To all the hard core Obama supporters out there, please give me some ammo....

[WCGreen]

Tomorrow I go to a relatives house and they will be on me to name one or two things that president Obama campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through.

I'm not talking about tinkering around on the edge, give me some red meat, so to speak, so I can easily defend our president...

Where did he draw a line and said you cross that and it is over...

On edit, I have been way under the weather these past few months and I haven't been able to muster the energy to really get to the meat. I can defend him on principal and what he is not...

[ZombieHorde]

1. Well, he did campaign on reaching across the isle.

And he obviously meant it.

[gateley]

6. The Hawaiian Isle? nt

[hay rick]

37. I think he means here, in America - the land of birth certificates. nt

[oldtime dfl_er]

2. OBL...

He said he would get Osama Bin Laden. He did.
He said he would begin to draw down troops in Iraq. He did.
He said he would pass health care reform. He did.

[WCGreen]

3. These are democrats mind you and they are disappointed to person...

And since I was once heavily involved in Party Politics, I am suppose to have some kind of insight.

[oldtime dfl_er]

8. if these are Democrats

then they should be angered about Republican obstructionism and not at Obama.

[WCGreen]

28. Well there are people who vote democrat and there are people

who spend a whole lot of time on DU....

[Tx4obama]

9. And he said he would end DADT. He did. -- And ...

Here's a ton of other things

Eight pages of 2008 Campaign Promises Kept: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/rulings/promise-kept/

and

A long partial LIST of what Obama has done since January 2009 with citations included:
http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/what-has-obama-done-since-january-20-2009.html


Edited to add...

Link to 40+ page list of Signed Legislation:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/signed-legislation

[gateley]

15. I KNEW you'd have all this at the ready -- thanks!! nt

[Tx4obama]

23. You're welcome :) n/t

[WCGreen]

26. Thank you....

[Tx4obama]

31. You're welcome. I hope you have a wonderful day with your relatives :) n/t

[gateley]

4. It's the "got through" that's sticky. Right out of the chute he

signed whatever it was to close Gitmo, but that was shot down. I often think many Presidential nominees really believe in a lot of their campaign promises, but are met with the reality once they try to implement some of them. And this Congress -- whoa -- almost surreal.

Others will be along soon with great info, I'm sure.

Are they Dems disinchanted with Obama or Republicans? If Republicans, are you sure you're well enough to attend? :7 Hope you're feeling better! :hi:

[TheWraith]

12. It was an executive order to close Gitmo.

Unfortunately, while EOs have the force of law, they don't override acts of Congress, like the one they issued to prevent any funding from being used to close Gitmo.

[gateley]

14. That's interesting - I thought EO's trumped everything.

Sure seemed like during Bush's administration.

So is there anything a President can do on his/her own? But that defeats the purpose of our system, doesn't it. Hmmm.

[TheWraith]

61. Executive Orders trump standard administrative proceedure, and have the full force of law...

... but only so far as they don't contradict new or existing law passed by Congress. That's why it's not legal to issue an executive order for, say, torture, and justify it legally on that basis. You could issue the order, but it would have the legal validity of a stack of wet newspaper.

In terms of stuff the POTUS can do alone, there's a bunch of things that can be done in terms of internal administrative decisions within the executive branch: for instance, how agencies run themselves, internal priorities, how particular issues are going to be handled, diplomatic policy, appointments, etcetera.

[WCGreen]

38. They are mostly democrats that of course know about OBL and

HRC but they don't know the dozens of stuff that everyone gave me in one place so I didn't have to search for it...

I couldn't go today because I had no energy but tomorrow, I am going for sure.

I think they want me to tell them that it will be all right to vote for him again.

A lot of these folks are worried that he will be taken out and they are afraid of republicans.

Many work with republicans and are constantly being hit with how ineffective Obama has been, how he has sold out America. They are hit with sound bytes from Fox.

What they want me to give them, I suppose, is a one or two fox like defense of Obama.

I guess I could go there with the hundreds of specific things people gave me but so many are arcane and I would be spending more time explaining them and so would lose their attention.

Maybe I'll just say he killed Osama and leave it at that.

[Tx4obama]

41. You really need to take more than just the fact that Obama got OBL ...

Because if they are listening to any of the republicans that they are working with then they have probably already heard from the republicans that listen to FoxNews that (according to the republicans) the only reason Obama was able to get OBL was because of the leads/work that was done 'under Bush'.

Republicans are NOT giving Obama any credit for finding/killing OBL.

So, be sure to take some extra 'ammo' with you, at least a good solid half-dozen facts.
The more they know the more likely they will be able to spread the word to even more folks that aren't aware of the facts :)

[WCGreen]

45. the problem that I see is that we are waging two different wars...

We are trying to fight the visceral, base appeal of the republican propaganda with reason and example.

I was hoping that one person here could give me that sense that there was emotion, gut feelings but all I got was a ticking off of legislation and programs that have the appeal of the intellect but are lacking in emotion.

So, there in lies the problem with the modern democratic party.

We are a party of ideas and yet we get lost in those very ideas and send out a message that glosses peoples eyes over.

Why do you think people really voted for Bush to make it so close to be taken away from us?

Gore was a proven problem solver, a man with a brain and yet he was ridiculed and put on that dreaded "elitist" shelve.

Bush was able to steel that election because while we were arguing what to do they were moving into the White House.

[Tx4obama]

47. I suggest you read your OP, that is NOT what you asked for.

Many on this thread gave you exactly what you asked for (me included).
If you wanted something other than what you posted in your OP then perhaps you should have been more specific.

And if you look closely many of the things that folks listed for you were campaigned on by Obama with EMOTION.
All you have to do is go back and watch all of Obama's 2008 town halls and rallies.

p.s. Gut feelings and emotions are not going to win policy debates or win over any Independents or Republicans or anti-Obama folks.

Ciao!

[WCGreen]

53. Here is the key point of my OP..

"Tomorrow I go to a relatives house and they will be on me to name one or two things that president Obama campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through.

I'm not talking about tinkering around on the edge, give me some red meat, so to speak, so I can easily defend our president...

Where did he draw a line and said you cross that and it is over..."


Where in that did I ask for a list...

BYW, gut feelings and emotions will never win a policy debate, but hardly anyone pays attention to specific policies when they go into the voting booth.

If they did, the 2000 election would not have been close enough for Bush to take.

[mattclearing]

5. He got Congress to agree to a deal that ensures the Bush tax cuts expire.

He said revenues have to be increased on the backs of the wealthy or no deal, and while the deal eventually agreed to pushed it off a bit, the debt deal committee is expected to make that happen or the Bush tax cuts will expire, the Pentagon budget will be hacked, and Medicare providers will have their subsidies reduced (iirc).

Either way, he's set it up so that rich people are going to have to start paying for government again.

It's actually a pretty big deal, and the first serious Democratic budget victory since the Clinton presidency.

[TheWraith]

13. Correct, although the Bush tax cuts expire even if the committee does make a deal.

The expiration of the cuts is assumed in the "floor" that the OMB uses for figuring the deficit. In other words, for the tax cuts to NOT expire, they would have to pass a bill not only to extend them but find additional budget cuts to pay for them, which would never make it through the Senate let alone the White House.

[mattclearing]

20. Knowing the Bush tax cuts will expire almost makes the whole showdown worth it.

We were distracted and outraged by the SS/Medicare play, but when it came time to make the deal, Obama took the Republicans for a ride, and the long-term budget outlook is better for it, and not at the expense of social programs.

[TheKentuckian]

62. The cuts were already set to expire and nothing in the deal prevents extending them.

Of course they have been set to expire before.

[FarLeftFist]

7. 1st, remind them that it's ONLY BEEN 2 YEARS! Then:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1776475&mesg_id=1776479

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Of course, I can't think of anything!

I WILL wish you luck!

They had better be nice...

[TheWraith]

11. Since Bin Laden, Iraq, and HCR are already covered...

Significantly expanded Pell grants, which help low-income students pay for college
Expanded hate crime law in the US to include sexual orientation through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Signed financial reform law establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans
Cut prescription drug cost for Medicare recipients by 50%
Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years
Voluntary disclosure of White House visitors for the first time in US history
Ended Bush administration's CIA program of 'enhanced interrogation methods' by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations
Lifted restrictions granting Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island

[JDPriestly]

35. Useful list. I have been wracking my brain for some good items.

I'm also disappointed, but I want to be positive about Obama. It's just very, very difficult.

Sure, it's not all his fault that the legislation he wants is not passed. But it is his fault that some of the legislation he wants is lousy -- like his ideas about education, failure to end the tax cuts for the rich, making joining a union easier, etc. There are so many things he said he would do that he has just not really tried to do. And he favors blue dogs and has no progressives in the important positions on his cabinet.

He is going to be a tough sell in my neighborhood, and I do wish we had a true Progressive to run against him. We shall see.

[Tx4obama]

36. I disagree ...

It is NOT Obama's fault that he was forced to extend the Bush tax-cuts.
The GOP was holding the Unemployment Benefits Extension HOSTAGE and the only way he could get that extension passed in Congress was to agree to bow to the demands of the GOP on the Bush tax-cuts.
And don't forget that if Obama had been able to let the Bush tax-cuts expire it would have affected not only the rich but also the middle class working folks.
The Bush tax-cuts WILL expire January 1, 2012,
and there is still time for Obama finagle a deal where the middle class will be able to keep their tax-cuts.

And the new super committee in the Senate that everyone seems to dislike will be working on closing all those other tax loopholes the rich use all the time ;)

[bluestate10]

40. Campaigned for and got the Lily Ledbetter Act passed. Prevented a

second Great Depression, one does not know how bad it could have been because the country did not go there.

[markpkessinger]

43. "Prevented another Great Depression..."

Certainly he postponed it. Whether or not he prevented it remains to be seen.

[bluestate10]

50. Always hope for debacle, uh? nt

[markpkessinger]

60. Of course not...

... I just happen to think it's a bit premature to say another Great Depression has been prevented, particularly in light of what has been going on with the stock market over the last couple of weeks.

[handmade34]

16. an aside

Sonya Sotomayor
Elana Kagan

did necessarily campaign on them but glad as hell he chose them...

I would defend him merely against the bigoted, irrational right if that is all I had... there is more at stake here than what can be seen

[WCGreen]

29. I think they are looking to me to give themselves some ammunition

to take the fight to others...

[nevergiveup]

17. The stimulus package was the largest in U.S. history

and although it barely passed by one or two votes in the Senate he did get it passed and it may well have saved the country from a huge depression.

[leftstreet]

18. Promised to take Michelle on a date, CHECK. Promised the kids a dog, CHECK

There's two for two right there

[Tx4obama]

22. Well bless your heart ...

:crazy:

Starting with the two most 'irrelevant' promises that have nothing to do with policy or law means that the only way you can go is up from this point in time ;)

Happy Sunday!

[Roselma]

19. Long list:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/

[Tx4obama]

21. Here is a direct link

Obama's 2008 Campaign Promises KEPT:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/rulings/promise-kept/

p.s. The OPer is looking for things that have been 'done',
so the 'Promises Kept' page is a bit more relevant.

[lynne]

24. Change the subject , get a 2nd piece of pie, and compliment the cook -

- because they're your family and you should be enjoying time with them instead of battling politics. There's not much good to talk about in politics because the state of the economy trumps everything else.

Take the high road along with a cup of coffee.

[WCGreen]

27. That is probably the best suggestion...

[bluestate10]

42. Your answer.

Shows how dishonest your OP was. You had your mind made up that President Obama has not accomplished any campaign promises. No facts was going to change your mind. One of the most dishonest OPs that I have read in the last seven days. Freeper territory stuff.

[WCGreen]

46. You totally missed the point...

I can tick off a list just as easily as anyone else here can.

And to be truthful, I could have googled the lists.

What I was hoping someone would do was to go beyond the lists and give me a real reason with some emotion behind why they believe president Obama is a success.

But no one was able to distill his accomplishments in a way that was easy to convey.

And oh yea, you got me. I'm a freeper who has laid in wait for eight years to finally seize the moment and lay out my plan to destroy the democratic party.

And you really need to research your stuff before you defame a person.

[Tx4obama]

48. See comment #47.

I think it was you that didn't ask the correct question in your OP.
You can't blame folks for not giving you the answer you wanted when you didn't ask the right question.

[bluestate10]

49. I stand behind what I wrote. I seriously doubt that facts will change your mind.

A Freeper is as a Freeper acts.

[WCGreen]

54. I don't even know how to respond to something like this...

You use your gut feeling to attack me, call me a freeper and yet when you defend president Obama, you give me lists...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. He said he would escalate the lost war in Afghanistan. And, did.

[JI7]

30. do they not have any interest in politics and what is going on when you aren't there ?

[WCGreen]

32. I discovered a long time ago that not many people have the passion

for the day to day machinations of the political world even though it has a hug effect on their day to day lives...

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Kennah]

34. WTHHODSF

http://whattheheckhasobamadonesofar.com/

Increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016

Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers

Provided travel expenses to families of fallen soldiers to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB

Reversed the policy of barring media coverage during the return of fallen soldiers to Dover Air Force Base

Launched recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, providing transparency and allowing the public to report fraud, waste, or abuse

Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America's Veterans

Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which provides health care to 11 million kids -- 4 million of whom were previously uninsured

Issued executive order to repeal Bush era restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research

Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis

Developed stimulus package, which includes approx. $18 billion for nondefense scientific research and development

Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system

Issued executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay

Ended Bush administration's CIA program of 'enhanced interrogation methods' by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations

Increased minority access to capital

Established Credit Card Bill of Rights, preventing credit card companies from imposing arbitrary rate increases on customers

Health Care Reform Bill, preventing insurance companies from denying insurance because of a pre-existing condition

Health Care Reform Bill, allowing children to remain covered by their parents' insurance until the age of 26

Tax cuts for up to 3.5 million small businesses to help pay for employee health care coverage

Tax credits for up to 29 million individuals to help pay for health insurance

Expansion of Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level

Require health insurance plans to disclose how much of the premium actually goes to patient care

Added 4.6 billion USD to the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals

Significantly increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act

Lifted restrictions granting Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island

Eliminated subsidies to private lender middlemen of student loans and protect student borrowers

Increased funding for national parks and forests by 10%

Significantly expanded Pell grants, which help low-income students pay for college

Expanded hate crime law in the US to include sexual orientation through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Provided stimulus funding to boost private sector spaceflight programs

Appointed nation's first Chief Technology Officer

Signed financial reform law establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans

Signed financial reform law requiring lenders to verify applicants' credit history, income, and employment status

Signed financial reform law prohibiting banks from engaging in proprietary trading (trading the bank's own money to turn a profit, often in conflict with their customers' interests)

Signed financial reform law allowing shareholders of publicly traded companies to vote on executive pay

Cut prescription drug cost for medicare recipients by 50%

Provided $12.2 Billion in new funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

Extended Benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees

Appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in US history

The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: a $789 billion economic stimulus plan

Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years

Voluntary disclosure of White House visitors for the first time in US history

Appointed first Latina to the US Supreme Court

Promoted social responsibility through creation of serve.gov, a national database of volunteer opportunities

Reversed 'global gag rule', allowing US aid to go to organizations regardless of whether they provide abortions

Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco for the first time

Signed New START Treaty - nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia

[johnnie]

39. The problem is...

The problem is that people forget what dubya campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through, what Clinton campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through, what Bush Sr campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through, what Reagan campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through, what Carter campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through and so on...

It amazes me that people think "politics as usual" is a new phrase.

[Raine]

44. Stay off the subject of politics

seriously "meat or no meat" why even get into politics with relatives. Can't you find something else to talk about, old times, whose died, whose kid is on drugs, etc. etc. I love my relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins) we're there for each other and they're all Repubs, they know I'm a Dem ... politics are off the table. Agree to disagree and let it go.

[McCamy Taylor]

51. He has been good for the military. He kept his word about Afghanistan. He took out Bin Laden.

That ought to be a good start if you are talking to conservatives.

[WCGreen]

52. Why I wrote this post....

I was really hoping that someone would come up with a way to get his accomplishments across without a long, detailed list.

I was really hoping that someone would post someway to get across president Obama's accomplishments without giving detailed lists. When you write a news story, you out the most important stuff in the lead to catch the people's intention.

I know from experience, I ran for office a couple of times.

I remember the first time I ran. I ran for congress back in 1992.

I got up in front of a group of people and told them what I now know was excruciatingly detail about where I stood on the issues. It was at a senior citizen public housing project. People were literally watching the clock because they were too polite to walk out of the room.

The guy who addressed the group after me had refrigerator magnets with his face and name on it. He was a large man. He stood up in front of the crowd and said my name is Jimmy Dimora, from the looks of me you know I love to eat. If you elect me I will make do my best to make sure that no one cuts into your ability to keep food in your fridge.

There were about ten or twelve other candidates there.

I stayed till the end and I went over to the table where we all put our stuff.

Not one person took my carefully written position paper. Not one.

All of Jimmy Dimora's refrigerator magnets were gone.

I know this is not the way we want politics to be but that is the way it is. People need to feel it in their gut. It should be obvious now that most people don't make decisions based on qualification. If they did, Gore would have won hands down.

[Tx4obama]

55. You should have been more specific on your OP of what you wanted.

It is not our job to do all of your research for you.
The folks that posted lists for you did it so that you would have a full range of options to chose the issues you would want to highlight.

If you know anything about Obama then you should know that he does not constantly come out and show passion and emotion on a regular basis. The majority of the emotion and passion that Obama showed was during the 2008 campaign when he set out his agenda.
After taking office he worked behind the scenes out of the camera's eye for most of what he got done in order to fulfill his campaign promises - if you are looking for public emotion from 'President' Obama regarding policy/legislation then you will have to look with a microscope to find it - that is not his 'style'.

I think the OP was not fully honest, and the folks here on this thread were taken for ride.

Goodnight.

[WCGreen]

56. And what does that get him, this dispassionate response....

a 40% approval rating while the other side is full of passion and emotion...

I am not here to win a popularity contest, I want to make people reach in and tell me why they support president Obama and why they are passionate about his presidency.

Because you know what, the fate of our country is at stake so if I ruffle a few feathers, I really don't care.

[Tx4obama]

57. Your OP did not ask people why they support Obama. Read your own OP.

If you wanted folks to tell you why they support President Obama then that should have been the question you asked, it was NOT.

This is the first time, on DU, that I've been suckered in by a dishonest OP and I find it highly offensive.

[WCGreen]

58. Where in this post did I ever say give me a list...

Tomorrow I go to a relatives house and they will be on me to name one or two things that president Obama campaigned on, stood fast behind and got through.

I'm not talking about tinkering around on the edge, give me some red meat, so to speak, so I can easily defend our president...

Where did he draw a line and said you cross that and it is over...



That last line, "Where did he draw a line and said you cross that and it is over..." And the "Red Meat" comment.

The point of this little exercise was to get people to think outside the box. We are fighting against a highly organized message machine that depends on the visceral to get their point across.

Again, how else could have Bush beat Gore. Even when it was contested, they sent thugs down to florida to scare the people into giving up. You don't think they will do that again....

Call it a focus group then...

[treestar]

59. Talk about enabling the freepers

You need to be given something? You need to be provided with a leader? A primary challenger? Your talking points?

You should be given a house and an allowance too. Everything must be provided. You are entitled to that.

You expect an ideal leader to be given to you.

Just don't discuss politics. You aren't capable of it. If you need us to do it for you, just discuss the weather.