President Obama, the pinata.

President Obama is quickly becoming a punching bag for all sides. Much of it is his own making. When he said "change you can believe in", the liberals of his Party took him at his word. They do not see bailing out the banks and corporations as "change". They do not see incremental steps to further enrich the insurance companies as "change".

After 8 years of George W Bush, the last thing that Democrats wanted was a continuation of any of those policies. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan leave a very bitter after-taste. Most liberals want us out of both wars. Whether that is wise or not is another question.

As expected, the Republicans are whacking the hell out of the President. If he naively expected them to support him, then he is getting his just dessert. The Republicans smell blood. They criticize everything the President proposes, even if it is a speech to students to stay in school and work hard. They say he is trying to propagandize them with socialistic slogans.

Now, it is all about President Obama. Everyone is slapping at him with a stick. This is a critical moment in his presidency. If he does not fight back, then he will be destroyed. Not only by the Republicans, but also by those in his own Party who are deeply disappointed in his support and defense of the corporations and Wall Street. This health care fight is his Rubicon. Either he crosses the river or he continues to be beaten to a pulp.

Hopefully the speech on Wednesday will be so good, so persuasive, that we can see a turn around. We know that Obama can do it.

Tiresome. Please, give it a rest. It's not only old and worn, it has yet to emerge from the level of unadulterated bullshit.

You're smart enough to know better. What's the point of this?

In your opinion, it is bullshit. I think you are wrong and naive.

Is your OP a cry for help? "Somebody make me stop treating the president like a pinata?"

I have been very supportive of the President but I see what is happening to him. Should we just ignore it or pretend it isn't happening?

Think for yourself. Get away from this shithole for a month. Read, analyze, read some more. And for chrissakes, quit listening to the morons.

Since it's impossible to see the world with your nose pressed firmly between the President's butt cheeks, allow me to explain to you conditions out here in the world:

Obama has failed to deliver on any of the promises he made during his campaign, except stem cell research. He is either afraid or unable to fight the Right, and has thus far proven an enormous failure. Any belief that Obama will be able to successfully push through any meaningful reform of the healthcare industry is unfounded and laughable.

Obama is not an agent of change, he is an agent of corporate greed.

it's about time people started getting called on it!

What the FUCK did you expect from ONE MAN??? You want to dump responsibility for EVERYTHING in one persons lap- You think you elected a GOD- a Miracle-worker- being an AGENT of change isn't being the sole OBJECT of change-

He's consistently said WE- he as consistently pointed out that HE cannot do it ALONE! You conveniently leave out any personal responsibility for your own actions in the success or failure of this administration- of this country.

Those of us who supported Obama and his platform with our eyes and ears open, KNEW this wasn't going to be easy, quick, or guaranteed- it was also going to require OUR continued efforts- and perseverance.

lead follow or get out of the way- your continual negative shit helps no one.

:nuke:

He is neither.

I never said it was bullshit??

It could give children nightmares sort of like a fear of clowns.

Btw, I'd like to see Obama strike back. But then he's the angry guy - yet another stereotype. It's going to take someone like him with all that savvy to find a way to lead the nation to sanity. This crazy period is wearing me out.

:-)

:rofl:

got a visual- thanks for the needed humor.

this crazy period is pretty awful- but nothing lasts forever.

thanks Eleny!

:hi:

Get a break from all this crap. The problem with trying to walk the center tightrope is the Right and the Left are going to be throwing stuff at you because you aren't making anybody happy. The Left is really going to jump his shit and jump ship as well if HCR turns into some half-assed insurance company windfall. We'll see which direction they're pushing when he addresses Congress soon.

I'm just standing out of the way and not doing a thing to stop others from swingng the sticks.

Why should I defend the Obama administration when it hasn't done fuck all for me?

Obama voted for the package, as did most Senators, but is it really correct to say the Obama administration bailed out the banks?

And quit acting like a wussy lapdog.

I don't agree with those who think Obama is in bed with the corporations, but I do agree he's become in pinata and better do something to stop it or he's just going to flap around for the next 3 years.

1. Critics of the bailouts always fail to mention that in many instances, the TARP money has to be paid back, and that the stringent conditions placed on the bailouts, let's say, "encouraged" some recipients to pay the money back sooner than required.

10 Banks Allowed to Repay $68B in Bailout Money
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/09/AR2009060900891.html


They also do not mention that the government has already turned a profit from repayment of the TARP funds:

As Big Banks Repay Bailout, U.S. Sees Profit
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/as-big-banks-repay-bailout-us-sees-profit/



2. Afghanistan - Obama made no secret, none, during his campaign that his strategy would be to escalate troops in Afghanistan, yet, now that he is carrying out that policy, it seems to surprise many who listened to his campaign speeches.


(You know, Bush took his many failures, especially 9/11, and made himself into a hero for it; Obama saved the country from very real economic disaster, and all we seem to want to do is tear him down for it.)

The President did say during the campaign that we diverted our troops and resources from the real threat in Afghanistan. The war has become increasingly more unpopular. Liberals voted for him in spite of those intentions, it seems. Perhaps they believed that "change" would also mean change in Iraq and Afghanistan? Nonetheless, you are correct that the President has not changed on that issue.

Also, you say, "You know, Bush took his many failures, especially 9/11, and made himself into a hero for it; Obama saved the country from very real economic disaster, and all we seem to want to do is tear him down for it." And history may prove that to be the case. However, we may not be saved from "economic disaster" just yet, since the economy, especially the jobs market, has continually worsened over the last several months. There is a lot of anxiety in our economy.

But, as for the US seeing "a profit" from the bailout of the banks, I think we have to look at more than just the money returned to our Treasury. What have they done to the confidence of the American consumers? What have they done to resolve the mortgage debt problem? What have they done to invest in jobs to get our country back on track? In the big picture, the big banks have done irreparable harm by their greedy and criminal acts. They can never pay us back.

I understand that the economic picture is really a shifting illusion. However, McCain's plan would have been to freeze all spending - I think that would have a true disaster. I'm not sure what Hillary Clinton's plan would have been, but I would think it would not have been all that dissimilar from Obama's, especially given that he used many former Clinton administration officials as advisors. And actually, Obama also cautioned from the start that things would get worse before they would get better in the timeline of the economic recovery.

A major problem, I think, with Obama receiving credit due on the economy, is that although we hear we faced "an economic Armegeddon" none of us really knows what that means in real-world terms, so it's that much easier to find fault with Obama's actions.

About your queries on the big banks -- yes, that's all true, but how much could Obama have done about this entrenched corporate culture in the time he's been in office? I think massive congressional legislation is needed to whip corporations into being constructive rather than destructive.

to regulate the banks and corporations to keep them from ripping off the American people. This goes for insurance companies also.

As for the "economic Armageddon", we will never know if that might have happened at that time. In fact, it may still happen? However, we cannot prove a negative. Perhaps Obama has been too successful? If it had been more painful, perhaps the citizens would have seen the true damage wreaked by the Republicans and George W Bush?

All I'm seeing is everyone including many here going for the jugular. If we were half the men and women we all claim to be we'd already be in the street making lots of noise about all these lies that are passed off as fact by our media and fellow quick to pull out the knife citizens
Fuck a bunch of that, I support MY President and will go down with him if he goes. My suspicions is he will go out of this being remembered as one of America's greatest Presidents. Thank about that for a while...

then do something about the lies being spread, not buying into them.

If this shoe doesn't fit my apologies to you,:hi: but to many here this shoe fits.

:)

maybe they can cheer me up. :sarcasm:

FR, and it's a little hard to tell the difference between here, and there.

It's time for Obama to punch back at the right wing. They are in bliss now seeing that they have intimidated him. He has to punch back. Bill Moyers said as much, too. :thumbsup: K&R.