hasn't had that-

Many decisions Bill Clinton made during his Presidency were disappointing imo. But, given the political climate, and the reality of the circumstances- He did well. I believe that Pres. Obama is going to help lead us all into a better place than where we were following the Bush admin. And towards a much better place than McCain Palin wanted to take us. A more sane, humane less selfish society. But this will only happen if WE do our part as well.
The Republicans are working relentlessly to win- and they will if WE don't work harder to stop them.


I don't see the fact that haven't made the kind of progress we wanted to as "Obama's" fault. He isn't god or king- he can only succeed in moving us forward if WE work together- Dennis Kucinich demonstrated this reality when he supported health care reform, despite the fact that it was very far from what he and many of us (including the Pres.) really desired and needed.

Like it or not, there is a vocal, mobilized mass of people who share this country with us. They don't agree with us on much of anything and they're counting on us to fracture and fall apart.

[Imagevision]

66. Obama even fooled Di Nero and Matt Damon but I still feel bad about being Obama punked!

[vaberella]

73. Uh huh...okay. Cry me a river.

Obama is a great deal of good. And my goal for 2012 is to give him an extremely progressive Democratic base in January 2012. You can go on and on about how you feel disappointed in him. I am not and I want to give him the best that I can. The various tired memes you illustrate is why things don't get done.

I think he has lots to do and I can't wait until then. I'm excited for the future, because I hope the future is without any Repubs.

[cali]

78. dream on. that's pure fantasy- a furture without republicans

he'll have MORE repukes to deal with in the Senate than he's had. Oh, and I'm not asking you to cry for me or anyone else. I'm giving my assessment of Obama's performance. You clearly can't handle any criticism of him at all. That's just sad.

[vaberella]

82. You think it's a dream. I'm working to make it a reality.

So you can say it's a dream. But I'm not about to let it die. Rather than whine about how one man couldn't fulfill my dreams. I'm working to get that one man as much backup as possible to get some of my dreams realized.

[ClassWarrior]

85. There's your error. You're pinning your hopes on "one man," rather than doing what...

...it takes to defeat the Repubs:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=630400&mesg_id=630400

NGU.

[otohara]

94. Any Criticism?

this is just a continuation of your daily dump on POTUS and members of DU who don't agree with you.
That's just sad.

[ClassWarrior]

84. Good. Then the Prez and national Dems need to stop falling for the Repubs' traps...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=630400&mesg_id=630400

NGU.

[TheKentuckian]

91. Me too but he and the DNC backed conservatives and they got their asses whipped

and I see no indication that the party is going to be looking to promote any "progressive base" and certainly not an extremely progressive one.

The party does not wish to be liberal and fights the elections of such folk tooth and nail while promoting corporate friendly Trojan Horses.

[woolldog]

95. I agree with this.

It's not easy to wind down two wars responsibly. Sounds simple but it's really not.

I think he's compromised a bit more than I'd like with health care and some other things. But I felt that way about Clinton and he got a lot of good done. So has Obama on balance.

[nolabels]

80. I do have a lot of hope in the rest of us but yes it's true for me too.

He is just another m-tee suit looking to make the next deal. This really should be no surprise because after all that is what they teach over there in Harvard anyway, isn't it?

Selling out to the highest bidder as quick as possible, what a waste of life :-(

[Name removed]

81. Deleted message

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[Hestia]

90. I heartily agree with you - we thought just simply being above a C- student

would do great things in this country. He ran as a different person, and I still to this day wonder if Michelle and the kids are being held "hostage" and TPTB use them as bait to get what they want, you know? Maybe our next Democratic President shouldn't live in the WH. There is no law stating that they *have* to, is there? What with the bugging, wire taps, no privacy, etc., who would want to?