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Am I Watching the Same President Obama as Others?
President Obama
Of Bully Pulpits and Magic Wands
The media are taking the American Jobs Act and President Obama and dissecting them for all they’re worth when they’re not busy following Sarah Palin to her latest gaffe. Memes are afloat! We’ve got the “He’s finally taking to the bully pulpit” on the Left to the “We can’t tax the rich because of Jesus” on the Right.
Naturally, the disgruntled blame the President for his many failures and cynically eye up his next defeat, which they are sure can be blamed on his lack of balls, evidence of which they tell me is apparent in his capitulation to the Republicans.
This self-defeating prophecy of doom feeds right into the Republican long term goal (recently admitted to in a must read article published on Truthout and written by a former Republican staffer) of causing Americans to hate and distrust government, so they can prove that contrary to the liberal belief (pardon me while I remind us of what we allegedly believe) that government has a role to play in the lives of the people, government actually sucks. Why not dismantle it since it clearly doesn’t work? It would be best to privatize government! The Koch brothers would do a better job for less money. Surely Wisconsin is proof of that. Yes, you’d all better just give up. Don’t vote. The Republicans will be so pleased and while it might pain us all to make them happy, it’s worth it just to spite the ball-less Democrats.
Take that!
It would be in error for me to point out that we are asking the wrong questions when we debate whether or not the President is using the bully pulpit or is, in fact, an epic fail. The list of “proof” of his failures is long, but usually starts with the Bush tax cuts and the Stimulus being a Republican Gift Bag, in spite of the Tea Party willing to bring down the entire country for passing it.
In the past, the President had something to lose by not negotiating with the Republicans. In the Bush tax cuts example, he stood to lose the extension of the UE bennies for the working poor, a class Democrats and liberals are supposed to stand for. So he was forced to give in to get what he wanted for the working poor, and yet this is still used as proof of his epic fail. Yes, Obama, why did you not let the poor starve so we could punish the Republicans? Loser.
In this case of the American Jobs Act, Obama has nothing to lose at this point. He can take his case to the people and with public support, put the GOP in bad position of owning protecting the rich if they do not pass it.
That said, it would be remiss to the narrative to point out that the President takes to the bully pulpit and is roundly ignored, warped, and attacked, thus lessening public support for what he’s pushing which leads to weakening of his position.
Pardon me if I get weary of certain factions of Democrats destroying the power of their president every single time by buying into right wing frames cleverly masquerading as the height of intrepidly cool and world-weary intellectual cynicism.
The epic fail of the Stimulus that gave birth to long term paradigm shifts toward ideas liberals supposedly stand for is obvious. He gave in. Never mind the funding for alternative fuels and other liberal ideas. It’s best not to look too closely when it’s so obvious that he caved on the tax issue, even though the Stimulus did as economists suggested by lowering tax rates on the poor so they could spend money.
Still, it’s obvious that this President is not a liberal. Just look at President Bush and his massive success using the bully pulpit! Why won’t our guy do it? Bring the cowboy and the Rove thug and make it happen already!
Of course, Bush didn’t get all that he wanted, especially in his second term as the Republicans in Congress didn’t take to being bullied by an uneducated thug (Rove, not Bush, but I can see how that wasn’t clear). It’s not just Obama who has to compromise? No, Dorothy, they all have to do it and some of them get it and some of them don’t. If in doubt, check on that privatized Social Security Bush wanted passed. The one where we all would have lost even more of our retirement savings because we would have been in the USA! market of free enterprise for the job creators and Jesus when the Bush Stock Market Crash of 2008 robbed us of our last penny.
Then we are told that only Obama would be so lame as to let Joe the Traitor back in. You know Joe. He was good for that 60th vote on healthcare, but then healthcare was an epic fail and who can we blame for that? Not ALEC certainly.
If we want a real liberal, we need to elect Bernie Sanders.
Of course, he would be stopped by the very same forces who put the beat down on Obama, and the very same Senate that is not doing their job as a check on the tyranny of the majority from the House, but still. He does stand for everything we want.
But then wantin’ ain’t getting’, and even Bernie, whom I would vote for in a hot second, couldn’t change the House that Republicans built.
It takes more than ideals to govern effectively. It takes more than balls to get anything remotely helpful for middle class America passed with the Republican Party occupying their current hold in the House and obstructing from the Senate. It takes more than Democrats being elected.
Also, under the guise of freedom of liberal thought, one is allowed to emote regarding the president and accuse without a clear understanding of policy and acknowledgement of current obstacles and rules, but one is not allowed to cite facts and ask questions lest one be a bot.
It’s an odd ride we are on when extremist emotion as a result of a horrible economy is passed off as the height of intellectualism. I’d be the last to claim that Democrats deserve much credit for messaging. They suck at it, due in part to the inherent need for liberals to arrive at their own conclusions (or even worse, be able to claim they are while donning the Republican bred distrust of all things government). But Democrats are also hampered by a media culture that loves a sound bite and feeds off of drama.
Just take a look at how things are better now than they were under Bush courtesy of Steve Benen of Washington Monthly’s Political Animal:
“Everything is worse”? That might make more sense were it not for the fact that:
* American job creation is better now than when Bush left office.
* American economic growth is better now than when Bush left office.
* Al Qaeda is dramatically weaker now than when Bush left office.
* The American automotive industry is vastly stronger now than when Bush left office.
* The struggle for equality of the LGBT community is vastly better now than when Bush left office.
* The U.S. health care system is better and more accessible than when Bush left office.
* The federal budget deficit is better now than when Bush left office.
* The major Wall Street indexes and corporate profits are better now than when Bush left office.
* International respect for the United States is better now than when Bush left office.
We don’t hear much about any of that. Complex ideas just don’t break down very well into sound bites. The President has finally realized that he must sell his ideas but he is also in a better position to do so now. His largest flaw has been his assumption that we all know what he knows.
We don’t. The left is surely better than the Right who wanted Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber to run the world because they were just like them. We want someone smarter than us. We believe that someone who has a constitutional law degree just might know a bit more than we do about, say, constitutional law. We also believe in holding our Presidents accountable for things like extending the Patriot Act (the Senate voted 72-23 to extend and the House followed), as we should.
It’s worth noting that after the failure of Sen. Leahy’s 2009 proposed oversight bill regarding the Patriot Act, the executive branch did, via the DOJ, implement some key components of the bill, which resulted in PolitFact rating Obama’s Patriot Act changes promise as a compromise, instead of a fail. Is it good enough? Not at all, in my opinion. But it’s a far cry from what the Bush administration’s DOJ would have done (irony alert: God help us all).
Sen Leahy seemed to agree, writing in response to the DOJ changes, “I still believe that these important oversight and accountability provisions should be enacted in law, but I appreciate that by implementing key measures in the bill, the Department of Justice has embraced the need for oversight and transparency.”
So how do we get to the part where we elect the smart guy and then assume he’s stupid, cowardly, and impotent? These are the very labels the Right has tried so desperately to stick on every Democratic President, and we carry the water and wonder why we can’t get what we want.
When we lose in the court of public opinion, one would think we’d finally get it. The same balls we want Obama to have we should have. It takes guts to get in there and read and think and fight. It takes guts to stand up for the ideals we believe in. And it matters what we say and how we say it. Public opinion grants the President power or takes it away, as it does for every elected official. If this weren’t the case, the Republicans wouldn’t spend so much time and money using paid trolls to propagandize about their “both parties do it” narrative meant to kill enthusiasm and thereby votes.
No party is perfect and no president is perfect. But this American Jobs Act is pretty close and when the President announces his Buffett Rule tomorrow and the public sees that he’s fighting for jobs for them and asking the wealthy to do their fair share, chances are very high that the public will support that idea, as polls indicate.
Unless, of course, the Republicans figure out the fatal flaw to sell to the Left and the Left runs with it, never looking around to see exactly where that disgruntled meme came from and never questioning it because after all, their favorite pundit told them so. It would be nice if for once we let the Republicans kill attempts to help the working class on their own.
I have to wonder, am I watching the same President Obama as others?
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43 Responses to Am I Watching the Same President Obama as Others?
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Distant Observer
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Well, this is a very long and drawn out apology for Obama. How many people did he kill today?
Kim
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Not as many as you have with your stupidity.
Kate
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:48 pm
Hmm, and how many did Bush get killed in his bullshit wars?
Your argument is invalid. Kindly take your fear- and hate-mongering elsewhere.
Carrie
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Do you ever wonder if maybe reality passed you by? or is it that you haven’t gotten out of second grade yet?
Sally
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Not as many as Paul’s on-health care and the death chambers.
charles calhoun
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
How come liberals always revert back to Bush when defending Obama. I don’t care about Bush any more, he’s not the president, he doesn’t try to set any kind of political agend, he doesn’t even try to defend himself when attacked on a regular basis, so why not just focus on now.
desraye
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Because Obama is trying to fix what Bush left him with.
boiler
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
and if the GOP acted like adults and compromised on serious matters for the last two years, instead of ideologues, then things would be better. the prez is only one third of this tango…. now sen sanders for king of the USA and govern by proclamation might be the way to go!!!….
newmeximan
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
My favorite new retort to a conservative who swears that Obama is ‘trashing the Constitution” is that why then has the conservative majority in the House not brought impeachment articles against him? Must be another exaggeration, since to not bring articles would amount to treason by complicity on the part of the GOP.
I remind them to learn to analyze facts for themselves, instead of acquiring sound bites to form an opinion.
Robert Schiele
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
The writer’s point is well taken. It certainly does seem that should the GOP and their Tea Party stooges sweep the 2012 elections, democracy in the United States is probably doomed.
On the other hand, it also seems crystal clear that Mr. Obama, who to many who supported him in 2008, represented hope, above all–someone who would be somehow different than the “politics as usual” which so many Americans of both parties have come to despise. Clearly this was not the case. With the single exception of his healthcare overhaul (which in itself was fatally flawed once the public option was removed), it seems to me that Mr. Obama has signally failed to move favorably on any of the issues which he was elected to address.
Sure, one can argue that the President has, even before taking office, had to deal with an unprecedentedly vile, raucous, reactionary, unabashedly racist Republican Party. But does that excuse his failure not only to end our two unwinnable wars (which as commander-in-chief he might have done with the stroke of a pen), but even to augment US forces overseas, and now evidently to be negotiating with various governments to keep American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan even longer than he promised when making his “surge speech?” Does that excuse Mr. Obama’s committing the United States, even in a “limited, passive” way, to the ongoing revolution in Libya, an action which was clearly unconstitutional, and which even George W. Bush at his most bellicose would never have dared without the prior consent of Congress? Does it excuse Mr. Obama’s signing an extension of the so-called “Patriot Act,” clearly a direct assault by the federal government on the basic freedoms and liberties of the American people themselves? Let alone Mr. Obama’s having arrogated to the presidency even further powers under that same umbrella, such as the forced detention and even assassination of American citizens without even a semblance of charges, trial, or jury which even Mr. Bush would never have dared to do?
Yes, I believe it is essential to the survival of democracy in the United State that the Republicans must be stopped at all costs, in the upcoming 2012 election. What I cannot believe in is that Mr. Obama is the man for the job. It seems very clear to me that the President’s actions ever since taking office have been designed for one thing and one only: to try to ensure his own re-election no matter what the costs to the country as a whole or to the American people in general.
In 2008, Mr. Obama won because, Democrats aside, many independent voters, and even a few Republicans, believed he represented change. Clearly they were misled, and I fear that for the Democratic Party to count on the President’s incumbency to pull him through again, let alone to return Democratic majorities to either house of Congress, may be a fatal mistake from which the Republic may never recover. There is an old saying which seems apropos here: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
Reynardine
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Are you proposing to run? Or are you proposing we run that rotten peanut, Kucinich, who forfeited all the respect I once had for him when he was found in the pocket of the dictator, Ghaddafi? I’m tired of the “it’s all bullshit, anyway,” crowd because I’ve found they’re all bullshit anyway.
Moongal6
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
Well said.
I too, am so tired of the “it’s all bullshit, anyway” crowd. I’ve been around long enough to know, it’s NOT the same. I perhaps would say that if there was a moderate conservative anywhere in sight, with any power in the Republican party, but there doesn’t seem to be one. So give me a Democrat any day.
Kate
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
A boycott or blockade in Lybia, along with humanitarian aid to the people, is perfectly in line with statutes set forth by the United Nations, statues the United States is free to, and encouraged to, follow as a member nation. Seems to me like Obama had the stones to do what the UN would not. If only we’d had someone like him back a few decades ago, the hostility in Rwanda might not have gotten to the point it did.
We can’t just leave the Middle East all at once, if at all within the next few years. We got ourselves into a pretty little shit stew…we tore down the only form of government those people have ever known, and tried to impose a rather foreign (to them) way of doing things upon their culture. We can’t just go in, shoot things up, and then retreat, thus leaving a gaping power vacuum any hill yahoo with a gun can fill, a gun that might later be pointed at us for our part in tearing up his country and the only way of life he ever knew.
It’s a horrible situation, and it’s a catch-22. There is no good way out of it. But I’d say that Obama’s doing the best he can with the options he’s been given.
As for matters as a whole?
Obama would get a lot more done if the Republicans would stop blocking him at every turn. You can’t exactly walk far when you’re being walled into a one-square-foot tower.
EnoughIsEnough
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
No offense, but I read your long post and feel like my response should be blah, blah, blah. I’ve been in politics for 40 years. If you think President Obama hasn’t changed anything in this government then you’ve been under a rock for the last 3 years. Or if you believed the song that some loved so much “Obama the Magic Negro” you are so naive that you should think twice before you post. President Obama NEVER said that HE was going to bring change. He said “WE are who WE have been waiting for.” I guess you didn’t hear that. What President NOW or EVER has changed the government single handedly? We DO have THREE branches of the government whether you like it or not. The President had to deal with Republicans in Congress, but he ALSO had to deal with BLUE DOGS – a fact that firebaggers refuse to admit. I see you failed to admit that the President brought home 100,000 troops from Iraq. I guess that doesn’t count either. If you are pacifist the President never said he was. He said he was going to increase our engagement in Afghanistan. But I guess you didn’t hear that either.
Moongal6
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 10:58 pm
I constantly remind people that Obama campaigned on increasing our troop strength in Afghanistan. I wasn’t happy about it, but, I am not a military strategist. And yes, he reminded us, as a collective to have HOPE, something we had forgotten in the previous 8 years. We were all just praying we would survive the “Cheney” administration. People forget that the tab for the first bailout went on Obamas ledger, not Bush’s. There is so much on Obama’s plate, I admire how he keeps his apparent positive demeanor. It’s wonderful, and his attitude still gives me hope.
jadez
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
you cant argue with someone who doesnt have the knowledge about what they are talking about.
you think obama has been great because he has been to the right of bush, which he has.
but thats the point…you cant see the truth.
the one point you make about the iraq war means nothing.
obama has increased the war budget and our involvment around the world more than any president in history.
he simply is the biggest war mongger in american history.
had you that knowlegde you might even learn to look deeper in the other areas where you no doubt conclude obama once again because of ignorance, has been a success.
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
LOL! he drew the troops out of Iraq and you call that increasing the war budget?
Where do you get all this silly stuff?
” the biggest war mongger in american history.”
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! freaking hilarious!
Sally
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
@jadez You are an wrong. Obama is winding down Iraq, and trying to get us out of Afghanistan. He got bin Laden without any other loss of life. There have been months with no casualties. So I guess you have written to the GOP and demanded we end these wars, right? Obama doesn’t increase budgets, Congress does. He is trying to lower the defense budget, and meeting a brick wall from the GOP. So there’s something else you can write to Boehner about…stop wasteful defense spending. And if you think Obama is to the right of Bush, there’s a nice pipeline in Alaska we could sell you.
Sally
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 11:18 pm
Thank you…I am so tired of reading that we are disillusioned with “The One.” Hannity makes me sick. The left never saw Obama as the Messiah. We knew he was a man, but a man with a dream. Parts of that dream have been realized; some not. Yet. And can you imagine if Bush had found bin Laden? He’d have probably had his head on a stake outside the White House, and a big parade so he could beat his chest. What did our President do? Express condolences to the families, honor for our troops, and went on with his business. Te right needs a cowboy; the left needs and wants an intelligent thinking, compassionate human being. I will vote for him again.
dem9586792844592
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 1:08 am
Some of these points are well taken, but in order to hold office the Democrats must be a big-tent party.
www.nytimes.com/interacti...
The Times’ recent poll shows low numbers for self-identified liberals (questions 78 & 79)
Economic issues:
7% very liberal
15 somewhat liberal
36 moderate
25 somewhat conservative
12 very conservative
4 don’t know
Social issues:
10 very liberal
20 somewhat liberal
31 moderate
22 somewhat conservative
14 very conservative
3 don’t know
I would have much preferred Obama had gotten congressional approval on Libya, but I support the (now successful) effort on humanitarian grounds. NATO is not an occupying force, and to my knowledge has suffered no casualties.
The Iraq war (which I opposed) is largely over (with reasonable success).
People can gripe, but the party has to be unified to achieve electoral success.
charles calhoun
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
DO yourself a favor. Quit reading the TIMES.
dem9586792844592
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Uh, yeah. I should be listening to Rush?
Reynardine
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
For my part, I see what you see. Yes, he was too trusting of the Legislative Branch at first, because (a) he had just come from it, and (b) he was succeeding an Imperial Presidency (or better, an Imperial Vice-presidency) and wanted to distance himself from it.
And meanwhile, to Distant Observer: All Presidents kill, and so does the leader of every nation larger than Tonga. The difference is whether they do so within the mandate we give them, or outside of it. If you don’t know the difference, go live under Bashar Asad and see if you can figure it out.
Kim
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
They should go ask the people in Iraq if they think it matters who we vote for or the families of the thousands of soldiers who have died.
Reynardine
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:36 pm
The “you” I addressed in the first paragraph of my post is the author. Three or four other comments came in even as I was posting mine.
Kim
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
You lay out all of these facts and the trolls come in with their feelings. I read all that I can and make up my own mind and I’m a strong supporter of this President. Haters are going to hate no matter what you tell them. Logic means nothing to a hater.
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
You should see some of the posts that never made it to prime time. We have some very uneducated RWNJ’s
Reynardine
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
I believe you’re being stricter than you used to be, too. I certainly didn’t suppose the raw material was getting any more civilized.
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Me strict? Why I am just a laid back country boy, I have no idea of which you speak
boiler
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 12:09 am
hey, the haters should just spout over at foxnation. if the right has something to say that isnt hyperbole, or ad homonym, then post it, but they only use the talking points they hear on fox or rightwing noise radio, 86 it….
jadez
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
you sound like a loon here.
sure you can fool the ignorant with this silly bs.
try convincing the people who are suffering because obama is a shill for wall street.
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Really? Is that why he wants to tax them at a higher rate and the GOP is trying to protect the millionaires on wall street?
I think you have an ignorance problem
Sally
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
He seems to have a problem with proper grammar as well.
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 18th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
He is gone, he proves as have others today that no matter how much truth you show them they have to hate.
Tim Morton
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 12:42 am
I am watching the same President Obama as you.
Randolph Greer
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 12:53 am
When Obama extended the Bush tax cuts, he extended the Bush economic policies that were designed to destroy government. Obama had to end those tax cuts or see his administration be crippled. He chose to cripple his administration. It is as simple as that. Now maybe he did not understand that. But I sure as hell did, and so did the Republicans. That is why they were willing to give in on everything else. No matter what they gave Obama, it was worth it to see the American economy and his Presidency destroyed. I hope that clears it up for you. I can’t explain it to you any better than that.
Kim
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 1:12 am
I’ll tel you what you cleared up: You are an ignorant fool. ANY economist will tell you how important unemployment benefits are to the economy.
Misty
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 7:45 am
Thank you. I feel the same way.
Tom
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Did anyone see “Morning Joe” Monday AM? doom and gloom, the president is done, no chance for re-election, blah blah blah. They have bought the right wing talking points, hook line and sinker.
charles calhoun
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Intelligent people don’t watch morning joe
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Intelligent people use as many sources as possible to form decisions and opinions
eve
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 9:35 am
All I can say is WOW the more we speak the more we show how uneducated we are, and how the media TV and radio has program us to the point that we will believe any and everything as long as its negative/bad, they have made us unintelligent thinkers and fools of our own making that will continue to follow the same republicans and republican policies who got us in this mess.
We have a president who is making a difference and finally a president who is putting the people first, he has done so much to advance women, children, collage education, The elderly, k-12 education, health care, protect us consumers. But know matter what he does their are going to be people who are not happy with the results, because they don’t understand that every thing takes time.
One of our president biggest problem is Democrats, because Democrats are self destructive they don’t know how to stick together and have one voice and fight, they always want the president to do the fighting why don’t they standup and fight with him instead of against him.
All week their have been republicans on all the media channels and radio but no Democrats. Its the Liberals and so call Democrats that are doing this president more harm than good because they are always going after him to do more, and not pointing out all the good he has done so far and how hard he is working to do more, they should be going after the republicans for standing in the way for doing nothing.
I am calling on us the people anyone out their
to push back and blanket the Radio and TV and point out all the good the president has done but gone unnoticed.
and point out the hundreds of bills that the republicans has block and filibuster that would have help this country.
ITS TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT AND PUSH BACK
ITS TIME TO GIVE THE PEOPLE THE REAL FACTS AND NOT THE LIES AND SPIN THE
REPUBLICANS AND THE SO CALL LIBERALS PUT OUT
ITS TIME TO STAND UP
A Walkaway
Sep. 19th, 2011 at 11:24 am
At the personal level, for most of the poor everything IS worse. FAR FAR worse. The problem isn’t that everything has gotten worse on President Obama’s watch (and yes it has)… the problems we face are caused by the Republicans/Tea Party (and their masters – the dominionist leaders and the rich) and people don’t realize it. That’s the real problem.
They (the Republicans/Tea Party) want to eliminate the poor (not poverty)… but people in general aren’t getting the message.
They promote the “everything is worse” message as a subtle reminder of what life is like for the poor (if you can call it a life) and to scare people into trying to protect what little they have.