I cannot figure it out. If this was a Republican president (hello, Ronnie Reagan?) they would have been insisting that Obama be added to Mount Rushmore! Unemployment down, gas prices down, stock market up. What gives??

Unwilling to take on the bullies of the media, worried that they may have to depend on scruffy hippies like Occuppy for donations. Concerned that their own standard of mooching may suffer, that the hospitality suites may turn into Vegan potlucks, and that they are not cool enough for the new generation of "smoke filled rooms"

All over the media they said Obama was bad and the voters are angry - angry at what? The Republican House made the evil cuts.

Obama has a good record. There are some things I wish he would of did different but that can't take away from what he did accomplish though.

What happened is most of the Dems that were up for reelection this cycle were running in states where Obama lost twice so Dems "strategists" decided the best way to counteract this was for the Dems running in those states was to essentially run as republicans themselves.

There are a couple of problems with this strategy though. One is usually if people want to vote for a republican they are going to vote for the real thing. Two not only do those people in those states prefer republicans but they wanted to hurt or send a message to Obama in any way they could. The way you do that is vote Republican not Democrat. Then it hurt other Dems who aren't running anti Obama campaigns is because all you hear out there is negative Obama stuff, even from Dems themselves. Also this mean no one is out that campaigning on LIBERAL ideas, which is what you have to do to excite the base, which will drive turnout. Not to mention you aren't out there defending what you DID accomplish.

Then there is the media which everyone like to pretend is liberal but it's really not, it's republican, so of course they aren't going to be for Obama either. Add it up and there you go. Everybody is anti-Obama.

I'm a newbie, too, although I've been a long-time lurker. The thing is, I think by any reasonable measure (by that, I mean, anything opposed to Fox News) Obama has been a resounding success. Can we all agree that we would change some of his agenda? Sure, but, all in all, he has been a breath of fresh air compared to the Bush years. The hatred towards Obama has been off the charts. I just don't get it.

How are you defining Obama; a Blue Dog,ConservaDem, progressive, liberal,socialist or all of the above. Are you saying some of his actions are Repub and some are Dem? Are you saying his actions are just those of a human being who absolutely did no harm to any American citizen? Is there video out there of Obama saying that if this was the 70's he would be a moderate Repub? Spending in wars are in the mega-billions and I've seen estimates to 2-4 trillion. He's made mistakes and is not a savior. An individual is not the power,"We The People" own the power and it's up to us to use it.

They have to go with the mindset the voters have for the most part.

Don't know what they didn't like. It certainly wasn't that he isn't liberal/progressive...

If I were a Republican by the end of GWB's term, I'd feel pretty embarrassed. I don't get why we should feel embarrassed about Obama as a Democrat.

but no one wants to say it. We still live in a very racist society. The GOP proves it on a daily basis. It all started with McTurtle when Obama first won. "We will do everything in their power to stop him". Why? He ran on "change". What's so wrong with change? Nothing. That only leaves 1 excuse. And they live it and breath it everyday.

I am hoping when all is said and done that historians will see how important this president was, and go down as one of the best in history.

Here's how it works ... watch any political panel with a right wing and a left wing pundit.

Obama bad meme #1: Right wing pundit goes on and on about how Obama is a weak, appeasing, socialist commie, who will take your guns and tax you to death.

Obama bad meme #2: Left wing pundit disagrees ... and then goes on and on about how Obama is actually a war mongering corpratist, who works for the 1% and the MIC.

Two totally opposite caricatures, placed side by side. And your job is to pick one and internalize it. The media does not care WHICH of these memes you pick, just so long as you pick one of them.

Meme #1 angers the right, and energizes them to vote.

Meme #2 discourages the left, causing them to be more reluctant to vote.

This tactic, plus actual voter suppression efforts, is enough to allow a party with a shrinking base to still win elections.

I first pointed this out back in 2009, and its continued to this day. These memes are pushed out into the blogesphere. And now DU is little more than an amplification system for meme #2.

The media controls who gets on.

And the media LOVES to keep the disgruntled left disgruntled. So if they put a Dem on, its going to be one who will sing the second Obama Bad song.

And Fox will spend hour after hour singing the first Obama Bad song to infuriate the right.

Pretty much spot on.

I think the outtake from this election, if the democratic party actually gave a shit would be this:

NEVER AGAIN, NEVER EVER, EVER AGAIN abandon your democratic president.

But ... even here, today, the "he is SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT" bullshit.

Republicans would rally around the mutated spawn of Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees, while democrats, outside of tuning in to get him reelected, have spent this president's entire time in office leaving him a man alone.

Who wins here? The party that rallies around it president or the party that abandons its president?

...in most contested elections, which just validates Republican corporatism.

and then re-electing him to a second term?

conservatives hate him and have no idea what they're mad at. It has something to do with Ebola and Rev. Wright, and his past as a secret Kenyan gay communist.

successes nor in drawing clear and STRONG lines in the sand with the R's. He sat on his hands when the TeaParty ascended instead of LEADING the charge against them. He makes great speeches, is a great campaigner, and has done many good things.

But in office, he all too often wants to be "transactional" instead of taking his case powerfully to the American people and standing up against the crazed TeaPublicans. There has been something missing and a disconnect between Obama the campaigner and Obama the office holder. He should better utilize his political skills. He is a LEADER and needs to LEAD better. He needs to be THE CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE. He needs to mobilize the American people better. He needs to get LOUDER and appear STRONG and more FORCEFUL. This has been his main problem.

and people can babble about the bully pulpit, but the reality is the country would QUICKLY turn on any president who over used it.

He is ONE MAN.

Facing 10s of thousands of republican jackass elected officials, jackass party operatives, jackass "conservative" media dickbags, spending 24 hours a day, slandering and vilifying him, facing a "media" completely in line with the republican jackasses.

Meanwhile, who is standing UP for him, who is taking his defense?

When Bush was running this country into the ground, did the republican's abandon him?

NO, Christ, they attacked liberals relentlessly as America hating terrorist symphathizers, they spun Bush's incompetence into KEEPING THE COUNTRY SAFE!

He was a self entitled halfwit son of privilege, but they changed in unison "YOU HAVE TO RESPECT SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES IN WHAT HE IS DOING!" They chanted in unison, "YOU CAN'T CRITICIZE THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF WITH TROOPS IN THE FIELD!"

I heard that shit 1,000 times.

How many democrats have said this to try to defend this president?

But, sure this is HIS problem.

Your a good guy, I am just venting, but jesus Christ, how is that democrats can't see the forest for the trees?

Unfortunately, a lot of his once-upon-a-time supporters aren't immune to it, and believe it's true.