When I pulled the lever for Sen Obama....

I knew I was voting for a slightly left of center pragmatists who was about to face head on some of the most daunting problems our country has ever faced....

Perhaps that is why I am disappointed but less so than a whole lot of other self-proclaimed progressives.

I saw the joy all over the place as people realized that the eight year nightmare known as George Bush was coming to an end. I also saw a whole lot of dreams and pent up political desires set to explode as soon as President Obama's right had was dropped back to his side on the Capital Steps that mild January day.

I knew there would he a learning curve but I also realized this guy came of his political age in big city politics which is really not that different from other political situations save for one thing, you are a hell of a lot closer to the people there than in Washington or Springfield.

I also knew going in that the GOP was never going to give this guy a honeymoon. That was over, as far as they were concerned, on November 5, 2008.

I also knew he was going to face some stiff opposition from people in his own party who considered him too inexperiences and too "green" to be given carte blanche.

I also knew that the crippled economy, made worse by Bush just letting stuff happen after the election because of his hey it's his mess now attitude, was going to alter any plans he had in place before the shit hit the fan in October 2008 and that his personal hopes and dreams for America were going to have to take a backseat.

I also knew that the full blown talk show mentality that passes for journalism on the cable news networks would be in full swing like never before. They had a two year campaign to completely throw off any semblance of journalism that might still be lingering.

And of course I also knew that a whole bunch of people were going to hate him right off the bat just because of the color of his skin.

Given all that, I still had higher expectations for him. After all, he really didn't have to do much to be better than the guy who couldn't wait to get out of town.

Why do I bring all of this up.

Well, for one thing, to put a little perspective on where he and where we are in this presidency. The cable media, which we all turn too day after day even though we know it isn't good for us, has taken perspective completely out of the discussion. You really can't judge or even evaluate without at least some perspective.

What happens far too often is a story will be put out there in the media ether that is negative to President Obama's position on a given issue. That story, even though it may be proven wrong down the road, will taint the image of the president so that, over time, a picture is painted that is very much like a modern day portrait of Dorian Gray. What we are often seeing has no relationship to reality. And that is why the study of history and a little perspective are so important when judging the efficacy of our democratic president.

One more thing, I didn't expect to agree with everything this president says or does.

If that is what I expected, I couldn't be a democrat. I would have to be a republican.

Frankly, I'm just not able to go through the mental gymnastics required to always, all the time, agree 100% with the leader of our party.

And if you look at some of the posters here you'll notice that. You will see many posters give an alternative to the hate fests when they start, but I don't see that as mental gymnastics.

I have my personal opinion, one of which happens to being adamantly against off shore drilling. And I'm horrified and disgusted that this disaster is going on. That being said, since I do consider myself a pragmatist---drilling is actually given decent clearing from what I heard for little disasters. I believe we've seen more disasters with oil shippers than with drilling. However, I'm still against this and I don't think there's enough response.

However, the government is facing it's own limitations, mistakes are bound to happen considering the government and enterprises are run by humans, and these rigs were given clearance long before Obama was around and were drilled in long before he was around.

That being said, I do see the Government's side and I do see the extent they have been working. One of the posts I read gave a great timeline and showed the US Coast Guard on such issues. But we don't know what's playing in the background with the government and a lot of people are jumping and ready to blame Obama on everything. I think a few of them are a bit over the top and I appreciate the posters giving us another look into what's going on. Because the straight negative is never 100% the whole picture.

time with president Obama.

I thought I made that clear when I said I would have to be a republican to do that.

And I sure don't believe too many republicans are posting on this board.

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I voted to express my outrage about the lies that the Bush Administration and the NeoCon Cabal used to propel us into Iraq. I knew that very little would really change and that our nation's foreign policy and the wars in the ME would continue.

But what choice did we have? If McCain had won, the media and the Pundocracy would have screamed every moment from then on that Americans REALLY supported the continuation of the Iraq war.

there was a certain amount of misleading that occurred and it is perfectly reasonable for people to have had an expectation built on that.

While Obama did discuss some policies that he has followed through on that were more centrist than many would have preferred, during the election there was a very controlled and marketed message that opposed those personal statements that were INTENDED to lead people to think that there would be more fundamental change. And all of us also know that candidates always give very centrist details on a campaign, because they get torn up if they disclose all of their intentions. So why wouldn't people have expected that he meant the broader message of change?

A lot of people chose Obama over Hillary based on that message, and People can call it "politics", but I think that is the kind of politics that destroys and we have to stop it.

Having said that, it doesn't make Obama "evil", or that he is not better than Bush, or that he has not had some good policies. But those who claim that he was transparent and people should not expect him to be more progressive are just plain wrong. He made claims and purposely led people to vote for him over other alternatives based on those claims. People have a right to expect more.

A good man but just a man, nonetheless. But even as a man, he could be an FDR, a Truman, a Lincoln or just another nameless President. He was given a mess from day one and I've given him some leeway on that but there have been some decisions like indefinite detention and the willingness to allow the CIA to kill Americans without judicial oversight that just aren't okay, no matter who comes up with them.

And then there is the DLCers he's surrounded himself with. I don't think he can excel with them holding him back and keeping stuff from him. Don't think for a minute that the President, any President hears everything. Hopefully, he hears the important things but a great President can only be great when surrounded by great staff. His staff, with some notable exceptions, isn't very good. But he picked them and he hasn't gotten rid of too many of them, so that old buck, once again, stops at his desk.

I think that's a good thing.

I expected them to be. I expected them to attack him on Day 1 like they did Clinton. That hasn't happened. As far as the media part of your argument? I disagree strongly.

I also knew that the full blown talk show mentality that passes for journalism on the cable news networks would be in full swing like never before. They had a two year campaign to completely throw off any semblance of journalism that might still be lingering.


This is all about the state of cable news right now. There is far too little journalism and more pontificating...


What happens far too often is a story will be put out there in the media ether that is negative to President Obama's position on a given issue. That story, even though it may be proven wrong down the road, will taint the image of the president so that, over time, a picture is painted that is very much like a modern day portrait of Dorian Gray. What we are often seeing has no relationship to reality. And that is why the study of history and a little perspective are so important when judging the efficacy of our democratic president.

This isn't about any negative reporting by the media rather it is about letting ridiculous statements being thrown out there with not challenge to the veracity of said claim....

I'm not in favor of nailing people without a reason. However, if there is a reason, I have an obligation to say what I think.

During the longest Presidential campaign in my lifetime I watched as passions rose to a screeching decibel over Obama and Hillary for the last few months and I deliberately stopped posting. The reason was that I saw the politicians in full promise mode and knew they were fighting hard to win at just about any cost. At the end it became a truly maddened world when Palin was unleashed on us and the teabaggers were born.

So Obama disappointed but only because all we adults decided to project what we wanted on him. It was the same with Hillary and those who supported one candidate decided to demonize all the others. In a way we really are infantile in our expectations. Perhaps it's because we're a spoiled nation with our instant gratification syndrome and our exaggerated sense of entitlement which was also mixed with our sense of growing alarm about the Bush Era.

Politicians are wired that way. They know the game. To get elected they pick a platform and their talking points and their slogans and they throw everything at it. They go on charm offensives the like no one ever sees otherwise. They stay on message and live by the poll numbers at every moment. They travel the country triangulating every inch of the way. They spend money by the shovel fulls even to get those last lingering idiot voter who simply lag behind for the pleasure of seeing their asses kissed while pretending to be intelligently skeptical.

And we do this every single fucking four years and they never cease to disappoint as long as we expect every one of our wishes to be granted.

Whether we like it or not Presidents who are Democrats always do their job as if they were the President of all the people of this country. And they always fix what Republican Presidents break. We're getting mad because he didn't pull a Bush on us and veer instantly to the far left.

Somewhere in this syndrome we are accountable for how we feel and what expectations we throw at our politicians.

this incarnation of the GOP....

"Whether we like it or not Presidents who are Democrats always do their job as if they were the President of all the people of this country. And they always fix what Republican Presidents break. We're getting mad because he didn't pull a Bush on us and veer instantly to the far left."

This was engineered; it is no accident that the right wing derisively mocked Obama as a "Messiah." My expectations of Barack Obama were never so high, and although I am disappointed, I think much less so than many of my fellow liberals and progressives. For one thing, there's no doubt in my mind that Obama has earned reelection.

We have competence in the White House again. In fact, all through government, we're starting to see a different attitude, a "get things done" kind of attitude we tend to associate with President Obama, because it is reflective of his character. Obama is undoubtedly the most capable President since Reagan, and I think he has higher motives than the Great Prevaricator. Barack Obama is the best President since Kennedy, methinks. The best in my memory, without doubt.

So how could I possibly be disappointed, even a little? Because this much competence, this much effectiveness, for all it has been so rare in Washington, is something we should have expected in the first place! We have people in Washington now who are actually doing their jobs. This is a welcome change. This is reason to reelect them. But this is not enough to justify hosannas and handsprings. Government that works is what we haven't had for decades; now that we have government that works, it becomes clear that this is something we should have expected, or rather demanded, all along.

We're getting the minimum from Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress. This is more than we ever got from the Republicans, and yes, I am grateful. People who do their jobs deserve to keep them. People who do their jobs very well deserve some commendation. Nobody is entitled to carte blanche, though.

I thought Barack Obama was a visionary. He has paid ample lip service to the notion of a green economy but virtually nothing is happening in that direction. He has thrown the left a couple of bones with the Lilly Ledbetter act and the upcoming repeal of DADT. Aside from this, all his actions have been to try to fix broken government or markets. He undid Bush's damage to the student loan program. He got a healthcare insurance reform bill passed which effectively rewards the companies which have financially raped the injured, the sick, and the dying - but still takes steps toward fixing the problem. He is getting Wall Street reform passed, which like HIR takes steps toward fixing the problem but doesn't go far enough. He gets high marks for his competence; he gets my vote for reelection. But I had hoped for a visionary, like one of the Kennedy brothers or FDR. I'll take the "Great Mechanic", because it's a whole lot better than what we've had, but Barack Obama did raise my expectations of government.

I had hoped for new direction. The nation is going in the same direction; only now, we're doing it more effectively. Sure, some are going to call me a troll for this view, and it isn't like I want to criticize Barack Obama! I like the guy. I almost trust him, too. But I think he can be a much better President, even while I recognize he's the best I've ever seen. He has the capacity to be a real visionary and take this nation to another level. But it would require a change in direction. I sincerely hope he redoes his cabinet in the second term; I can hardly wait for it.

I remember when Bush was president, and every time he mucked up was preceded by the phrase "after the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history."

Huge deficits? Only because of the "worst terrorist attack." War based on lies? A result of 9/11. Bad Katrina response? This is the prez who faced 9/11 and stood on the rubble giving a speech. This became the apology for Bush.

Now we do it with Obama. "Facing the worst problems" always seems to be the phrase used before stating what Obama has fucked up recently, be it a crappy healthcare bill, our troops mired in Afghanistan, or some scandalous bank/oil deal.

Never thought the guy would be at risk of being a one-termer after he was elected. It took a monumental effort to fuck up 85% approval, so this doesn't surprise me at all.

Never the less, I am not using that as an excuse for him rather I am explaining why some of the plans he may have wanted to implement were no longer possible...

Look being president is all about handling challenges.

I think he tosses out what was left on his plate in order to garner patients from his supporters.

I still think he will have a successful presidency. I feel bad for you that you are so jaded that you are already throwing in the towel...

When all we should have really expected was realistic centrism?

"Vote for realistic centrism" is a crappy campaign slogan, but "hope" is better. What the fuck were we hoping for anyway? I joined Obama in attacking Hillary's flawed idea of individual mandate. What a fool he's made of us all.

The phrase "throwing in the towel" is, of course, a boxing term. But it assumes that your fighter had a hope of winning when he stepped into the ring. Little did we know our fighter abhorred fighting for anything, much less victory, and anyway the judges were paid off. But our fighter is good at one thing: pre-fight talk. He sure got us to tune in, didn't he? Unfortunately his eloquence exceeds his ability to throw a hook by a huge, huge margin.

Many still may not have much of it.....but a little hope is better than none.

And in fact, I'd say that those who see no hope now, aren't ever gonna see none,
cause they are so used to being without it.

Having my hope crushed, and knowing it was foolish to have ever hoped is worse than having none at all.

He's not change, he's just moderation. A moderate version of your standard politician who says A and does B. The man who gave all those eloquent speeches stood in glorious contrast to the corporate scarecrow who has no conviction, boldness, or bravery. Never seen a president preemptively run from a fight like a frightened schoolboy.

It is also more than possible that every persons desires, dreams, wants, and needs vary some.

Even God sends more than one prophet even to the same people.

If the Almighty doesn't have a one size fits all policy then I don't see why you'd have any more insight into when there is no more room for hope to enter a heart.

I also have been involved with politics up close and personal and knew quite well that campaigning is far different from governing...

damn near 100% of what he does. if you can't see that, i don't know what to tell you.

I said I couldn't be a republican because republicans demand 100% fealty...

If you can't see that then i don't know what to tell you...