Is that all there is ??

[kentuck]

"I bought her a $40 dinner - she said thanks for the snack"
Muddy Waters, bluesman


The President and many of his supporters are perplexed. Why isn't the President getting credit for all he has accomplished? After all, he has brought the economy back from the brink of disaster. It is still not good but it was bad - very bad. We do not know how much credit history will give him?

Not only that, after 100 years of attempting and failing at healthcare reform, the President has been able to lay the foundation for actual healthcare reform. Much work is left to be done but the foundation has been laid.

After the disaster with the banks and Wall Street, the President has pushed thru meaningful financial regulations. He has put a progressive, Elizabeth Warren, in charge of organizing a consumer protection agency. Finally, the credit card holders may have some protection from the big banks.

Still, Democrats are unhappy. But it not just the Democrats. It is a big portion of the American people. Why?

People, not just progressive Democrats, feel insecure. After all that has been done by the President, it just doesn't seem like enough. People are still drowning. They do not feel that the President or any of the politicians in Washington are in touch with their reality.

The economy is a big part of this insecurity but even if the economy recovers, many people will still feel insecure? After years and years of transferring the wealth to the top, many people are now experiencing the decline in their dreams and their lifestyles. Many in the middle-class are sliding into the uncertain working class. They are stuck with mortgages that cost more than what their homes are worth and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Their jobs are gone or threatened. No matter what the President does, they are not going to feel better about their own situations.

The problems are much bigger and deeper than the President and his supporters imagine. It is about the future and whether or not we surrender to the wealthy class and Wall Street. Or whether we fight for a more fair apportionment for the rest of America, even as the top class clings to every penny they can squeeze from the American workers. It is about fairness. It is about a livable wage. It is about whether we are a progressive nation or conservative third world country. It is much more complicated than it is being defined by this White House.

[Freddie Stubbs]

1. Jobs

It is hard to seriously argue that President Obama hasn't accomplished much legislatively. But the job situation has fallen below expectations, and that is the most important issue to voters right now.

[Tippy]

2. K&R .........I don't belive the "rats" have won but

I think we have a good chance to gain a seats this election, and the reason is, their despiration. They thought they could use the tea party to their advantage and it's back firing. They are using all the tricks in the book but if our President keeps putting one foot in front of the other, we will be ok. But now the ball is in our court we must get our voters to the polls.

[Imajika]

5. We are not going to gain seats this election...

"I think we have a good chance to gain a seats this election, and the reason is, their despiration."

This is not going to happen. Even under the most wonderful of circumstances we are going to lose some seats. Political realities are what they are.

"They are using all the tricks in the book but if our President keeps putting one foot in front of the other, we will be ok. But now the ball is in our court we must get our voters to the polls."

This I agree with.

[alc]

3. the economy is what everyone sees most

And Democrats don't seem to have a clue (right or wrong that's what many people think).

We were told the stimulus would keep unemployment under 8%. It didn't so we were told things had been much worse than they thought. (Very understandable but don't claim the stimulus worked as predicted.)

We were told the stimulus would save or create 3 million jobs. Then told this summer it saved or created between 1.4 and 4 million jobs. Sounds like they don't have a clue with that big a range. Also sounds like they are BS'ing us by throwing "saved" jobs in there. They were asked to provide measurements for "saved" when the stimulus was passed so we could see if it was a success, but they didn't. It sounded like they wanted to avoid accountability then and still sounds like they are trying to avoid it.

We've heard "recovery summer" and "the recession is over" most of the summer, but it doesn't feel that way for lots of people. Admitting that people are still hurting while repeating these phrases isn't enough - people still feel like the administration is out of touch when they say the recession is over.

They've been wrong about many things in the economy, which is very understandable. Instead of trying to sell us that the stimulus worked as planned, they should tell us what they've learned. What went as predicted? What went wrong? Why? What changes are going to be made? It's completely unreasonable to expect perfection and accurate predictions on something as complex as the economy. It's very reasonable to expect them to accept responsibility (Bush started it but they own it), learn from the past, and modify their approach. Do they need more money? Different distribution? Less red tape? What specifically leads them to those conclusions? "Things were worse than we thought" doesn't give confidence that they can spend another $30 billion or even $1 trillion successfully. I haven't seen a lot of excitement about the $30 billion they just passed. I know the repubs didn't cooperate with the small business bills but if what they ended up with was just for show and not something that will help, it doesn't look like they know what they're doing.

American people are pretty understanding when you treat them like adults but not when they feel like you are selling them some BS. You can get credit for learning from mistakes. But not from claiming success when people don't feel it (even if you're technically right)

[Imajika]

4. Your definitely right about one thing for sure...

"The problems are much bigger and deeper than the President and his supporters imagine."

I agree with this. We are entering what might be described as a pre-revolutionary period. The problems are much bigger and deeper than they express. The President may know this, but he is not expressing it in such a way that makes most Americans think he "get's it".

Maybe the President can't due to fear expressing how bad things are might only create more fear?

"After all, he has brought the economy back from the brink of disaster. It is still not good but it was bad - very bad. We do not know how much credit history will give him?"

The problem is unemployment is actually worse. It was 7.5% and now it is 9.5% and looks to head higher. It is difficult to argue you brought the economy back from the brink of disaster when perhaps even more people, well, feel they are on the brink of disaster.

The far right is making its play. They see the writing on the wall, they sense they have an opportunity. The left needs to see this too, and I think many people here do see it. This is what causes so much frustration - our team is in power and has to govern. Our team can't just shoot off at the mouth and say whatever we want. Our team has to weight our words carefully since we are actually in charge. This causes serious friction between the base who see the history changing circumstances taking shape, and the leadership (Obama and Congressional Democrats) who actually have to try to responsibly steer a nation through it.

It is often much more fun to be the out of power party, the out of power ideology. And sometimes, just sometimes, in order to take advantage of historical changes, it is useful to not have the responsibility of governing. The right has this freedom now. They can just say what they want, think out loud, take advantage of any current event to change the tide of history.

We live in interesting times.

[kentuck]

6. And I think you have touched on the disconnect here on DU....

Some feel this insecurity and some cannot imagine how deep and huge these problems are that we face. They say you only see the glass as half-empty instead of half-full. They say you are only being "negative" and that doesn't help our electoral chances.

As you say, our team has to "govern". Because they are not "governing" or even fighting back enough to suit some, it does create frustration.

We do live in interesting times.

[Imajika]

7. Yes, that is the frustration I think...

There is always some of that. The party in power has to be responsible, can't just say what it wants, has to consider political realities even when they can feel soul crushing. We are the party in power. Our team runs the show, and has to weigh everything they say and do carefully. It's just that the times we are in may be much more monumental, much more historical in their scope - prerevolutionary even.

The President may very well recognize and even agree with what much of the progressive base right here on DU thinks, but his hands are so tied due to politics and he has to take the long view of history. Another thing, he has to govern us all - including a lot of people that hate/disagree with him on everything. Those people are still voters, those people are represented by a lot of politicians in our party, and those people just can't be dismissed easily.

[kentuck]

8. "Pre-revolutionary"?

Perhaps?

Obviously, the President cannot say, "Folks, we are really up shit creek"...