What Is Your Biggest Doubt About Obama: His *Intentions*, Or His *Ability*?

[BlooInBloo]

Just checking to see which way the wind is blowing...

[Ozma]

1. What is the purpose of this poll?

Is it a poll with an "intention"? Is it a poll with "intelligence"?

[BlooInBloo]

34. I'm not exactly sure what your 2nd and 3rd questions mean, but the 1st one...

was answered in the OP.

I must say I'm something close to shocked at the poll results.

And I didn't mean to post-and-run - it turned out to be a rather intense day at work - didn't even get a chance to read my blogs! boohoohoo!

[KittyWampus]

2. Don't have any. I would love to ask him if he realizes the extent Bush has stacked State Dept

and Pentagon and Military with loyalists who will be ready to undermine him.

[demokatgurrl]

3. What a ridiculous question

I don't doubt him one bit. I VOTED for him for Chrissakes.

[JuniperLea]

39. Well, to be fair to bloo...

A lot of so-called Obama supporters/voters have been thrashing him quite a bit lately for his cabinet choices... before letting them actually do some work THEN complaining.

[BlooInBloo]

44. Bah. Well sure... If you want the Reader's Digest version...

Personally, I enjoyed the flowery version I made downthread.

:rofl:

[jobycom]

4. The doubts I have are more about whether he has the experience to

accomplish what he wants to accomplish right off. But he can gain experience as he goes, if he lacks it now.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. My biggest concern is that nobody can fix the mess Bush and the GOP have created.

No reflection on Obama.

[Sebastian Doyle]

13. Yep. I don't know if anyone can fix this shit in four years.

But then FDR wasn't out of the woods yet in 1936 either, so it's less an indictment of Obama as it is a measure of how deep a fucking hole the Bush Crime Family has left us in :evilfrown:

[Ozma]

20. Well, you certainly are right, there!

[Political Tiger]

6. No doubts! n/t

[DefenseLawyer]

7. Damn it!. I can't stop wringing my hands long enough to answer the poll

And what if the sky actually falls while I am trying to answer the poll? How will I be able to duck and cover in time? This poll is hazardous to my health. I am concerned.

[mkultra]

24. lol. EXACTLY!

[BlooInBloo]

47. (grin) Exceptionally well-played.

[BlueCaliDem]

8. Zero doubts n/t

[TexasObserver]

9. I have not felt this comfortable with the president (to be) EVER!!

This guy is so smart, so knowledgeable, has such clarity about what he's doing that I'm truly amazed. He didn't sell me until January. His performance, coupled with Edwards dropping out, caused me to get behind him. Since then, I've grown more and more impressed with him.

He's the real deal, and I'm glad I lived to see it.

[anonymous171]

10. Sometimes I worry about him being too naive.

But then I remember that he is from Chicago, and you don't get anywhere there by being naive.

[S_E_Fudd]

11. Other...

He is a White Sox fan...

[Orangepeel]

12. I have no doubts about his intentions. I have fewer doubts about his ability than for anyone else

He's not omnipotent and he won't be able to do everything he wants.

[NYC_SKP]

14. Concerned about his choice of pet....

Not really, but if I had to find something to worry about after nearly 30 years of bullshit and finally having a trustworthy and competent president who isn't in the pockets of the entitled, that would be my concern.

:patriot:

[lady raven]

15. I don't doubt his intentions one iota. I don't really doubt his ability (more)

except in the context of how he might be limited by those who oppose him. I have great faith in what he is capable of if his opposition doesn't stifle him.

[Two Americas]

16. no doubts about Obama

Had we installed a strong man, a dictator, rather than electing a representative, I think we could rest assured that we were submitting to a decent and benign dictator.

My doubts are not about Obama. My doubts are about the courage and integrity of the activists, many of whom are calling for a moratorium om dissent and arguing against pressuring the administration or even questioning it.

[martymar64]

33. I agree, those conformity trolls gotta go!

Some of these people that wish to quash any dissent are basically authoritarians, projecting their commisar fantasies onto Obama.

Personally, I think Obama will do a terrific job, as long as he doesn't listen to the DLCers too much or let them distort his mission.

[BlooInBloo]

48. Ur doin it rong. We're *nazis*. Don't be too chickenshit to say it.

[martymar64]

63. Suit yourself, Hitler

[BlooInBloo]

64. Oooh baby! That's the stuff!

[martymar64]

65. Well, you're certainly no Democrat

Not a real one, that is, Blooey. You're more a faux Dem kinda like Lieberman or Zell Miller. I bet you probably voted for Rossi too.
Welcome to ignore, Fake Dem!

[BlooInBloo]

66. Um, you already covered that. I'm a nazi, remember?

[H2O Man]

17. Neither. n/t

[Dangerously Amused]

18. Wow. A Push Poll to undermine Obama.

How clever.

[jonnyblitz]

22. how in FUCK is some poll on an internet discussion board

going to undermine a president elect? do you think he might read it and start crying and quit the presidency? jesus fucking christ. :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[intheflow]

54. Gosh, Obama sure is getting undermined in that push-poll!

:rofl:

[HughMoran]

60. lol

You're a kidder.

[AlCzervik]

19. He's never give you up, never gonna let you down, Never gonna run around and desert you.

[DevonRex]

26. I had ta get up and DANCE!!!

[yardwork]

29. Where have I heard that song before?

[BlooInBloo]

50. Chimpy, you know I love you, but the only thing that should take place after verbal rickroll is...

"Pepperoni or sausage"?

That's just wrong.

:rofl:

:P



EDIT: Subject typo.

[old mark]

21. No real doubts at all. He is the smartest most able man to be elected

in my lifetime, and he will make more positive changes than any other president since FDR and Truman.
I have no doubt he sill succeed, just as I had no doubt Bush would fail - I just had no idea how badly.

mark

[Blu Dahlia]

23. NONE OF THE ABOVE

:eyes:

[BlooInBloo]

51. A little louder please? I think someone at SicklyFaced Underground didn't quite catch that.

[Jennicut]

25. I have no doubts about Obama other then the fact that he has a damn daunting task ahead of him

Its a tough job to be prez right now, I wouldn't want to do it. The military is in trouble, the economy is tanking, huge debt and a huge deficit and people complain over every little thing you do. I doubt us, the American people and our patience to see this through.

[alsame]

27. I am THRILLED that he will be our President. He will not be perfect

and he won't be able to do every single thing I would like, but there is no doubt in my mind that he will be an exceptional President.

[Forkboy]

28. Fuck Obama. He's been Prez for like, two weeks now, and still no College Football playoff system.

I seriously doubt he has the ability to pull off his intentions. Those BCS fuckers don't budge an inch. x(

[BlooInBloo]

52. I heard trumad was working behind the scenes to undermine that plan...

:P

[Dappleganger]

30. My biggest doubt is that he will stop trusting his own judgement...

and be lured into complacency by those who know better.

/Rachel Maddow voice/

[leftstreet]

31. His intentions and/or ability R moot. What are the intentions of our elected Reps?

Jesus Christ, George Bush had ZERO abilities but the Congress showed us their intentions.

This whole benevolent leader shit is so not democratic.

[last1standing]

32. I doubt neither, but I still have philosophical disagreements with him.

President-Elect Obama was the best choice we had this election and quite possibly the best one we could have possibly gotten elected at all. That doesn't mean that I'm going to stop being a progressive and advocate for things like marriage equality, single-payer universal healthcare, the decriminalization of marijuana, end to the drug war, legalized prostitution, massive investment in our schools, free secondary education, substantial cuts in military spending, and fair trade agreements. These are all things that Obama has either said he does not support or has no stated policy goals.

PE Obama isn't going to be my dream President, but it's quite possible he'll be the best one since FDR - time will be the judge of that. In the meantime, I'm going to continue to push for policies that support civil rights for ALL Americans, stop interfering with people's personal lives, invest in our future and level trade inequalities. I'm sure President Obama will as well, just not to the degree I advocate. It's just a matter of philosophy that respectful people can disagree on without personal insults or intimidation.

To be honest, if he can just move our country in a direction away from fear and toward hope, he will have done more than any president in 70 years.

[wisteria]

35. I no longer trust Obama, I think we were all taken for a ride.

If I could take back my vote I would. I would have rather voted for no one that to have cast it for him after seeing what he does to those who were loyal to him. He is nothing more than every other cheap politician.

[kenziemom06]

36. Wow

He hasn't even been sworn in yet!!!

[Starry Messenger]

37. I'm sorry you feel that way.

I think you will be proved wrong. But that is a lot of negativity to be carrying around. :(

[babylonsister]

58. You are disgusting. Just so you know how I feel about you. nt

[JuniperLea]

38. Excellent question... and choices...

I think this really does gauge the direction of the wind around here:)

[BlooInBloo]

53. (shrug) It is what it is. And really, the choices were a forced move...

But thanks!

[bridgit]

40. I have no essential doubts about either, though where a choice *is* to be made...

per your poll sample here; it would be regarding his 'intentions'. In that as a practical matter, no politician is able to say flat-out what their intentions really are so that they might then risk being elected at all. All of that has been shrouded superbly as though a facet of some <don't ask don't tell>. I see that many have chosen the *I'll just toss it all up into the air and see what happens* response, and that's fine too as one way or the other; the future awaits us all

[MadMaddie]

41. No doubts!

He is not a Republican!
He is not Conservative!
He is not *!!
He is picking qualified professionals in their respective fields which we haven't seen in 8 years.

No doubt!

[BlooInBloo]

42. There seems to have been some suspicion about my nefarious Obama-undermining motives...

... regarding this poll.

First, I should apologize for my post-and-run - that is demonstrably not my typical behavior. It just turned out to be a busy day at work, and I didn't get a chance to play. C'est la vie.

Anyhoo... After I saw all of the responses of the general form "you fucking Obama-hater", I did the most natural thing: I laughed my ass off at those freaks. I then proceeded to do the next-most-natural thing: I went and made myself some food. After my yummy chicken-bacon-cheddar-bbq sammich, the 3rd most natural event took place: I laughed my ass of a bit more.

Feeling pleasantly laughed-out, I then undertook the serious attempt to construct a possibly rationale a bona fide Obama might have, that would result in him or her posing the question I did. Unfortunately, this set off another round of the giggles - partly at myself this time, for actually taking such idiocy seriously, if even for a moment. I give up, guys - if anyone would care to explain the line of thought behind my alleged villainous intentions, please do share.

As to what my ACTUAL motive was, I confess to being somewhat at a loss, as it was explained in my OP. There wasn't anything else in the OP, so I'm quite certain it wasn't lost in the nonexistent mix. As well, the cognitive level of the given explanation rivals: "tinker with your ticker"*. If you don't understand the sentence "Just checking to see which way the wind is blowing", then you're simply not a competent speaker of English, and there is really no reason for us ever to attempt to converse. That any such attempt will end in failure is manifest.

I was curious about which way the DU-wind was blowing on the question because, as we've surely all noticed, DU has devolved into what it likely the largest bitch-about-Obama-fest on the internet. I then wondered to myself: "Self, what do DUers think the root cause of Obama's perceived oh-so-awful-and-betraying-of-his-electorate performance? Do they think he has *hookwinked* us, and that his intentions are quite other than what he told us they were? Or do DUers think that they mistakenly assessed his *competence*, judged after 2 years of kicking the ass of everyone thrown against him?". I concluded that I might have better luck *asking* you all what you thought, rather than trying to make it up on my own. So I asked.

Given all of this, it should be clear that the results of the poll, while interesting, don't in fact leave me in any better an epistemological position than that from which I began. If anything, my knowledge position is even worse, since I've been presented with a clear cognitive dissonance. It's likely, that the lesson I should take away from this is: taking DUers seriously was *my* mistake, and mine alone.

And now back to our regularly-scheduled programming double feature: DUers Whining About Everything Obama Does, followed by DUers Have Complete Faith In Both Obama's Competence And His Good Intentions.

Cheers!




* For those who don't watch the Simpsons:
(1) Shame on you.

(2)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0772625/quotes
Dr. Julius Hibbert: Homer, I'm afraid you'll have to undergo a coronary bypass operation.
Homer Simpson: Say it in English, Doc!
Dr. Julius Hibbert: You're going to need open-heart surgery.
Homer Simpson: Spare me your medical mumbo jumbo!
Dr. Julius Hibbert: We're going to cut you open and tinker with your ticker.
Homer Simpson: Could you dumb it down a shade?

[Starry Messenger]

43. chicken-bacon-cheddar-bbq sammich

[BlooInBloo]

45. Hellz yah! That was exactly my feeling!

[saltpoint]

46. I trust them both. I trust Obama's intentions and his abilities.

He appears to me to be a man matched to the moment when he is most needed.

I think his brain is keen and his heart genuine. He uses language to lift others and not promote himself.

There is a reservoir of adult problem-solving about him that the current pResident does not have, has never had, and will never attain.

[Midlodemocrat]

49. My concern comes down to this: Paper or Plastic, Mr. President-Elect.

[bluedawg12]

55. Neither - I am confident in Pres. Elect Obama all around

he is exactly what we need in this point in history.

Imagine if our choices were centered around newly elected Mclame and Palin?

[BlooInBloo]

56. I'm curious. What, precisely, is the difference between you answering "neither"...

and my 4th option?

[qwlauren35]

57. I voted for may not have the ability.... because it's true.

It's possible that Obama won't be able to work the miracle necessary for our country to reposition itself.

And history may lay that at his feet. But I will never do so.

[babylonsister]

59. What's to doubt? He's been more presidential than the idiot son.

I'm looking for a leader.

[Divine Discontent]

61. the wind would blow better if your question didn't read as a push poll on the fella!

I know you put a 3rd option about not having any - but you could have said -

"If you have doubts about Obama is it intentions or ability - or both?"

but, I would say, I'm hopeful for him, his ability to do all that needs done is asking a ton of any great person, so that is all I have to say. Thank you! have a good day blooinbloo

[BlooInBloo]

62. Um, it was the 4th option genius. You, know the one that completed all of the logical

possibilities? Because that's what push-polls do, you know. They state all of the possibilities, each in exactly the same manner.

Sigh. We're a stupid, stupid country.

EDIT: You even passed on my stupid-ass typo, just so you could miscount. To 4. Sheesh.

EDITEDIT: To say nothing about my full, unplugged explanation just a couple of posts up.

[Divine Discontent]

71. oh quit being an ass dude

I wasn't insulting your typo at all, I just quickly looked at your post choices and the title of the OP and thought 'push poll', and you think you're funny saying, after you berate me for pointing out like so many (I don't read every post, I chose to read yours and that's it, quit assuming) people did that you make it sound like Obama is doing badly, by saying "We're a stupid, stupid country".... Speak for yourself.

[AyanEva]

67. meh

I have no doubts about either but I'm hand wringing over how he's going about carrying out his intentions. Then I remind myself that I voted for him because I trust his judgement and the man isn't even in office yet so I should wait about six months to see how things shape up before running around flailing and screaming that the sky is falling.

[treestar]

68. I'm still celebrating

:party:

[alwysdrunk]

69. His ability with regard to expectations of him

I think there are WAY too many people who expect him to perform what would be actual miracles. HE knows that we can't get there in one year or even in one term but I'm afraid that notion is lost on many of his supporters.

[MilesColtrane]

70. Neither.

Right now, my biggest doubt is about his governing strategy.

This "team of rivals" concept is like nothing I've ever seen. I fear that even with the best policy intentions, by the time every one has their say, the results may be legislation designed to ensure passage that is ultimately ineffective, or actually harmful.

I liken it to certain creative endeavors. Works of true artistic merit and vision are rarely produced by committee.

In the back of my head, I wonder if the magnitude of the problems facing the country at this point, and Obama's unique status as the first African American president may influence him to "play it safe" so to speak and not try to overreach in his agenda.

I hope that Obama's vision is bold enough and his ability to sway opponents is strong enough to do what needs be done to reverse the damage of the last twenty years and to actually produce benefits for the American middle class.

[Utnapishtim]

72. I somewhat doubt his ability to position the Democratic Party in the long-term.

I think he'll be a decent-to-good (although not great) President, but like Clinton before him his election doesn't really expand the map of the Party as a whole, and the Republicans will likely begin targeting the western states after seeing Obama's substantial victories there. Obama needs to drop Biden in 2012 and run with Sebelius or another midwestern-western Vice Presidential candidate to solidify the gains made there.

[stillcool]

73. I doubt that the American Empire...

will cease and desist because Obama is President, so there are some things that I doubt Obama is capable of doing. I think that I can't begin to know all that is involved in Empire, but I believe in progress, not perfection, and I think there is much that he can and will influence.