Disappointed In Obama?

[MannyGoldstein]

Obama's been involved in a number of interesting events lately - defense of DOMA, DADT a pass, torture and maintaining indefinite extra-judicial imprisonment, and so forth. Have these things affected your opinion of the president?

[Dawgs]

1. Why not list the positive things that's he's done?

I guess that Cairo speech didn't really mean much. :shrug:

[incapsulated]

3. I recall several threads praising his Cairo speech

If you want a list of accomplishments, why not make it yourself?

[Dawgs]

9. One, I wasn't talking to you. Two, it's more like a push poll if you only list the negative things.

'In the last few weeks, Obama has taken away something I liked, started something else I find negative, and prevented this other positive thing. How has your opinion changed of him?'

[incapsulated]

11. Unless you sent your post in PM you are talking to everyone, buddy

We have a right to make whatever threads we like, they don't need your personal approval.

[Dawgs]

25. I'm not saying they need my approval - just make sense.

And, I'm not your buddy.

[OhioBlue]

53. to be fair... they were replying to the OP

I think most people know who a comment is directed toward when it is a reply to an OP or a post.

[Cha]

16. The OP is

incapable of doing that..but that's a very good question.

[donheld]

55. I one of those who'd like a "little less conversation"

and a little more action.

[incapsulated]

2. Other: Every President you vote for will disappoint you

Unless you are deluding yourself.

I was prepared for that.

He has disappointed or concerned me on several issues but it is too soon to make any real judgements on his Presidency.

[jeanpalmer]

48. That sounds like making excuses

In fact he didn't have to disappoint his supporters. He chose to. For god knows what fkd up reason. Maybe he's just a natural born backstabber.

[incapsulated]

59. I don't make excuses, I deal with reality

If there was ever a president in US history that did everything he promised, fulfilled every statement made on the campaign trail, please give me a name.

I'm hardly an Obama apologist, either.

[Orsino]

4. Well, I'm more than a little concerned...

...but that's a function of the enormity of the problems we face. I suspect that President Obama is herding the cats as best he can, spending some political capital while keeping the rest of his powder dry. He's not accomplishing nearly enough to suit me, but I'm not sure how much more is humanly possible. The nation and world are seriously fucked up, and perhaps not even the best president ever could save them both.

[lxlxlxl]

5. Other: Still fixing problems left behind by Bush. Hes getting a year pass from me.

x.x.x.

[Imperialism Inc.]

6. I'm more than a little concerned. It seems Obama does a little too much "go along

to get along". Health care is the real test. If he just rolls over and signs some watered down "co-ops instead of a real public option bill" then my hopes for his presidency will be gone. He could still prove me wrong but if he is just there to sign whatever the congress comes up with, no matter how bad, no matter ho designed to destroy any good aspects that seep in, then I just don't see him as the kind of President to accomplish much that is worthwhile.

[debbierlus]

49. The handling of the financial crisis did me in - Geithner put toxic assets on the backs of our kids

And, he was appointed and approved to do this by Obama.

Watching that unfold, I realized that Obama serves a corporate master above the people.

I don't hold out much hope for health care reform unless the people really, really, really, PUSH HARD. I am in for that fight. However, I hold no hope in our 'leadership' to provide meaningful change.

[Common Sense Party]

64. Toxic assets on our kids backs? Why not? They already have

TRILLIONS in unfunded Medicare liabilities on their backs. What's a few trillion more in toxic assets?

[Hutzpa]

7. A word of advice

"The President is not going to please everyone all of the time"

Remember that next time.

[Maeve]

8. it's still early days...and I suspect some of the things aren't what they seem

Theory--some of the issues where Obama seems to be following Dubya may be cases where he is allowing the courts to decide (even if--especially if-- that means "his arguments" are over-ruled).

The man is dealing with the fullest plate of problems in more than a generation--I'm willing to be patient for a while longer.

[jobycom]

10. He's what I thought he'd be, and I still hope he'll grow into what I hope he can be.

I never had much hope for him hitting the ground and working miracles. Clinton and others were trying to tell us something with her "Day One" argument, and that was that Obama would take a lot of time to train. He's got no experience for this job, his past job accomplishments have been overrated, and many of his ideas and rhetorical points during the campaign showed a gross naivite and lack of awareness of how things worked. I think even his supporters realized this, but thought his many virtues countered the shortcomings.

Now we are living through what any informed, objective person expected we'd live through. Obama is learning on the job. His first priority now is to make sure the nation doesn't crash and burn due to his inexperience. So far, so good. Next he'll start figuring out how to accomplish the harder tasks of guiding public policy in the direction we want.

I think he's a quick learner, and from what I saw during the campaign--and not usually as a fan of us--was an admirable ability to accomplish he goals. He won, with no executive experience, and little resume. That would be like one of us deciding to become president, tricking our way into a local office, then ten years later being president. It's more impressive than many of his fans realize. Someone with that ability will figure this job out. He'll find the shortcuts and the patterns, and he'll get good at it.

So that's my opinion of Obama so far. He's ineffective, but has certain skills that bode well enough for the future, and by the end of his first term I think he will have started to make us happy in ways other than just pretty speeches. Whether that will be enough to get him a second term may be completely out of his hands, given the economy and the volatile nature of the world these days.

[AtomicKitten]

19. Inexperienced?

He served three terms in the Illinois State Senate and one in the U.S. Senate, and that's more legislative experience than Clinton has.

Now admittedly Obama doesn't have First Lady experience, but then again he didn't lie about experiencing sniperfire in Tuzla nor did he lie about having brokered peace in Ireland to bolster his foreign policy creds like Clinton did.

Taking potshots at President Obama is a sport among the primary sore losers, but if you're going to go down that road you would be well advised to stick to the facts.

[jobycom]

20. Yes.

[jobycom]

21. Longer answer, because I'm pissed.

I didn't take a potshot at Obama, my post was positive and optimistic about Obama. Learn English, read it, and think before you start refighting a battle--or accusing others of doing so--that's been over a long time. My facts are fine. Check yours, and more than that, read the whole post before responding next time.

[AtomicKitten]

23. riiiight - re-read your own post before the kneejerk feigned innocence

Clinton and others were trying to tell us something with her "Day One" argument, and that was that Obama would take a lot of time to train. He's got no experience for this job, his past job accomplishments have been overrated, and many of his ideas and rhetorical points during the campaign showed a gross naivite (sic) and lack of awareness of how things worked.

Obama is learning on the job. His first priority now is to make sure the nation doesn't crash and burn due to his inexperience.

He won, with no executive experience, and little resume. That would be like one of us deciding to become president, tricking our way into a local office, then ten years later being president.

So that's my opinion of Obama so far. He's ineffective ...

[jobycom]

34. You'd be a good Sarah Palin speech writer.

Yank crap out of context and pretend you said something? Nice work. Get over the primaries. This is the Show. That's what we're talking about.

[AtomicKitten]

61. Your words speak for themselves. n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

31. Everybody has on the job training no matter how much "experience" they have

There's absolutely no job that prepares somebody to be president other than being president. They all require "on-the-job" training whether they admit it or not. The best thing you can do to minimize the effects of this are having a smooth transition and that you start office with an effective team in place. Obama had a very smooth transition despite the normal few appointee scandals and his team is very capable despite the fact that many on DU don't particularly like Rahm.

Not only that, but you completely ignore the fact that he's dealing with the fallout from 8 years of Dubya. That's the reason he has to constantly worry about the nation crashing and burning, not because of his "inexperience".

[Rowdyboy]

58. "He's what I thought he'd be, and I still hope he'll grow into what he can be"

Thank you for saying it so succinctly. I believe that he is growing into the job gracefully and I see the same potential you see. I will say, I believe the second term is pretty much guaranteed short of a catastrophe. This is the most masterful strategist and charismatic politician I have ever experienced since I started paying attention in 1960.

Guess we'll see

[sandnsea]

60. rotflmao

:rofl:

Netanyahu has accepted a two state solution, Iran is on the verge of revolution, hezbollah lost in Lebanon, France rejoined NATO, Russia has agreed to cut nuclear weapons, most of the world is in some form of button resetting...

Stem cell ban has been lifted, equal pay passed, wilderness areas protected, schip expanded, torture banned, gitmo closing, wars refocused...

and we're on the verge of real health care reform if the people bashing him would come to their senses and get in the streets for the public option...

and this isn't enough for you in 5 months???

:rofl:

Get Over It. She LOST.

[grantcart]

12. Now Congress on the other hand

Refuses to give this guy any room to manouver. The Democrats voting with the Republicans on GITMO Detainees not coming to the US, for god sake, shows what Obama is up to.

[Dr Fate]

45. You said a mouthful- the issue is how Obama handles this. n/t

n/t

[RoadRage]

13. I'm not a one issue voter..

so overall he is still doing pretty well for me. Do I wish he was doing more on the DODT and DOMA area's? Yes. But, I'm happy to see him pushing healthcare as promised, shutting down GITMO as promised, him using Diplomacy instead of the threat of bombs with other nations, etc.

Perfect? NO.. but then again, I never voted for him thinking he'd be perfect. And, I also realize he has 3 & 1/2 years left in this term... and hopefully another 4 after that to get everything else squared away.

[Downtown Hound]

14. He's right where I expected him to be-in the center

Is he a vast improvement over Bush? That pretty much goes without saying. Is he everything I want in a president? No. I want a true radical. But I understand I'm not going to get that anytime soon.

[Rebubula]

15. No.

It takes a lot more than a couple of months to fix 8 years of complete and utter FAIL.

When we look back in hindsight in 2016 (assuming the Mayans were wrong...lol), I feel confidant that we will see one of the greatest leaders the world has seen.

[QC]

17. Not disappointed at all.

I expected a timid corporate centrist and I got one.

[zalinda]

18. Those who aren't disappointed in him

are doing okay financially. The dems are again shooting themselves in the foot. Come election time, see how many voters are shouting "throw the rascals out". Dems ALWAYS seem like they are little meek people, who are afraid to stand up for themselves. THAT'S what causes people to vote for repubs. This country was built on strength and fortitude and a lot of guts thrown in for good measure. Dems don't fit that image, and don't seem to care as long as they get their pension or lobby job.

zalinda

[Proud Liberal Dem]

26. That's a pretty broad statement about who is or isn't disappointed in President Obama IMHO

My wife and I struggling right but there are not many of us whom aren't but I certainly believe that Obama/Biden administration is going to help make things better for us during the next 4-8 years than a McCain/Palin administration would. We'll, of course, never know if a Hillary Clinton/? administration would've been better and accomplished more during the past 4-5 months but, even as trite and simplistic as it may sound, the last 8 years were really so bad that Obama/Biden HAVE GOT to be a significant improvement over Buscho and a McCain/Palin administration (the thought of Palin being VP sends a cold chill down my spine).

[invictus]

22. I at least want a viable public option for heatlhcare insurance. If Obama can spare trillions for ..

... for corporations, he can spare some money for the millions of unemployed victims of corporate outsourcing and mismanagement. I will withhold my judgment for now.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

24. I think he's been doing great so far

There's been one or two things I've disagreed with him over (i.e. "prolonged" or "preventative" detentions) but I feel that overall he is dynamic, friendly, has some fresh new ideas for running the government, he's been willing to challenge some our country's "traditional" approach to foreign policy "nightmares" (i.e. Israeli-Palestinian conflict), and he has been VERY shrewd in how he has dealt with the opposition so far.

I also feel MUCH safer having him as POTUS than I ever did during Bush. For instance, I know that I'm not going to go to bed and wake up to find out that he has insulted foreign leaders or that he has started indiscriminately "shocking and awing" other countries.

All things considered, Bush/Cheney messed up our country (and our role in the world) that I'm willing to give President Obama a LOT of patience and leeway to start the arduous (and thankless) task of trying to clean up our country after a massive GOP "punch drunk" rampage through the country (and the world) during the past 8 years not to mention the 12 straight years of GOP control of Congress that preceded and overlapped Buscho. I have a feeling that "the best is yet to come" and that it's WAY too early to write President Obama off IMHO.

Now, since I'm probably going to get accused of being a "cheerleader", I'm going to go ahead and claim the title:

[politicasista]

27. I am hoping he becomes a strong supporter of

HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). As an HBCU grad, cutting funding to those schools will hurt young people who want to achieve goals in their lives. I am hoping that President Obama will have something big up his sleeve on this issue.

Unlike the so-called black leaders (i.e. Smiley, Dyson, West, etc). I don't want him to be a president of Black America. I want him to be the best pres of the USA he can be. So far, he is doing good. There is always room for improvement and he welcomes that. A big plus in my book. :)

[NYC Democrat]

28. This poll should have a Somewhat disappointed option.

[mvd]

29. I give him a B+

I get disappointed sometimes, but overall I'm happy. Areas where I think improvement is needed: gay rights, Afghanistan, and bank regulation.

[mvd]

30. So that's how he can get an A from me

Improve on these areas and insist on a strong public option in health care reform. And I'll give credit for other areas where he goes beyond expectations.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Fire1]

33. Outstanding! n/t

[Clio the Leo]

35. Never fails....

.... a DU poll never lies. Loud doesn't always equal numerous.

Thank you.

[sniffa]

62. I know - almost %50 of DU thinks he's doing great

I'm so sick of the %54 making the most noise. Let's say a prayer for him.

[harun]

36. Other: Witholding any judgment until Health Care gets done. They get a REAL

public option and I will support him and Dems for life. They don't and I will work against them for life.

[MadBadger]

37. If any of us got a call like this on the phone, wed call it a push poll.

[ShadowLiberal]

38. I'm getting somewhat disappointed on gay rights issues lately

We'll see exactly what he does tomorrow night.

On the other areas I'm mostly satisfied, at times I get a bit worried about things he does, but I'm still mostly satisfied in the other areas.

[sgolder]

39. Come on MannyGoldstein, Obama won: deal with it.

:hi:

[ProSense]

40. Wonder what's going to be on the menu in four years

crow or humble pie?

[sgolder]

41. Sour grapes when Obama is re-elected ;-) One third of DU will pass out from the horror of it!

[Flabbergasted]

42. Other....Obama is so superior to Bush I'm not dissapointed. nt

[Dr Fate]

43. Not really-I just hope he can get more things done.

It's a tough job, but he wanted it- I wish him the best & I hope we are setting ourselves up right for mid-terms...I see congress as the big problem here

[Raine]

44. He's doing GREAT

I'm thrilled, he's acomplished more already than I would've ever thought! :thumbsup:

[Colobo]

46. He's exactly what I voted for.

[vaberella]

47. I gave him four years...I have no disappointments until after the term is up. n/t

[mecherosegarden]

50. He is exactly what I voted for.N/T

[HughMoran]

51. I'd say he'll be the 1st or 2nd best President in my lifetime

Yes, I am assuming he'll get around to everything on his plate and not "flip out". I think we all can agree that slow and steady will eventually win the day, flamefests of the day aside.

[agentS]

52. I didn't expect perfection because of the roadblocks

There are roadblocks we know about (Congress, the American people in general) and roadblocks we don't (banks, bush appointees, shadow government). It looks like he's being stalled by the forces that be, which is about what I expected.

"You fight with the army you've got, not the army you want" I believe that quote is by Dumsfelt.

If you want President Obama to be successful in the way you want him to be, you'll have to knock down some of those roadblocks.

[HamdenRice]

54. Or, in other words, why do I spend almost all my time on DailyKos and not DU anymore

Because over there, they realize that after 8 years of the most disastrous conservative republican administration in history, this is not the time for progressive Democrats to make shit up about the Democratic administration to be pissed off about.

[pecwae]

63. Yeah. No one could possibly

be justifiably disappointed. Everyone here is lying and/or politically ignorant.

[4lbs]

56. Looks like the polling so far matches the 63% approval rating in national polls.

137 votes that have either a positive or are just mildly concerned.

80 votes that are more negative.

[GivePeaceAchance]

57. I think Ventura said it right you'd have to ask me in a few years time.