Obama made it clear throughout his campaign that he wants to hear from people who disagree with him

[Bjorn Against]

When I filled in the bubble next to Barack Obama's name on election day I wasn't just voting for a single person, I was voting for the future of this nation. I did not agree with Obama on every issue when I voted for him, but he made it clear during his campaign that he wanted to hear our disagreements and he would listen to them.

Those supporters of Obama who are now telling us to be quiet and not criticize Obama's cabinet appointments or his positions on the issues are really going against Obama's primary message. Obama believes that every person should have a voice in this country, and he made it clear in virtually all of his speeches that he wanted to hear from people who disagreed with him.

We know that Obama is going to hear plenty of disagreement with his policies from the right, we need to make sure he also hears disagreement from the left. Obama knows that he is going to have to make compromises while in office, now ask yourself what kind of compromises do you want to see? If Obama is being pushed from both the left and the right then his position will be viewed as the middle ground and he will not have to move very much. If he is being pushed by only the right side of the spectrum however then there will be a lot of pressure on him to compromise with the right, and they will prevent him from doing everything he needs to do. If we want Obama to be a progressive leader then we need to publicly express our disagreements when he is wrong just as much as we need to rally around him when he is right.

It is our duty as American citizens to stand up for what we believe in, and we need to stand up and challenge the people in power no matter who those people are. Obama has been wrong on at least a few key issues. He was wrong on the FISA legislation, and now that he will soon have the power to stop the wiretapping of innocent Americans we need to get him to reverse course and work to repeal the very legislation he voted for. He was also wrong about Afghanistan, I know that he probably had to say we needed more troops in Afghanistan in order to get elected, but that doesn't make it the right position. More troops in Afghanistan will not make us safer, we don't even know where bin Laden is and sending troops to a nation that is in extreme poverty and has no military force to speak of is not going to prevent a terrorist attack. When it comes to civil rights Obama opposes gay marriage, a position that is just plain wrong. I disagreed with Obama on these issues even while I was out campaigning for him, I supported him despite our disagreements because I think he will support me despite his disagreements with my views.

I don't expect any candidate to agree with me on everything, but I do expect them to allow me to voice my disagreements without being shouted down. Obama has shown that he will listen to my disagreements, and I hope that one day all of his supporters will recognize that it is a good thing that Obama receives some criticism from the left.

We can support Obama and still be able to criticize him when we think he is wrong. Ultimately we are not working for him, he is working for us and we need to have a say in our government. I will be criticizing Obama on the issues, and I will be criticizing his cabinet picks. That does not make me the enemy, it only makes an American who recognizes that real change is not brought about by Presidents but by ordinary people who stand up for a cause much greater than the White House. Just because we have a new President does not mean that we should stop fighting for what we believe in, if we want to see Obama give us what we want then we need to stand up for what we want. The future of our country is what's at stake here, and I don't want to leave that future in the hands of a single person no matter who that person is.

[Cleita]

1. I totally agree and so far the rumor mill hasn't

produced any candidates that are lefty liberals like Bernie Sanders or Dennis Kucinich.

[BeFree]

2. It is one thing...

...to send Obama a letter spelling out your disagreements. Nobody has a problem with that.

But if you post it here, you may hear from someone who has a problem with what you posted.

Do you have a problem with that?

[Bjorn Against]

4. I don't have a problem with people disagreeing with what I write...

But the only people who can tell me what I can and can't post are the mods, and I do a have a problem with all the people who pretend to be mods and try to lecture everyone on how supportive their posts need to be.

People can disagree with my positions all they want though, I wouldn't be expressing them if I wasn't capable of standing up and defending them.

[BeFree]

7. So

You are objecting to people objecting to your objections?

Methinks what people might be telling you is that your negativity is getting the best of you. That you may consider concentrating on things you can do to make the next four years as positive as can be, rather than on bitching and moaning about which no one here has any control over.

EH?

[Bjorn Against]

10. If this country is truly of the people, for the people and by the people then we do have control

You may call it "bitching and moaning" to speak any form of dissent, but history has shown that dissent is necessary in a democracy. We need to speak out on what the people in power are doing, it does not matter who the people in power are they will not always act in the best interests of the people. History has shown this to be the case, try finding me a President who does not have something really horrible on their records. You won't be able to find it, because Washington is a really nasty place and even the best people do wrong once they get there. I happen to believe that Obama is one of the best people who has ever run for President, but it is Washington and I don't trust that anyone can overcome the pressures of Washington.

I believe that deep down Obama knows his vote on FISA was wrong. I think he knows that sending more troops to Afghanistan is not going to protect our country from terrorism. I think he knows that in a just society gay marriage would be legal. Washington pushes people to take positions that they would not take if they were not trying to get elected. We need to speak out no matter who is in power, because no one is perfect and we need to put pressure on our elected officials to do the right thing.

And by the way I am putting my efforts in to seeing that the next four years are as positive as they can be, but I also realize that not all the positive change is going to come from the White House it is also going to come from the people in the streets.

[Two Americas]

12. I do

No problem if people disagree with my opinion, but I have a big problem with people saying that I should not express my opinion at all because it is supposedly "disloyal" to the president.

[bluestateguy]

3. That's fine

I just wish people wouldn't allow their criticisms to be driven by unsubstantiated news leaks and trial balloons. People hear a news leak--which may be total BS--about a possible Cabinet appointment, and then go absolutely ballistic. "Oh, I feel so betrayed!", "Oh he can't pick her!", or "my special interest group doesn't like him", and on and on. I prefer to wait until actual Cabinet appointments are made before expressing any feelings, positive or negative.

[Bjorn Against]

5. I did write to Obama to tell him not to appoint one of the rumored people for the USDA post...

I think to a certain extent we need to take the rumors seriously because once the appointment is made it becomes a lot harder to challenge it. If Obama is truly considering someone who is not good for the position he may change his mind if he sees people reacting negatively to the rumors.

That being said I think it is ridiculous to feel betrayed before an appointment is even made, but the cabinet is very important and I think it is important to understand why people have such strong feelings about who serves in it.

[earth mom]

6. Good post. That's the way it should work. Too bad there are so many here in denial nt

[FrenchieCat]

8. I think the question is how one Criticizes Obama

and whether the critique is a reasonable one.

Everyone can bitch at anything, as that is easy......

I personally will disagree by getting my message out to those folks who can get the message to him. What I will not do is attempt to leave my droppings on every message board who would hear me out and hope the press picks up on my discontent and manipulates my feelings in order to make my President look bad just cause they can.

I don't mind using the appropriate channels to get my thoughts across also, but what I won't do is allow my views to be used by others in order to sow division and divisiveness and frustration against the President I have been waiting for 8 years, and have been working to elect for more than a year.

You should do what you feel like doing cause it is supposed to be a free country.....but I'll let you know that what I believe is that if more voters approached the issue of diagreement with our "gonna be" President in a measured and pragmatic manner, it will be more effective than simply whining about what he ought not to do based on one's wishes and ideals.
Constructive is good; destructive....not so much.

[Bjorn Against]

11. I can agree with that.

I realize fully that Obama is someone we can work with, and I am not going to allow my criticism to go so far that it would burn bridges. I actually trust Obama far more than I would trust most of our previous Presidents. I think he has the potential to be the greatest President we have ever had in fact, but I also believe he is not going to reach greatness if he is not pushed to greatness. Washington isn't going to just allow him to do the right thing, he needs to be pressured to do the right thing. Remember Obama is not the only person making decisions, and he is under a lot of pressure that we don't see. Sometimes speaking out critically could help Obama in ways that aren't immediately apparent, as I truly believe that Obama is probably much more progressive than he is willing to say publicly.

[democrattotheend]

9. Very well said

I think you make some really good points, and I do think we need to hold Obama accountable from the left. What I hope not to see is people on the left acting like he betrayed us or misled us every time he does something that we perceive to be too far to the center. He campaigned as a centrist and a compromiser and I expect him to govern that way. I absolutely expect him to do things that disappoint me and I plan to hold him accountable. What I will not do is attack his character - I expect the right to do more than enough of that, and I think it's important that we have his back as much as possible if we want to help him succeed for the good of this country. I thought it was great that people organized and got his attention during the FISA debacle, but I was upset by those who were using right wing/PUMA talking points about him being a "con artist" and "snake-oil salesman" and other character attacks because they disagreed with him. I understood that people felt betrayed then, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel betrayed. But I read an article on HuffPo that I agreed with 100%, which said to hold him accountable but avoid using right wing talking points that attacked his character.

[Vektor]

13. Good post, well said, very civil.

Good point about him needing to hear from BOTH sides, rather than just the right. Because you KNOW he'll hear from them, but maybe the left can provide a nice counterbalance. :-)

[Born_A_Truman]

14. Change.gov

His web site has a link to let him know your thoughts and your issues and your vision of America. I have to wonder how many have used it in addition to posting here or on other message boards.

[TexasObserver]

15. Agreed. I used to say "great, bring that up with Obama November 5th!"

In my view, as Democrats we bust ass to win the election, but the day after the election, it's time for every interest in the party to assert itself. I want gays pushing for gay rights. I want labor unions pushing for union rights. I want advocates for every major figure to push their person.

The public dialog we are having is part of the extended vetting process. The voting here for Obama's VP revealed that most of us were very comfy with Joe Biden, no matter who our first choice might have been for the spot. We're serving the same function now.

I think the kind of spirited dialog we have here over prospective appointments does a great service to Obama. These discussions help to identify which ones are vulnerable and where. Already, Summers has been tossed aside, BECAUSE the buzz in the blogosphere said ditch that guy!

Everyone stating their opinion in full on every possible nominee is great. What's not great are the posters who can't wrap their heads around the concept that their opinion is just that, nothing more. Some such opinions are educated, and some are painfully ignorant. Unfortunately, the more ignorant the opinion, the more likely its advocate is to dogmatically assert it.