Reply #11: Once again, there are other perceptions for these points you make. [View All]

[Zodiak]

For one, one big argument that has been bandied around here for some time before President Obama took the oath was that he is not bringing in the left at all to sit at the table. In some cases, the left was allowed in the room to speak, but only after pressure was applied. So to many people here, it is not that the right has been allowed in the room, it is that the left continues to be shut out. If this is one's perception, surely you understand how they could be angry and frustrated, especially after working so hard to get the man elected.

Accusing someone of "armchair" governing is not helpful. There are the opinions of many experts in matters of policy issues to draw from to formulate one's opinion. Also, I have not seen sufficient evidence that critics are not caring about the country as a whole....often I see many of them arguing their points precisely because they do care about this country as a whole. Perhaps being more specific than vague would not only make your point more clear, but it would go a long way towards not making that seem like a blanket accusation.

Lastly, there are also a number of DUers who don't give a flip what the people on Freerepublic think and never did. What is said here is an argument amongst family, and if some peeping toms want to look through the window and snicker, leave them to it.

Trust me, the fight that critics on this site are engaging in doesn't even closely resemble the fight that Freerepublic would wage. I find it unproductive that so many here try to equate criticism from the left as the same as criticism from the right. The right wants Obama to fail and the left wants him to succeed, and therein lies all of the difference.

As far as really hostile anger towards Obama...no, I do not like it when it is over the top, either. But I see that the attempt to squelch that particular brand of critic has also had a chilling effect on those who would not behave in that manner. The ardent are not going to shut up when pressured, but many even-tempered people will consciously avoid a hostile environment if they perceive it to be so.