Amelia
Rookie
- Banned
- #1
I liked Obama in 2004. I saw a lot of potential in the guy.
I also appreciated that in those early days he said he wouldn't run for president in 2008 because he knew that he was too inexperienced for the job. That was reasonable and responsible. What was not to admire about that?
I liked some of the principles he seemed to (want to) claim for his own as a Senator. Like how he said John Roberts was highly qualified for the court and it would be wrong to vote against a president's nominations for ideological reasons and so he was considering voting yes.
I did not like how quickly he betrayed his ideals when it was whispered in his ear that ideals such as those could stand in the way of his potential aspirations to higher office.
I did not like him taking part in what appeared to be the Democrats obstructing the war effort for what appeared to be partisan reasons, in ways which to me extended the uncertainty of the situation in Iraq and thus made Iraqis less willing to come out and take a risk for their own success and thus extended the duration of the war by years. (imho)
I did not like the reaction Geraldine Ferraro received for accurately pointing out that a white person with as thin a resume as Obama's would have been hurried off the stage during the primaries. With Ferraro getting treatment like that, you know that Republicans didn't have a chance for having a fair hearing of their objections.
I do not like the media which gave Obama unlimited redos when he handled himself clumsily, to the point of them telling us what they thought he really meant in spite of what he actually said, and other forms of unworthy self-censoring which some of us saw at the time, and others discovered in retrospect. A media which used their power and influence to convince Americans that the price of Palin's shoes was more important than Obama's opinions about China.
I do not like how he overpromised. That was pandering or naivete, and either way it was a sign that he was not right for the office, and he should have been interrogated about it before the elections and held accountable for it after. One big big biggie is how he explicitly promised the Hispanic community that he would not be that kind of politician who made promises to get their votes and then violated the promises after he had them in his pocket. When he made a promise to them, he would meant it. He was very explicit that he would not treat them the way politicians have in the past. And in that context he made a carefully worded promise. He could not promise that comprehensive reform would be passed in his first year in office - that would have been unrealistic - but he explicitly promised that legislation would be introduced in that first year and he would throw his weight behind it.
What good is all his skill at careful talk when at the end of the day he is exactly the kind of politician he explicitly promised that he would not be?
Another biggie is in Dec. 2010 when he said he would not compromise on extending tax cuts for the wealthy and then wham bam before you could blink, he rolled on it. Didn't even try to fight for his promise.
And his lack of transparency is a punchline to a very unfunny joke.
There's more but this post has already become quite long.
All that said ......
I do not appreciate the Republicans being unwilling to find any common ground at all with Obama, but I do not like it on behalf of Americans such as myself. Obama himself is owed no bipartisanship. He lost the right to expect it by his partisan actions as a Senator, and by his partisan rhetoric after he took office. He has called us the enemy. I do not forgive him for that.
But I still wish the Republicans in Washington would find more common ground with Democrats so that Americans could see a little bit of progress being made.
I also appreciated that in those early days he said he wouldn't run for president in 2008 because he knew that he was too inexperienced for the job. That was reasonable and responsible. What was not to admire about that?
I liked some of the principles he seemed to (want to) claim for his own as a Senator. Like how he said John Roberts was highly qualified for the court and it would be wrong to vote against a president's nominations for ideological reasons and so he was considering voting yes.
I did not like how quickly he betrayed his ideals when it was whispered in his ear that ideals such as those could stand in the way of his potential aspirations to higher office.
I did not like him taking part in what appeared to be the Democrats obstructing the war effort for what appeared to be partisan reasons, in ways which to me extended the uncertainty of the situation in Iraq and thus made Iraqis less willing to come out and take a risk for their own success and thus extended the duration of the war by years. (imho)
I did not like the reaction Geraldine Ferraro received for accurately pointing out that a white person with as thin a resume as Obama's would have been hurried off the stage during the primaries. With Ferraro getting treatment like that, you know that Republicans didn't have a chance for having a fair hearing of their objections.
I do not like the media which gave Obama unlimited redos when he handled himself clumsily, to the point of them telling us what they thought he really meant in spite of what he actually said, and other forms of unworthy self-censoring which some of us saw at the time, and others discovered in retrospect. A media which used their power and influence to convince Americans that the price of Palin's shoes was more important than Obama's opinions about China.
I do not like how he overpromised. That was pandering or naivete, and either way it was a sign that he was not right for the office, and he should have been interrogated about it before the elections and held accountable for it after. One big big biggie is how he explicitly promised the Hispanic community that he would not be that kind of politician who made promises to get their votes and then violated the promises after he had them in his pocket. When he made a promise to them, he would meant it. He was very explicit that he would not treat them the way politicians have in the past. And in that context he made a carefully worded promise. He could not promise that comprehensive reform would be passed in his first year in office - that would have been unrealistic - but he explicitly promised that legislation would be introduced in that first year and he would throw his weight behind it.
What good is all his skill at careful talk when at the end of the day he is exactly the kind of politician he explicitly promised that he would not be?
Another biggie is in Dec. 2010 when he said he would not compromise on extending tax cuts for the wealthy and then wham bam before you could blink, he rolled on it. Didn't even try to fight for his promise.
And his lack of transparency is a punchline to a very unfunny joke.
There's more but this post has already become quite long.
All that said ......
I do not appreciate the Republicans being unwilling to find any common ground at all with Obama, but I do not like it on behalf of Americans such as myself. Obama himself is owed no bipartisanship. He lost the right to expect it by his partisan actions as a Senator, and by his partisan rhetoric after he took office. He has called us the enemy. I do not forgive him for that.
But I still wish the Republicans in Washington would find more common ground with Democrats so that Americans could see a little bit of progress being made.
