I Genuinely Feel Sorry for President Obama tonight.

I've been hard on the President a lot, because my expectations of what he can accomplish are so high. I know that there is greatness in this man. I think most Americans know it, too. Yes, I've had my disappointments, but...

There just comes a time when one single human being can only do so much.

For eight shitty, long years, George W. Bush never missed a chance to justify his destruction of this country by claiming he "inherited" a recession from Bill Clinton. In truth, Mr. Bush, who was self-avowed drop-down drunk until he was 40, "inherited" a nation at peace with the world, with a $3 Trillion projected surplus in Social Security funding, an economy where 23 million new jobs had been created --- and he turned it all into debt, division, and destruction. And for the record, Bush did not "inherit" the Presidency, he stole it, just like the Bush family fortune came more from theft than it ever did from inheritance.

In 2008, President Obama was handed the levers of the our nation with its people on their knees, with the entire financial system in ruins, with a global credit freeze that could have stopped us all in our tracks, with a mortgage meltdown and a catastrophic foreclosure crisis on good, hard-working Americans.

Representatives of municipalities and state governments were trekking to Washington like beggars to stand in a national breadline alongside executives Fortune 500 companies and bankers for a hand-out, euphemistically called a bailout.

The nation that President Obama "inherited" was mired into two vile, unnecessary and un-winnable wars with our entire military worn down and broken. And, of course he inherited the unenviable task of removing us from those wars without causing an even worse genocide and mayhem than George Bush and Dick Cheney had already created.

And if that wasn't enough, Barack Obama was sworn into office as hundreds of thousands of Americans continued losing their jobs, their homes, their dignity, their self-worth and their hope...month after month.

And now, the day every environmentalist has feared for decades has arrived. Armageddon has already arrived to our vital Southern ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. And the Federal Government that Barack Obama "inherited" has no tools to solve this problem. George Bush set up the problem and left Obama with no toolbox. Some "inheritance"!

I truly feel sorry for President Obama tonight.

As I wrote earlier, there's just only so much one single human being can only do. But there is something I can do for now.

There will be no more criticism from me of President Obama for the time being at all. None. I'm climbing off of this poor man's back. He needs support now.

What changed for me?

Maybe my final straw was watching that loudmouthed hypocrite, James Carville, opening his piehole up against the President that was the tipping point for me. This is the same asshole that had no problem making a devil's bargain with the people of Bolivia with their very drinking water.

This nation is cracking into pieces and the planet is is peril. And the one thing that there is already enough of is blaming this President for shit he didn't create.

There is already enough loud carping from the racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic, warmongering, nature-killing and greedy haters in the right-wing and their vulgar Republican Party.

My beloved fellow lefties: this man may be the only thing between us and the flood right now. If we continue with the 24/7 against him, we just might be, as my 92-year old mom says, cutting off our nose to spite our face.

I have my differences with President Obama. But, you won't see me crawling on his back for now. Instead, I think should have his back. I know he is trying to have our backs.

Barack Obama is not a god. But tonight, it certainly seems that has the challenges and enemies befitting a god.

This man needs support now. He has mine.

yes yes and yes

I've been getting so sick of people bashing him here I was considering just signing off for a while, maybe for good. Your post gave me some hope again. Thanks for recognizing the good in people, even though they are not perfect.

Welcome to the side of reason.

acknowledging the reality.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Barack Obama was also elected at a time when our federal government has become a corporation. In the position that he's in, he is not able to make significant changes for the betterment of the non-corporate interests. The machine isn't set up to function that way. And, as you note, it is set up in a manner that a jackass like Bush could do terrible damage.

Obama is the only thing standing between us and rule by teabaggers.


You keep chopping at his knees at your own peril.

-and made unwarranted assertions about it's safety, without first having cleaned house in his own regulatory agencies.

Indeed- had he not pandered to the right- but instead stuck with the sensible environmental policy favored by most Democrats- he's be looking prescient- rather than looking like the goat.

as the op noted, he does not control all that much. he is doing what he can do. he can't do what he can't do.
but he is the only thing between us and them.

Fact is that the administration triangulated- and turned its back on a core constituency one too many times- and their luck ran out.

This in addition to the fact that they were clearly negligent. That's not to say I don't feel a little something for the guy- after all, he's been getting away with triangulating progressive policies away for a long time now- and probably thought he wasn't going to end up getting bit.

No different really than what I feel for anyone else who has to deal with the foreseeable consequences of their negligence.

So that core constituency must be pretty damn small. And I say that as a person that is anti-more drilling.

But go ahead and find 5 more ways to use the word triangulate. I'll be happy when that word also loses all meaning because of people like you, running it into the ground.

Bottom line: There were MAJOR and ongoing regulatory failures in the Obama administration. These were well known- and the GAO issued a report on them in September 2009.

There was a very similar disaster on the Montara site in the Timor sea (I known, most Americans don't care or care to know about things beyond their borders) in August 2009 that any reasonable person in a position of would have taken notice of- took over 2 months to plug that one up.

Proceeding with any further offshore drilling in light of these two sets of facts was negligent -and as we have seen, foreseeably risked and resulted in catastrophic consequences for which this president- not just Bush & Cheney now bears considerable responsibility for.

As mentioned- had the president not backstabbed the environmental groups who warned of this very sort of thing occurring- had he stuck to progressive principles- or cleaned up the act at Interior and the MMS in a timely manner, we'd be in a much different situation politically -and perhaps have averted this catastrophe.

Maybe you should try a thesaurus. Yours posts get more and more painful to read with the broken record quality.

As for what you are saying. I'll defer to what the President said today and that is the interior department was in the process of being overhauled but that in spite of all the other stuff going on, there was not a strong sense of urgency to get it done yesterday. But there have in fact been a lot of changes there since he took office. Overall drilling permits were reduced 90% from what they were during the Bush years.

I didn't agree with the idea of more drilling. But I, unlike you, am willing to open my mind enough to understand the compromise. And we all know that it was a compromise tog et an energy bill passed that would contain a lot of the things we have been asking for.

My problem with your perspective wouldn't be a problem at all if MMS was the only department in the federal government and if offshore drilling was the only political issue of the day. But the reality is that the magnitude of responsibility, especially during these times, for this President, is that department's problems and that political issue times a thousand. When the reality of that is considered, your point of view is unreasonable, its close minded and its a basically an unstomachable brand of judgementalism that has no place in the consideration of compounded real world problems that one man is suppose to juggle.

I'd love to see you and others like you in this guy's shoes for one day though. The back pedalling and self apologetics would be hilarious.

In terms of the substance of your post- my guess is that there aren't many thing you wouldn't "compromise away" for some perceived short term expediency.

An as to the other assertions.

:rofl:

Please. They ring hollow, and as I've said before- it's all coming out down the line.

Let the chips fall where they may.

And face it, we do not have a dominantly progressive population. I wish we did. I think as we evolve, we will get there. But in the here and now, the reality is, we do not have that luxury. I think you are smart enough to know that but too in love with your own idea of the way things should work to admit it.

which makes the repeated, preemptive, unilateral "compromises" on one policy after another look rather strange to critical thinkers. Have a look- for yourself:

The Progressive Majority: Why a Conservative America is a Myth.




If you don't like the previous metaanalysis- there's other bits that meet your wish (data from well before the financial meltdown and the Gulf catastrophe):

Pew: Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007.
Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats

http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/312.pdf

Summary: http://people-press.org/report/?reportid=312

Of course, credible data and analysis may or may not help to change some tunes. For some, mythology borne of propaganda or religion- to name but a few strong influences, is hard to break.

Admitting that one is wrong- especially in 21st Century America requires a lot of courage and character.

Which is why in some several posts that you've undoubtedly read, I've expressed the hope that Barack Obama will do just that.

it is capitulation and obviously creates the conditions for more destruction of our planet. There is a difference and Obama all too often totally capitulates and always in the name of big business - remember Single Payer?

I have posted about several issues and found not many really wanted to get into the learning curve on the issues like immigration, banished veterans, and even liberal/progressive radio/TV shows, but will run all over themselves to find fault with Obama enough to want to tar and feather him, to quit on him and not try to help him out. I know many of these gripers don't pick up a phone and call the White House, their senators or representatives, but they will gladly spend hours griping and forgetting any good thing Obama does. These are the people who make it hard to have someone take a chance and put their life, or their security on the line to work on a cause. I know because I have done it, and seen these kind abandon me. Thanks to these kind we will see even less chance of getting things done, but they can't be counted on.

and did you catch this week's attempted spin over that meeting w/ Krugman, Stiglitz et al re: receivership? Krugman actually had to call them out for flat-out lying about what he said.

It seems that the economic triangulating has caught up with them, too, now that our green shoots have all turned brown.

and wear blinders for the past as we are told.

The best word, by the way, is the one that best suits its use. Words and their hairsplit nuances have consequence. "Is" for instance, (as Clinton might say), while used ad infinitum, can still be parsed; If you have a florid imagination and a need to survive. The question is: Not how many times one uses a word, but whether, out of many, it is the appropriate word.

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I don't agree with any drilling and there has been so much pressure from Republicans to drill and drill and drill. No doubt Dems thought it was popular with the voters?

They gambled that compromising with Republicans would work. It didn't.

no doubt to get conservative DEMOCRATS on board, just like with the health care bill, where Harry Reid scrapped the public option so that Lieberman and Lincoln and their ilk wouldn't kill the whole bill. It's not about gaining non-existent Republican votes. It's not about triangulation, it's about getting things PASSED in a broken and corrupt senate.

Needless to say it's important to make sure Blanche Lincoln (and Lieberman for that matter) is not returned to the senate.

Get your rose colored glasses, rose colored glasses right here, rose colored glasses, anyone, rose colored glasses for free

1: All orders come with a money back guarantee, ha, ha,

2: All orders come with a pair of blinders to block the past and a bottle of snake oil to dull the pain of reality..

Disclaimer:
The sole purpose of these glasses allows you to look forward at a glorious pipe dream, but not at the past where truth might rear its ugly head.....unless you are of absolutely no importance to Corporville; Where that, "forget the past" thingy, might not work for you. In truth, that forget the past thing, only works as applied to the rich, the powerful and well connected.

:rofl: :rofl:

and what was incorrect about anything I said?

When are you running for president, asshole, so I can sit back and throw garbage at you as you realize how difficult it is to govern. It's real easy to sit back and post complaints on the internet. It's real easy to be a back bencher congressman like Kucinich who hasn't done jack shit to move HR 676 - then again, no one expects him to. It's not easy being president standing against an entire political party who would destroy this entire country rather than cooperate with him, and on top of that, dealing with prima donnas like Lieberman and Lincoln who would deny him even a vote if they don't get their way.

You and your ilk are the ones seeing things through distorted lenses. You think Obama is some sort of corporate tool. The man has never held a corporate job in his life. He was a community organizer and then, after being the first black president of Harvard Law Review, he rejected white shoe law firm life to be a civil rights attorney and teacher. He than ran his presidential campaign based on millions of individual donors, the majority of whom were small dollar donors. And, I don't know if you're aware of this, but CORPORATIONS CANNOT GIVE MONEY TO CANDIDATES. These are facts, refute them if you can.

Due to the huge demand, we have also added Snake oil potion no. 9, to the already generous bottle of regular snake oil, which enables that innate ability to become an apologist for just about any old thing. Honor? out the window. principals? Out the window; Who needs them anyway. Go along to get along, that's our motto...Join the opposition whenever possible and enable their views rather than those you thought you had and pretended were ones you held dear; Forget about those who paid for your 1st Class ticket to where you are, with their hard earned money, sweat and tears; Point at them; Laugh at them;....screw 'em. Potion No. 9 is just the thing you are looking for.

will they protect my eyes from 2-Butoxyethanol, Sulfonic acid Corexit™?

So they will dissolve, so what....but the dissolved glass will grow hair and pendulous balls....ummm....say whut?....cant say that either?....O what the fuck...they are just pink plastic made from petroleum products and are good for nothing but pretend. You got me on that ROTF hilarious proof of the weaknesses of the product. If you are planning on suing, you'll have to talk to legal, good luck on that...oh wait, legals been abolished for things past. We can only look forward doncha know. I stole the fab picture though, so there is that.

beyond their borders. I think it's this kind of attitude that keeps people from signing on with Democrates or Progressives, if you prefer. Further, the state of the government and the nation is not something that began overnight when Obama was inaugurated - it's been like this for a long time. As far as continuing to drill - how is that his fault? We have an economy that's tanking - what do you suppose would happen if we suddenly said - o.k no more drilling...we're going to cut down on availability of oil and raise the price to decrease use as I think Thomas Friedman suggested. That would be the right thing to do environmentally but what will it do to people in the meantime? I can walk to work but what about my co-worker who drives in 50 miles a day? If we don't get our own oil, we have to buy it from elsewhere which leads to the whole middle east problem plus there can be oil spills elsewhere - Remember about caring beyond our borders. I'd like to see more emphasis on other fuel sources. I'd like to see us change our whole infrastructure, communities and lifestyles in such a way that we don't use as much fuel.What's wrong with less travel or walking? I think Obama is heading in that direction but it's going to be a slow process. He needs support - not unrealistic criticism. Finally - what exactly is sycophntry and how the heck do you pronounce it?? (Please take this as an opposing point of view as it's meant to be not an attack.)

know- want to know or much care to consider things like this in their equations:



http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/good-oilfield-practice-not-followed-inquiry-told-20100316-qcix.html

"core constituency" - it also includes people like me who continue to strongly support him because we can see reality...

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many exhibit on this site. Triangulation is too polite a word for what is happening so far in this presidency. What I feel for this president is pain and anger, for what should have and what might have been.

Someone who isn't blinded by hero worship; unlike most of this board.

:toast:

Can't you post your negativity on another thread?

He made the decision, HIM, HE did that. The MMS can recommend it (oh yeah, that's a group to really listen to), but he made the decision. If he's that weak that he cannot make his own decisions, then we are well and truly screwed even without the RW crazieness.

But he was working with the information that he had at the time.

I think to some degree we have all done that at some point in our lives.

But I feel a hell of a lot sorrier for the victims in the Gulf, now and future. Plenty of horror and pity to go around.

Obama's young, and his lesson is very public. But if he learns from it he can still be what humanity and our planet desperately need right now.

The gains can never outweigh the immense and catastrophic risk; A risk so great, a price can never be placed. Those of us screaming about that risk to our world, were screaming to the deaf dumb and blind as far as this administration was concerned. An administration bent on placating the right at any cost.

Just plain ol anyone is not president of the US, so what any one of us would do, is irrelevant, besides which, none of us can call on the best and brightest minds in the world. Instead he ignored the abundant evidence that this is a risk we cannot take without assurances in the absolute. We do not send men into space without at least three backup systems and working mockups to field any problems and further still, backup plans, for any possible mishap; Nor do we build nuclear power plants without at least three backups for any conceivable screw-up. Yet we drill down a mile and much further into the earths crust; In pressures that would kill any living thing, with no backup systems in place, other that an unproven faulty blowout and the word of industry execs. This will be nagging on peoples minds for a long time to come. This is not an oooops, my bad, moment.

"I was working with the information I had at the time....."

Barack Hussein Obama. It has become very difficult to do good for these silly American people. I speak as one of them.

I see nothing at all good that Obama has done on this so far. He's still got time and I hope he truly takes charge and changes things down there, gets the clean up done. To date he's done zilch, allowing the MMS staffers to trump anything. If he cares, he needs to take action. Don't know that he's up to it, wants to be friends with everyone too much to stand up against the oil companies and take real action to prevent this kind of mess from happening again and to get the current disaster cleaned, as much as humanly possible, which is lots more than is being done at this time.

i dont feel sorry for the guy. its our press's job to explain the situation at hand and how we got here. they dont care to do that. taking up the gop's talking points about 'blaming government not business' is how they get through the day.

that is a joke,

She was/is Cheney's right hand and now Carville is her Howdy Dowdy.
They were all in bed with the Oil Industry. :puke:

Strictly regarding the historic Earth's Gulf Oil Catastrophe of 2010,
Obama should have declare a National Emergency within 5 days and took control of this
horrific disaster like a leader we all want him to be...

GREATEST ECOLOGICAL DISASTER TO BEFALL THE U.S. in modern times?

If the best we can expect from President Obama is to take control of a disaster of this magnitude when it is entering its SIXTH week, we are in deep shit.

this isn't our job, it's his and he still does not seem up to the task of controlling any part of this.

n/t

:kick:

what would be different?

"The President should have taken control" of the disaster is a mantra we're hearing over and over as it has echoed throughout the mainstream media echo chamber. Now it seems to be taking root among the public. But no one is ever specific about what "taking control" actually means. Some have said he should call in the military, but what would that accomplish? I mean, the military brings nothing by way of any particular expertise in dealing with oil spills, particularly one that is occurring at such an extreme depth. When it comes to drilling operations, or even oceanography and ecology, he is as much a layman as the rest of us. It's awfully easy to be an armchair quarterback, but in the real world, President Obama must rely on the best expert advice he can find.

Further, as angry as we all are with BP (and I, for one, hope they get nailed with every civil liability and criminal penalty coming to them), for the moment, I think we need to rely on their experience and expertise. I am not in any way defending BP, but surely we can recognize that they have a huge stake in getting this leak stopped. If the President were to step in and try to micromanage the response, with only the benefit of his layman's grasp of the issues at hand, he could actually wind up hindering, rather than helping, the effort. I think what people are really upset about is the fact that he has refused to give a lot of false assurances. I mean, I can imagine the White House press briefings we'd be getting if W were still in office -- plenty of upbeat assessments, no doubt, in an attempt to give people a false sense of security that Daddy President will fix it.

I heard some pundits on CNN, after the press conference yesterday, going on about how "incredulous" (I think they meant "incredible") it was that Bush was not fully aware of the circumstances surrounding the departure of the head of drilling operations at MMS. The President explained that Secretary Salazar had been testifying before Congress all day and that he had not yet had a chance to have a briefing with him concerning the matter. That is a perfectly reasonable response. After all, there will be time aplenty once the immediate crisis has been addressed to deal with whatever personnel issues might be involved. So, these pundits (Wolf Blitzer, et al.) were finding fault with him because he didn't have all the details on one person's resignation, and yet at the same time suggesting he should be more in control of the disaster response. You really can't have it both ways.

Like the author of the article, I, too, have been hard on Obama at times, and for the same reason: because I believe he is capable of so much more. But I think in this crisis, as a nation, we ought to be pulling for him rather than piling on.

voting against their own interest. Just like they claim the "other side" does. While I certainly can not agree all the time with every decision made, I believe he is doing the best that he can, given what was handed to him. I stand behind him.

Can you imagine if all of this was going on before? Sarah Palin would now be Prez, because the stress of what Obama has had to deal with, would already have killed McCain.

K & R



:shrug:

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I wish Obama's PR people had been more effective at posing the question "What exactly do you expect him to do that BP couldn't/shouldn't be able to do better?" It's not as though it's the government's responsibility to have more-than-top-of-the-line equipment to fix mistakes that corporations aren't supposed to make. I'm sure the teapartiers (or Republicans in general) would love the extra taxes and government interference that would come with that.

The responsibility would seem to lie with those who made it possible for corners to be cut. Sure, Obama could have made better choices when it came to hiring competent people (I'm looking at Ken Salazar), but my God, the man can't do everything and I don't think it's fair for him to be held responsible for the culture at MMS that led to this accident.

I have been disappointed on occasion by President Obama, especially when he's being super-friendly to the other side only to get nothing in return, because I sort of hoped he would magically undo everything that's wrong with the country, and I expected him to do it in a much less bipartisan way--I didn't like it when Bush was all "I won, so suck it" and I guess Obama didn't like it either, because he certainly hasn't governed that way, to my sorrow. But I think it's ridiculous for him to be getting almost as much criticism as BP is getting.

Anyway--welcome to DU! :hi:

to hold his/her goddamn feet to the fire! This isn't some personality contest!

Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. Government is force; like fire it is a dangerous servant -- and a fearful master.
—George Washington, 1797

I think most on DU supported and voted for Obama with great hope. But so far, his words from his campaign, do not match his actions as president. I just can't muster feeling sorry for our corporate lackey of a president who throws us a bone to hungrily gnaw on from time to time. I will continue to grieve for the families affected and the environmental disaster our entire Gulf Coast is now facing. It is a glaring example for all of us to see and experience the marriage of government and business running amok with catastrophic consequences to the people and our delicate sea life. Wall Street is yet another example of this happening. It's hard to feel sorry for such a greedy system and for those who want to preserve it. Let's hope it truly is a crude awakening for President Obama. But feel sorry for him? Meh. Too much time has passed to ponder his inheritance. Actions really do speak louder than words.

SnoopDog, I wondered why that didn't happen

He has to be thinking "why the fuck did I take this job again?"

But, I think he knew what was coming.
He knew he was going to have a 9/11 - Katrina in his future.
And here it is.

He's smart, he's rational and he's measured.

Just think where we would be if we had McCain/Palin in the White House.
Just think...

He was in full command of the facts. He illustrated a detailed understanding of the situation and the options before him. He didn't dodge any of the stones that were thrown at him by the reporters. He wasn't defensive and he wasn't offensive. And he took full responsibility for solving the problem and full responsibility for any of the short comings along the way.

...we should thank our lucky stars that we got a better President than we deserve.

Do you think he will somehow know that you, David Zephyr, are thinking of him and sending him good thoughts? I honestly don't understand the idea that our personal emotional stance toward the president will somehow affect him.

You say he's not a god, but only a god could know about and be touched by your change in attitude.

whether we are driving it, or they are driving us, we are part of the cycle of public opinion now.

The media feeds off public sentiment, and amplifies those things that it can use to its advantage. We're seeing it now... if we choose not to ingore it or pretend it isn't happening, anyway.

and for your hopes of retaining a Democratic majority in government.

Priorities. They aren't just for breakfast anymore.

Exactly how does my internal state of mind translate into votes for Democrats?

If your "internal state of mind" is such that you support him, then you will more than likely advocate for him to others.

If your "internal state of mind" is such that you oppose him, then you will more than likely advocate for replacing him.


When you bash, you are convincing fence-sitters that he should be replaced. When you support, you might just be convincing fence-sitters to stand by him.

Except even my actions, as you describe them, don't work the way you think they do.

IMHO, the best way to get Democrats elected is to harangue them into acting like Democrats. When Obama (rarely) follows progressive principles, I praise him. When he caves in to right-wing ideology, I slam him. That's how you "support" a politician.

Those relations have an effect. Those effects CAN influence people's thoughts and actions. You are not an isolated factor in all of creation.

Tell me, aside from thinking good thoughts, what specific, tangible actions do you undertake to get Democrats elected?

Tell me you're joking.

You still haven't answered my question: do you take any tangible actions to get Democrats elected?

And in answer to your question, I've been a Democratic activist for half of my life. That includes organizing, canvasing, phone tree during elections, and a bunch of other related tasks. Are you satisfied now? Or do I have to map out how my thoughts translated into those actions?

These calls to "support" the president smack of thought police.

When you abandon looking at the bigger picture, just because you are not getting the specific kind of candy you wanted from a president, that smacks of stupidity. Worse than thought policing.

Your attitudes affect all your relations...whether it be in the grocery store or at the family table...


This man has a hell of a job, I sure wouldn't want it. Yesterday he once more reminded me of why i have made phone calls and continue to support progressives...it is a consciousness we are supporing, and yes, it has effects in the physical world even if some think it's 'woo-woo'

and I personally choose to hold for positive outcome and correct action, than to speak and create only cynicism and failure.

You are in the minority among us.

You really should get yourself a book on basic logic.

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Thoughts have the power to change things. But don't take my word for it. Listen to Professor Einstein when he said "reality is just an illusion."

So, I applaud David Zephyr for his post. I was feeling pretty bad about all of this and Obama's handling of it, until I read his words. Now I've changed my mind. I think Zephyr is right. And I'm going to add my support. It may only be in spirit. But spirit can do miraculous things if yu put your mind to it.

It's a fact that when enough people in a city take up regular meditation (a tipping point is reached), the crime rate doesn't just go down, it plummets.

You should actually read some of Einstein's writings. It would help you get past your superstitions. For example, your meditation "fact"? Total nonsense.

total nonsense. Nor would I say that a 2 in 1 billion chance of it happening by chance is nonsense according to statistical analysis of the event. And I have read Professor Einstein's writings. And I'm not one bit superstitious.

Until you do that, I'm sticking to my assessment. Total. Nonsense.

there is so much that was gutted and torn down over the past 8 years that we don't even know about.
I have watched the media lie and misinform people about what is going on in this spill to ramp up ratings and sound important.
They have been trying to hang an obama's katrina on him since Jan. 2009. As well as trying to manipulate the election so they can pretend it's 1994 again and maybe they will have the added bonus of an impeachment.
Today was especially hard. I watched andrea mitchell dump on this man and then I saw tweety spend an hour bitching and hanging this on Obama and being an a-hole in general. Ed Schultz comes on and does the same thing. he sounded like he was fit for Fox.
Turn the channel and there is Carvelle and his snakey traitorous self spewing.
I've had it. I am demoralized and depressed.
This president cannot just change things with a snap.
he needs congress to help. he needs his base to stand with him to push back against the media doing the bidding of the right and to throw the election.
He has gotten nothing. No support. No help and no one at his back.
he has been abandoned and betrayed by his own side.

Tweety drives me nuts with his bipolarity and his blathering on about supertankers, like that option hadn't already been evaluated and rejected. And Greenspan's ol' lady should have to wear a name tag "Hello My Name Is: Greenspan's Ol' Lady

I completely agree with you

:grouphug:

I can't pretend to know what he really has to face each day when he first opens his eyes from sleeping, but I count on his strength of character to do his job likely far better that I ever could. Most if not all of us would wilt in a month and want to quit, or become dazed Rx drug addicts in order to deal with the tremendous stress and responsibility that comes with the job.

of the press conference today. Being President does that to you but he seems to genuinely care and actually admits responsibility for some mistakes made. I have his back, especially tonight.

I can not even begin to fathom the pressures on this man at this moment. After 9/11, W's support jumped to 80 -85%. After this monumental environmental catastrophe that also cost American lives I fear Obama's support will drop into the 30's. I realize the analogy with 9/11 may be a stretch but still there is something very very wrong with this picture.

...if the teabaggers get their way.

Carville and those like him) are complicit in their own/our slavery.

Maybe that heavy weight on his shoulders is his conscience for selling us out and knowing it.

Not one bit of sarcasm intended either.

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that's a new one...

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Quote: If he were to read the over the top, fact deficient bullshit you just vomited all over your screen, he would brush it off, smile, and keep on working the best with what he has to work with.
--------------------------
Although, I believe the president, really any president, gets beat up a lot verbally on blogs, especially by me...I have no idea what he would do if he read our posts...brush it off and smile???

Do you know this man personally? I mean he seems like a nice guy and all...but you're writing as if you and the President have been close personal pals for years. For all I know, he could be pacing in the White House right now calling us a bunch of ungrateful ingrates for not appreciating his string of successes. I don't have a clue as to who he is beneath the facade of being a President and a really good political figure. And, I don't have to know. I mean, he really is just a man, and not one I know personally.

Sometimes I think we over identify with politicians to our own detriment. He said we could hold his feet to the fire. I took that to mean, he wanted the job and he could take a bit of criticism, especially from people who aren't going to be voting for republicans.

Which is why I have those assumptions in the first place.

Even though he has illustrated the opposite time and time again and even though countless people who have worked with him have attested to it, I've never had a personal relationship with him or them and public behavior musn't mean anything so I must just assume that its a big mystery.

Give me a break.

I am sorry. I have probably become too much of a cynic. I think our president seems to be a good guy. I'm assuming like you are.

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I agree, he's not superman. Not only did he walk into a shit storm, he's had several additional down pours. It's been a pretty rough ride for him, so far.

I still support him.

I always thought this picture gives a glimpse into the "real" Obama. I can't imagine the weight he carries everyday.

What an odd figure of speech, anyway.


I personally have felt back-stabbed by this admin, if anything.

I hate to tell you this but he probably doesn't even know who you are. You have to know someone before you "stab them in the back" even figuratively. That is a very personal and focused act.

feel free to get back to me if you still have questions. :hi:

And keep waving.

:wtf:

whatever. not going to waste time.

He hasn't changed the bad policy that lost my support.

Of course, Carville's words have never carried any weight with me, and I don't give him any air time, any more than I do any other unworthy talking head of any sort.

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Couldn't agree more. It's so evident to me that I'm amazed that people work so hard to prove otherwise.

But I guess the fact that they do have to work so hard to prove otherwise only makes it that much more obvious that warts and all, he is indeed a good man.

and are so grateful to have Joe covering his backside.

And that's not changing.

I might not agree with everything he does but I think he is ok. He has been faced with blocked appointments while having to work with leftovers from the previous admin., Democrats that turned on him from day one, and people who wanted him to do the impossible yesterday.

But then, he always has. (And no, I don't agree with every single thing...)

I would not want to be in his shoes right now, that's for sure.

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supposed to be answerable to whom here? Stop being so servile and stand up for yourself.

:thumbsdown:

as you can gripe about what didn't go your way. Sorry but I have to say you are part of the problem because you aren't fair enough to be honest.

...but adequate and a net positive

it's honest. The state of denial you're living in is far more a part of the problem than my honesty ever will be.

He has made very real choices that will hurt the average American for decades to come. It seems to be always a gambit born of politics, not reason or logic, morality or compassion. Just callous political calculus in service of re-election chances and his post-Presidential earnings potential.

Sad to say, you are correct.

He's not perfect, but why don't you at least put some of the blame on the fucking blue dogs and republicans (the ones that are actually blocking real reform); or does that not fit your agenda?

Well said.

You're going to get the exact SAME thing.

You're also not going to like what I have to say next:

Barack Obama is the closest thing you're going to get to a progressive in the White House. The likelihood of America having a progressive president (a la Dennis Kucinich or, let's be more realistic, Sherrod Brown) is slim to NONE.

I know us folks on the left don't want to hear that or believe that, but there it is. And unlike many on the left (which I'm firmly a part of), I'm still willing to give him a chance.

Don't believe me? Take a look at the 1 . . . 2 Democratic Presidents we've had prior to Obama in 43 YEARS. Both Southern Christian males, both semi moderates; socially moderate but economically, very much in line with "TEH FREE MARKETZ" dogma. Both very much in tune with the MIC and their needs.

This especially holds true for Clinton; while lots of jobs were created on his watch, lots of "Free Traitor" agreements also occurred under his signage. Lots of deregulation ALSO happened on his watch. You gotta wonder how many of those jobs were either very low paying that adults and students had to have two to survive or were had as a result of economic bubbles. Either way, the blue collar exodus was well underway, and the white collar job exodus began during the second Clinton term.

While Carter was never in favor of soaking the rich, at least he knew ahead of time that this hyper-consumerist push combined with cheap abundant energy and wasteful suburban pollution would never be sustainable. Any sort of progress he wanted to implement would be, of course, destroyed once the three-decade Republican Dark Ages began.

I knew exactly what I was getting when I voted for Obama in the primaries and general, because I knew the alternative (stay at home or vote Green) was far less efficient and far more disastrous.

This doesn't mean I have to agree with President Obama on everything, because I don't. I need to start seeing some troop withdrawl from Iraq. I need to see the torture houses shuttered. I want to see the damaging Bewsh II tax cuts sunset, without fight or hem or haw.

I want to see more financial regulation and less crying from bitch-ass old men with their own planes telling me how much Obama "hates" them and how they and their businesses will be hurt by these new rules.

You can go on and on all day about how no vote is a wasted vote, but when it comes right down to it, numbers matter.

America cannot afford another Arch-Rightist, corpro-religious-addled Republican presidency. We've had 28 years of that already, it damn near killed us, and it's going to take at least 2 to 3 more Democratic presidents to fix it.

Progress, even an INCH, is achieved through small victories. That's all we can hope for in this country anymore. With a Democrat, you at least have a glimmer of hope that something will improve for the middle/working/poor, whether it be the job situation, their retirement, their health or their futures.

With a sociopathic Republican gatekeeper, you have absolutely NO HOPE WHATSOEVER. It's every sumbitch for themselves and the nation becomes one giant Pentacostal church. And that party is only going to get worse and far more arch-rightist extreme as time goes on, not more moderate. These aren't your great-grandpa's Republicans.

Here's another thing you've probably already realized:

We're never going to be wrested from corporate rule. No one is willing to get up off their asses in the millions (and that's what it will take . . . MILLIONS) and revolt against the old man cabal that runs this country.

Of course, in the unlikely event we would do that, the state police and the federal military would blood-dust us. If they didn't, the Xe mercenaries would shoot them.

Local police and the National Guard . .. see, they'll SAY "we would never murder our neighbors. We are the people", but I still tend to be skeptical. How many of them would REALLY defy direct orders if millions of us gathered, shut down streets and corporate board rooms? How many would REALLY be noble and on the side of good when push comes to shove?

He who hath all the gold not only maketh all the rules, they wield a hell of a lot of influence, whether it be cash or a gun to the head.

Oh yeah, society and the economy would likely collapse worldwide, since so many nations are tethered to our progress and markets.

We're never going to employ the more beneficial aspects of Democratic Socialist nations like Scandanavia or much of Europe. And it's a shame, really, because all it requires are three simple items: Universal Health Care, Universal Education and a drastic improvement to our vastly inadequate Social Safety Net.

But it's not going to happen. Why? Because WE don't want it bad enough.

Remember, we're also fighting the current and ubiquitous brainwashing of our relatives, friends, enemies and fellow citizens; most of whom believe that anything Republican is associated with strength, power, asskickery and resilience, anything Democratic is equivalent to the old Soviet Union, and anything progressive or helpful is a sign of weakness.

Their numbers are great, but they're also dwindling. That's hopeful. However, "Socialism" is still a bad word even among some Democrats. "Liberal" is still a bad word. GLBT rights are still not accepted. Racism still flourishes among a slowly dying gaggle pining for the '50s and '80s. Some people still get hung up over female breasts. For all of this talk about how children are our future, we sure have left them an awful shitpile to deal with in terms of jobs and education.

We could be incredibly dangerous if we joined forces. I think it's because America allowed itself to get this bad in the first place that such a notion of true American benevolence and progression can either be achieved through decades and decades of weeding out, or an all-at-once teardown of this rotted system that would result in collapse and massive rebuild.

That is, if the ones that come out of the rubble aren't as greedy and self serving as the ones who were destroyed in it.

Excellent post but sadly, what you say is painfully true. When credit was easy, we had no problem grabbing all that we could. We complain about the dominance of corporate influence but if resisting means significent personal effort, we are willing to let someone else do the job.

As the screws slowly tighten and we become ever more uncomfortable, serious attempts to regain our autonomy will not be easy.

you got that right buddy:rofl:

;( Its time for Democrats (and Independents) to come together. Time to remember how we got Obama elected and continue on. Things are bad but we have to get the excitement back or nothing will ever change.

Carville changed somebody's mind.
And all this time I thought he was completely ineffective.
Noted.

K&R

during Clinton's years. See: USS Cole Bombing and 1st WTC bombing for starters. Al Qaeda was a looming threat, and the criticism to the Bushies is that THEY were the ones who did not take the threat seriously.

As for Bush stealing the election, as I say to everyone who argues this, some 50 million Americans still voted for the fucker, even if Florida was bullshit. That's about 49 million too many, by my count.

Those quibbles aside, I agree with your OP. Obama shouldn't have to bear the blame for all of this crap, but as he is no doubt well aware, it comes with the territory.

Obama gets no sympathy from me. By looking the other way from Bush's war crimes, he is complicit in them.

know what is going on behind the scenes. Or whose huge thumb is on Obama and his administration. To blame this man for the sins of the past administration is ridiculous and inane.

what was I thinking? Our President has to deal with all of our expectations! I guess he should have thought about that before he took on the job.

Don Siegalman gets ready to go back to jail. Heck of a job Holder.

Obama for "supporting corporations over people" just stop and think a minute of how many dinos are still in congress fighting against policies he wants implemented. It takes congress to make/change laws...the President can't do it alone. I voted for him and am standing for him and support what he is trying to do. In fact, when his term/terms are up, I shudder to think what we might have to face in case the other party wins. They are the most incompetent nincompoops that ever came down the pike. They got us where we are and God help us if they ever get the reins of power again. So yes this post is hereby kicked and recommended in spades.

to put their "public service" above the interests of their personal career.

I cried the night that Kucinich took a trip on President Obama's plane only to exit it and fold on the issue of Health Care. I thought that man was Kucinich.

Maybe the Congressmember with moral courage will be Grayson?

But sometime there will be one who will say "no more." He/She will be trashed and destroyed but more will follow in their footsteps.

Just perhaps within a generation we can CLAW BACK our civil liberties and tamp down the stranglehold that the corporations have over our government.

It's going to be a long hard struggle but those of us who genuinely LOVE THIS COUNTY can not allow ourselves to give up hope.

Newsflash: The teabaggers and GOP are only one faction of the true enemy to our democratic republic, i.e., impending fascism.

and start thinking about what he COULD be doing.

You say "think a minute of how many dinos are still in congress fighting against policies he wants implemented"

The thing is, I no longer think Obama "wants" the same policies implemented that I do. I don't know if he changed after the election when "reality" set in, or if the whole "Audacity of Hope" and "Change we can Believe in" mottoes were sales slogans, and never had any true meaning. I just don't car anymore.

When you sell someone a sense of hope that things can change, and then fail to deliver that change, you actually hurt the ability of ts people to continue hoping. I no longer see incremental change as a possibility. Political inertia is tied to personal profit, and just too great a force for slow, piecemeal changes.

All I hope for anymore is peaceful revolution.

...standing between us and the Teabaggers, and the last barely visible shards of democracy remaining on the corporate landscape?

You may have a point. Actually, he's getting "le deluge" right now...

But he also has to realize that if we have his back, the other side never will.

Vous est une ampoule lumineuse. ;-)

Quite a heaping handful it is.

K and R

that we stand with him and I for one am grateful that he is in the Whitehouse. What a horrific task he took on.

Thank you.

We will never have the weight of the world on our shoulders like President Obama does.
He said during the campaign that he is human and will make mistakes.
He said during the campaign that he will need everyone's support because change is hard/does not come easy/and takes time.
I have always had his-back and always will :)

"What in the hell do you mean by "support" exactly?" I guess you believe your opinion is the only valid one, so no one else is entitled to an opinion.

I'm not too happy with the way he's been handling (or not handling, I should say) the oil leak right now. It's pissing me off, actually. And I don't like how he's got the back of the major corporations and banks before he has the average American's back.

I don't understand why people get emotionally invested in politicians when all they do is let you down, time after time. Dennis Kucinich is the only politician that actually gives a damn about the average American.

the guy... Had he cried 99% of people would be saying we're so mean for supporting those who ask him tough questions as to why they believed BP when they said it was only x amount of barrels, when, if data was properly provided to scientists who were asking for it, they would have found out BP - shock!! - was lying, and that they needed to start building 'islands' to defend the fertile areas around the Gulf beaches, and get the skimmers in there, and stop killing off billions of plants & ocean life with those unbelievably harsh chemicals to break up the oil so people couldn't see how bad it truly was.

This thing is 3-4x larger than Valdez, but all we heard today was how we'd be wrong to think he didn't know that already, and was on top of the issue from the moment it blew...

sorry. I don't believe that.

just letting you know.

people blame him for things beyond the control of his office. He is aging fast.

there's only so much and so long one can credibly blame their predecessors.

directly his fault at ALL that this occurred (BP folks should be indicted for this once the story gets confirmed), his admin. could have focused on the MMS and other issues that led to this occurring. Unfortunately, we have 30 million gallons of crude in the Gulf now, and the blame game going on by every one from Transocean, BP, the gov't, and every citizen - because this was allowed to happen.

I'm tired of people acting like the gov't is helpless... They're not helpless - they can do anything they please - flash back to the B*sh years.

Of all people, I have to agree with Ben Stein when he said, "What do people expect him to do - swim down there and plug the hole?"

We should also remember that Bush stacked the agencies with "his" people in career positions before he left. When things go wrong Bsuh/Cheney have made sure they become disaster.

You're absolutely right...

I'm glad you posted this b/c I realized the other day that my anger over specific things gets directed toward lots of other things and people who don't deserve it.

With that in mind, I also want to extend my apologies to people on this site to whom I have spoken in anger. I don't expect any "okay" or whatevers - but just needed to say that. On some but not all important things, I mean that as an acknowledgment of many errors in judgment of a situation. On silly things I probably still have the same opinion... but those are silly things, not the issues.

I'd thought about creating a post just for that purpose but didn't think my outbursts warranted the space... so if you don't mind I'm adding my apologies here.

I cannot promise that I won't say something in anger but I am making an effort to step back and wait until I have information before I say something flip or hurtful.

sorry for taking up this space on this thread for this but thanks for providing an opportunity to say it.

Never thought I'd say that.

I just got back from Venice, LA., and I did not see much going on.

The marinas were mostly full of boats, large and small, and there was hardly anyone down there working (except a few folks coming and going from the Conoco plant, Halliburton and BP blds).

I could not get to the very end of Coast Guard Rd because it was blocked by the Coast Guard, so I went around south onto Venice Boat Harbor Dr., and looked north to Cypress Cove Rd.... I not see any activity.

Where's the fucking cavalry?

:hi:

Going to Grand Isle or around to the west of Barataria next. ;)

wish I could be there again. until one goes and visits the Gulf in Louisiana and sees how much the wetlands means to the area, they're truly missing out.

I drove past the point of dry land to the very end of Tide Water Rd.

I hope Louisiana rises above this disaster as well.

fitting that the sign has halliburton AND BP right next to each other...

beautiful last pic, and I pray that bird never succumbs to the oil, since it gave you such a beautiful photo to share...


BP BASTARDS...