Poll: Do you approve or disapprove of the job President Obama is doing now?

[DuaneBidoux]

I have a theory. I'll post it after I see the way the poll is going.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. I've answered a few of these already today - you may want to do a search

one of them had nearly 100 responders

[DuaneBidoux]

3. i did search...but my searches never seem to catch stuff thanks though.

[Popular Front]

2. I see Obama as a new Bill Clinton

He's not a radical or a progressive, but he is a populist. We look forward to eight years of peace and prosperity. Already the economy is turning around.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

4. You really need a dictionary. nt

[Popular Front]

6. Nah. n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. Yes, yes you do. Isn't it too cold this time of year to be living

under a bridge?

[Popular Front]

12. It's not too bad here actually. n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. Well good then.

[rudy23]

9. I don't see the populism at all.

I think he's looking way more conservative than Clinton at this point.

[Zodiak]

14. Populism is siding with the people over the corporations

I ought to know because I am a populist

What Obama is doing is DLC style centrism, which is corporate as hell....and might I add, wildly unpopular.

[Popular Front]

15. I agree on the definition, but I think you're wrong

The insurance companies have fought hard to keep the bill from passing, and they may succeed. The big banks have fought hard against Obama and Geithner's plans to rein in derivative trading. The administration is populist with a capital "p", but they can't be too loud about it. Look how the teabaggers got Van Jones.

Populism is not about rhetoric. It's about action.

[Zodiak]

17. Yeah, action

The action of corporate giveaways with no real regulation....just the "hope" of one for later. Ever read Matt Taibbi?

The action of turning the hopes of millions of Americans for healthcare into a corporate giveaway to insurance companies.

That's some real populism there. So is selling us out at every turn the "new populism" like "new Democrat" is to "Democrat"?

Sorry.....Jim Hightower is a populist, Sherrod Brown is a populist, Thom Hartmann is a populist.

Obama is a DLCer without a membership card. Ask his "populist" friends like Rahm Emanuel and Arnie Duncan (not to mention that banking piece of shit Geithner you like so much. HINT-populists on both sides of the aisle hate him).

[Popular Front]

18. so why'd you vote for him?

[Zodiak]

19. Fooled, like the rest of us

Coupled with no real choices other than DLC Hillary.

I was for Edwards, but he dropped out, and so did Kucinich.

So that left me with a card-carrying corporate DLCer with a mandated private insurance plan....or Obama, who turned out to be a stealth DLCer but used a lot of populist rhetoric. I "hoped" he wasn't a true DLCer, but boy was I wrong when he picked Rahm Emanuel. It's all been a DLC-fest ever since then

Hillary said she would pick guys like Tom Vilsack (head of the DLC at one time) when she got the Presidency. In knew what she'd give me.

Obama had a bunch of economic progressives in his campaign team, then moved them aside for more DLC bullshit. Oh, and he appointed Tom Vilsack, and lo and behold, he is behind a plan with mandated insurance! False fucking advertising.

So what? You want to call me "stupid" or "naive" now? Is that what your questions rhetorical purpose was? Well, fuck that! Obama is guilty of false advertising on a number of fronts, and he will lose a lot of votes before this is over. Not because progressives and populists are "stupid", but we dared to "hope" when we really had no choices.

We have a choice, now that it is clear that Obama is clearly on the wrong side of many issues. His rhetoric is useless precisely because it translates into shit, not action.

[Popular Front]

20. But Obama has never been a member of the DLC

I see what you're saying, but it's factually incorrect. I too am disappointed, but we can't give up on our President. Didn't you see the inauguration? We the people were all there, celebrating the victory after eight long years of Bush.

We can't give up on him until he gives up on us.

[Zodiak]

21. I told you he is not DLC in the previous post

please read more carefully. That is precisely why he fooled so many.

But he has delivered an administration that only a DLCer could love. Starting with Rahm Emanuel.

You see, I know there are stealth DLCers out there. Want another? Chuck Schumer. The man isn't a card-carrying member of the DLC, but he takes money from them to go on trips (before it became unfashionable to be DLC any more), and he has given speeches at DLC dinners (or whatever the fuck DLCers do to wank each other off).

[rhett o rick]

33. "We can't give up on him until he gives up on us." What would YOU use as an indication that he has

abandoned us? Continuing the wars? Giving us crap for health insurance reform? Caving into the big banks? Please tell us what YOU think the line is.

[Popular Front]

34. When he changes his party to Republican n/t

[rhett o rick]

38. That is crazy. As long as someone calls themselves a Democrat you will support them?

Crazy. That's how they are killing us. Democrats carrying water for the corporatists. I am guessing you are a "blue dog".

[Popular Front]

39. I am a progressive and a populist. But I will support every Democrat against any Repub. n/t

[rhett o rick]

40. That's a cop out and you know it. You dont sound "progressive" to me. nt

[Popular Front]

41. Did you vote for Nader in 2000? nt

[rhett o rick]

42. OMG the ultimate test. But I ask you what that has to do with you being progressive? nt

[Popular Front]

43. Nader got Bush elected. There is no run-off system. A stupid choice that resulted in misery. n/t

[ima_sinnic]

22. +++1 righteous rant (nt)

[rhett o rick]

32. The choice was him or McCain. Did you forget? nt

[rhett o rick]

31. Please provide some sort of proof of your assertion that the Pres and Geithner are trying to

"rein in derivative trading." Geithner is one of them, he aint one of us.

[Popular Front]

37. Frank's Financial Service Reform Bill

Both Obama and Geithner are sounding the right notes. What a breath of fresh air after 8 years of class warfare and disaster.

[Garam_Masala]

48. You are obfuscating...Insurance opposed ONLY when PO was in the bill

The private insurance corporations were fighting the PUBLIC OPTION!
Get it?

You won't see any more ads from them opposing the latest cadaver of HCR bill
since they have been awarded the $900 Billion bonanza.

[rhett o rick]

24. Sorry Jake, no hope for either peace or prosperity in the near future.

By what measure do you judge that the economy is turning around? The stock market? Curious if you believed bush* in 2008 when he said the economy was strong. It may be strong for the ruling class but us peons are hurting.

[Popular Front]

29. Summers said that we will see job growth in early 2010

I'll take the Democratic prognostications over the Repukes'.

[rhett o rick]

30. Summers doesnt meet my definition of a Democrat.

Please dont break it down to Democrats vs. Repubs. Too many corporatists have moved into the big tent. The ruling class vs. the peons. Time to kick the the ruling class's asses.

[Popular Front]

36. The Democrats are the people's party

The Republicans are for the corporations. Check opensecrets if you don't believe me.

[rhett o rick]

45. Wrong. The Democratic Party's tent got soo big that a lot of non "people's party" people got in.

The DLC is not for the people, but for CorpAmerica. Being a Democrat isnt enough any more as Ben Nelson, the $#%$&.

[hollowdweller]

44. Wrong. Clinton Governed By the Polls , Obama is ignoring the people

People favor descalating Iraq and Afghanistan. Obams is for escalating it.

People favor punishing the bankers. Obama is against it.

People favor the public option and medicare buy in. Obama is against it.

The country was WAY to the left of what is was when Clinton was president.

With popular support for some of the more progressive causes and his communication and PR abilitiy Clinton would have done great things.

Take the deficit. Clinton wasn't a real deficit hawk but when he saw it had public support he owned the issue.

Obama is the opposite. He's going against the public. Damnest thing I've ever seen. What a waste.

[rhett o rick]

46. And that's not a good thing. Can you spell WTO? nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. Here you go - one from earlier 22 Recs, lots of respondents

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7242381

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

8. This pure-binary poll has its own appeal

I like the forced choice of two options as an alternative/additional view

[jberryhill]

7. Overall - Approve. On Health Care Alone - Disgusted. /nt

[hlthe2b]

23. ditto... though Afghanistan gives me pause...

as has his decision to allow the REPUG Federal Attorneys largely remain in place, address Bush* admin prosecutions for torture and failure to reverse some of the civil liberty issues...

I think it comes down to the fact that I WANT to support Obama, because the list of disappointments is getting a bit long...

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. OK - I'll play. Sadly, Disapprove. I don't sense the wheel of the ship is even turning yet.

[IndianaGreen]

16. Weiner: Snowe? Stupak? Lieberman? Who left these people in charge?

While many House Democrats have expressed anger with the Senate for the watered-down bill, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) argued that it was really Obama who let centrists take control. "Snowe? Stupak? Lieberman? Who left these people in charge?" he said. "It's time for the president to get his hands dirty. Some of us have compromised our compromised compromise. We need the president to stand up for the values our party shares. We must stop letting the tail wag the dog of this debate."

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) similarly suggested that blaming Lieberman was ignoring the real culprit -- Obama.

"This bill appears to be legislation that the president wanted in the first place, so I don't think focusing it on Lieberman really hits the truth," said Feingold. "I think they could have been higher. I certainly think a stronger bill would have been better in every respect."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/16/democrats-lash-out-at-oba_n_394424.html

[ima_sinnic]

28. Feingold: "This bill appears to be legislation that the president wanted in the first place"

and some people laughed at me yesterday when I said the exact same thing in response to Joe SCABorough asking why Obama couldn't get anything he wanted, but * always did. So again I ask, who says he didn't get what he wanted? The corporate greed-head pigs are happy (the most important constituency), the "centrists" (read: noncommittal, unprincipled, not standing for anything chameleons) are happy, the "small-government" profit-monger creeps are happy--at least it's a win-win for them.

Obama has succeeded in splintering the Democratic Party.

[hlthe2b]

25. So, DuaneBidoux... what's your theory?

[rhett o rick]

27. My theory is that Pres Obama is powerless against CorpAmerica.

That theory is free and I guarantee worth every cent.

[rhett o rick]

26. The Senate health care bill is a disaster. No mandatory insurance w/o a strong public option. nt

[mcablue]

35. I'm undecided

You should add that option.

[vaberella]

47. Why even start this poll? It's established that DU, in majority, sees our Pres as a failure. n/t

[Skittles]

49. I'll say it: as of now, he sucks

[LaPera]

50. To say Obama is better than Bush, isn't saying much, ANY democrat would be.

To say Obama is a strong progressive democrat, well that would absolutely be a lie.

[Kaleva]

51. nation is turning against health care reform

Watching NBC as I browse here at DU and there was a story about a laest poll. Support for health care reform is dropping while support for Obama's decision to increase troop levels in Afghanistan has increased.

[smalll]

52. I approve. Fore one, he's just trying to fulfill his campaign promises (Afghanistan) and two,

he made the tactical mistake of letting Congress perform its legislative function and put together a health care reform bill --

So Congress is dysfunctional. And the U.S. Armed Forces are not necessarily forces of evil.

I'm on his side. :patriot: