Obama is an Incredible and Gifted Person...He is the Best Candidate we could get as Dems...

[KoKo]

We hit the "JackPot" with this guy.

My growing concern is that he's as suave and entertainment oriented as Reagan, as Nuanced in Humor and as personally engaging in his humor and humanity as Kennedy and Clinton, and more Savvy than Carter.

What does that leave us with?

He seems to be the "Entertainer-in-Chief" while his appointees do the dirty work of trashing Progressive Democrats agenda..in league with our US Senate. Seems all the bills up from the US House that are "for the people" keep getting TRASHED IN THE US Senate.

How can we work to get Obama back on track? What can we do? Seems Fax, Phone and Petitions aren't working.

Is there some other way to reach him? :shrug:

[blueclown]

1. All of that is nice, but will the BushCo crime cabal ever be prosecuted? n/t

[Fresh_Start]

2. impeachment would get his attention

I'm not sure much else would do it

Not that I'm suggesting that the next step is impeachment
But without it or the credible threat of it, there really isn't much to force the President's hand

[countingbluecars]

4. Impeachment? Really?

You have got to be kidding.

[Fresh_Start]

11. I said that impeachment is not the next step

but once the President is elected, its all the Constitution offers us.

Obviously if it was a matter of vetoing legislation, then Congress could override the veto.
Though I don't see that capability in this Congress.

But if the PResident refuses to follow the judgment of the court, what else is left

[stillcool]

6. There's always Congress..

isn't there? Or do we not have representation anymore?

[LakeSamish706]

10. lol.. You forgot your sarcasm thingy... Congress left along time ago...

[stillcool]

15. My Congressman..bless his heart..

still answers my emails. I really like the guy. Wish there were more of him.

[alarimer]

24. No, we do not have representation.

But the torture state does.

Corporations have representation. But the people apparently do not.

Obama is no different than any other politician; he is doing what his corporate cronies want him to do.

[stillcool]

25. I do have a Congressman..

very nice guy..who religiously votes exactly as I would want. He has regular engagements around his district. He does represent me. As far as what Obama is doing...I can't judge because I don't know yet. I must be the most ignorant person on DU. I have not seen anywhere near enough information to present an informed opinion regarding any host of issues.

[cali]

8. ridiculous to suggest that there's anything that he's done that's an

impeachable offense. and no, there is no threat of it whatsofuckingever.

[Fresh_Start]

14. I agree with both of your points

he has not committed an impeachable offense
and
there's no chance of it whatsoever

Sadly, even if he had committed an impeachable offense, there would still be no chance of it whatsoever.

[CBR]

13. I am increasingly under the impression that I live in an

alternate universe from a lot of DU. It is truly strange to feel like the moderate. I work at a University and I still feel like one of the most liberal but that changes as soon as I enter www.democraticunderground.com -- must be a secret superduper wormhole or something.

[Fresh_Start]

16. I should be more careful

between theoretical answers and actual answers

Impeachment is a theoretical answer.
Sadly there isn't an actual answer of how to make the President place the citizens above the political and corporate interests.

And impeachment is sadly only a theoretical answer even for an administration which admittedly committed torture and violated US and international law (Bushco). So the only thing between Obama becoming his own unitary executive is his own good character (and I admit that is substantial)

[CBR]

18. I got you... I think the only answer is massive organizing.

Massive! That will require, however, a unified front -- no small tents. I think if he does not come through on universal health care, that may be the best route for mobilization. Unions and Christians and blue dog rural Dems and African-Americans and Latinos and academics etc... will have to work together on that issue and not get distracted by other issues even those that are important to us as individuals or groups.

[Fresh_Start]

19. I'm afraid that we are not capable of a massive unified front

they've done such a good job of teaching us to criticize each other rather than to criticize those in power

[stillcool]

3. I wouldn't say faxes and phone calls..

aren't working. After all...how many of the 300+ million of us bother?

[Mari333]

5. I do, every day nt

[KoKo]

9. Lots of folks out side DU Universe have been on this ACTIVE/Working

for Change...it's just not us...it's others...but still it isn't making any dent ...except around the edges where we are pandered to...expectations are raised...then the Senate votes us down.

Just saying.....if you've been here for years watching it all and involved. just saying.

[stillcool]

17. Just saying...

if you've been here for years..watching it all and involved..surely you notice much less involvement..just saying.

[KoKo]

21. When I first joined here there were maybe 4 sites for Dems on Internet..working

to overturn the Bush vs Gore Decision. When Obama was Elected there must be hundreds of Dem/Progressive/Labor and everything inbetween on the Left of Fundie Sites working.

So...I see much more involvement than we had back before the 2004 Selection...and we've GROWN.

Yet...it seems that we still are lagging in getting some unification on the Left in the Senate.

I think we were MORE involved since '04 since the websites for activism grew so much with the Internet Revolution.

Just saying. We are bigger numbers...but we aren't getting the BIG VOICE that we should have after soundly trouncing the Repugs in this last election with one of the best candidates to come along for us Dems for Charisma (Clinton was good...but that sex stuff) since John F. Kennedy.

I don't want Obama to squander this thinking he needs to be witty and entertain us while allowing the Repugs to undermine us. I'm worried he's becoming too much an "entertainer and Pol" forgetting us out here.

[LakeSamish706]

7. Personally what I want to know is why he is doing some of the things he is doing....

and I guess why he has selected some of the people that he selected. I'm dumb founded by some of the decisions being made, and others that aren't at this point. Don't know what to say or think about this. I'm frustrated, in fact more than frustrated right now.

[KoKo]

22. That's why I finally felt I had to post and ask "WHY?"

because even though it's only his first "hundred days" ...and I think he might be playing the "chess game"that many DU'ers keep saying he's playing...I'm wondering, too, with the same questions you have.

We need to nudge him...but how do we do it in a way that he will hear us..more importantly...listen to us out here? :shrug:

[GreenTea]

12. Obama is a moderate not a liberal...these are moderate policies, who believed otherwise before the

election was only fooling themselves....

Because the facts are indisputable and one, (including this liberal) can only hope Obama moves to the left for the sake of our country, freedoms, workers and not the banks, insurance industry, the Pharmacuitcal corporations, the CIA, the Pentagon, the on going wars, wanting to 'move ahead" and not prosecute blatant republican law breakers instead of exposing them, et al...This is a moderates agenda...

Not unlike the moderate at best President Clinton...However, even Clinton wanted single payer Universal Health Care unlike President Obama....

I knew by voting for Obama I was voting for a moderate, but I'm a progressive FDR democrat (always have been) and there was no one else more liberal for me to vote for.

[boston bean]

20. Hillary voted against FISA, her healthcare plan was close to universal for real.

I never thought that Obama was more liberal than hillary clinton, despite all the hype. Atleast you knew who she was. Now everyone wonders, there is no record to go back too.

I think he has been a disappointment on a lot of issues. he is to afraid to take on any issue where he may have to take a principled stand and lose a republican vote. he doesn't think libs will go any where.

He also recieved mucho dinero from the banking industry during his campaign. goldman sachs donated huge sums.

[KoKo]

23. But...our Left sites like the "Nation" told us to support him...because he would listen to us

and we could "move him." If you remember...

And, we knew that Gore didn't run and Kucinich was not electable...because he's short of stature and folks don't like his hair.

What were we to do? John Edwards? ..those of us in North Carolina could have told you that he wasn't the answer...even before his sex scandal. The rest were just the "usual corporate bunch," running.

But...it remains that many, many of us voted for him for CHANGE...and that doesn't mean "Status Quo" with the DLC. Hillary or Biden would have won if that was the case..and so would Edwards...