Partisan Blinders Regarding the President

[Never3ndr]

I just wanted to ask why people, on both sides of the fence, seem to have blinders on regarding the President if the President belongs to their party of choice.

For instance, President Trump has played multiple rounds of golf, which many against Obama criticized Obama for doing...but we have not heard a whisper of complaint from his support base.

President Obama literally was in charge during a time we had universal monitoring of all citizens through the NSA, but Trump is pointed at as an enemy to our freedom (when, at least concerning Americans, he has not explicitly encroached on any freedoms yet).

Obama gets blamed for dividing the nation. Trump is given a free pass even though his language is blatantly divisive and multiple protests (even internationally) and riots have been conducted in response to Trump and his actions.

Trump is blamed for eroding our foreign relations, but Obama is fine when he allows Russia to invade and take land, or when he makes a statement regarding the use of military force...and then backs down from that statement (the "red line" incident).

I already know the answer to this, but still wanted to field this question to my fellow forumites. Why do people have biased blinders on when the President in power happens to belong to their party? Why don't people have a set of core values that they fight for...no matter who is in charge? Am I the only one that feels like we live in a world colored by the side people choose to fight on rather than the values they pretend they fight for?

 

[blackhawk]

It's always easier to see the faults in those we disagree with than it is in those we agree with.

 

[Zander]

I never had a problem with Obama golfing, it was his incompetence that bugged me.

 

[TNHarley]

I made a thread about it today..
Partisanship brings out dishonesty in people. Trump brings more of it out. Its rough.
From what I can re!ember, this makes 08 look like child's play. Both sides. Again..

 

[whitehall]

Are they freaking going out of their minds on the left? Trump has done more in a month than Hussein has done in eight years and he even found time for a couple of rounds of golf while conducting business and escorting the Japanese Ambassador and the left worries that he "played a few rounds of golf". You wanna talk about "partisan blinders"? How about the idiots who demonstrate on President's day claiming that the President isn't "their president".

 

[Never3ndr]

Are they freaking going out of their minds on the left? Trump has done more in a month than Hussein has done in eight years and he even found time for a couple of rounds of golf while conducting business and escorting the Japanese Ambassador and the left worries that he "played a few rounds of golf". You wanna talk about "partisan blinders"? How about the idiots who demonstrate on President's day claiming that the President isn't "their president".

Read my entire post...I did my best to target both sides of the fence.

Although, in your own way, your reactionism certainly provides an answer in itself.

 

[Frankeneinstein]

I just wanted to ask why people, on both sides of the fence, seem to have blinders on regarding the President if the President belongs to their party of choice.

For instance, President Trump has played multiple rounds of golf, which many against Obama criticized Obama for doing...but we have not heard a whisper of complaint from his support base.

President Obama literally was in charge during a time we had universal monitoring of all citizens through the NSA, but Trump is pointed at as an enemy to our freedom (when, at least concerning Americans, he has not explicitly encroached on any freedoms yet).

Obama gets blamed for dividing the nation. Trump is given a free pass even though his language is blatantly divisive and multiple protests (even internationally) and riots have been conducted in response to Trump and his actions.

Trump is blamed for eroding our foreign relations, but Obama is fine when he allows Russia to invade and take land, or when he makes a statement regarding the use of military force...and then backs down from that statement (the "red line" incident).

I already know the answer to this, but still wanted to field this question to my fellow forumites. Why do people have biased blinders on when the President in power happens to belong to their party? Why don't people have a set of core values that they fight for...no matter who is in charge? Am I the only one that feels like we live in a world colored by the side people choose to fight on rather than the values they pretend they fight for?

It's not like this is something new though, its just been ramped up due to the nature of the election with the anointed one getting her come-uppence and how bad the exposure of media bias has become...they are really smarting from this past election

 

[ptbw forever]

I never had a problem with Obama golfing, it was his incompetence that bugged me.

If he was actually good at golf he wouldn't have had to spend so much time doing it.

 

[AnCap'n_Murica]

I just wanted to ask why people, on both sides of the fence, seem to have blinders on regarding the President if the President belongs to their party of choice.

As an AnCap, I have no party.

For instance, President Trump has played multiple rounds of golf, which many against Obama criticized Obama for doing...but we have not heard a whisper of complaint from his support base.

Don't care about the golf per se. It was the callousness of Obama having one foot in the golf cart just about every time a relatively important issue arose (i.e. the Bin Laden raid and the James Foley murder) that was particularly grating.

President Obama literally was in charge during a time we had universal monitoring of all citizens through the NSA, but Trump is pointed at as an enemy to our freedom (when, at least concerning Americans, he has not explicitly encroached on any freedoms yet).

Trump is encroaching on your freedoms by not rolling back the constitutional travesty that is the NSA. Maybe the affair with Flynn will motivate him to get his head out of his ass and recognize that nobody is safe from the tentacles of the malevolent deep state, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high.

Obama gets blamed for dividing the nation. Trump is given a free pass even though his language is blatantly divisive and multiple protests (even internationally) and riots have been conducted in response to Trump and his actions.

The "protests" (read: riots) have been Astroturfed for weeks and months in advance. None of them are Trump's fault.

Trump is blamed for eroding our foreign relations, but Obama is fine when he allows Russia to invade and take land, or when he makes a statement regarding the use of military force...and then backs down from that statement (the "red line" incident).

Trump is in a real pickle here. His opening plays look like he's trying to head off WWIII (or at least Cold War II)-which the previous regime appeared to be spoiling for- while maintaining a posture of strength. He certainly isn't being aided by warmongering neocon scumbuckets, like McCain and Graham, who also act like they want war with Russia to burnish their tough guy bona fides.

I already know the answer to this, but still wanted to field this question to my fellow forumites. Why do people have biased blinders on when the President in power happens to belong to their party? Why don't people have a set of core values that they fight for...no matter who is in charge? Am I the only one that feels like we live in a world colored by the side people choose to fight on rather than the values they pretend they fight for?

Hope my answers were helpful.

 

[dcbl]

I was against Trump in the primaries (because I felt he would be the weakest candidate in the general election - very happy to be proven wrong on that)

Call it "partisan blinders" or whatever you want, but I am THRILLED with Trump

Outside of NAFTA & TPP, he did not say or promise anything that mainstream Republicans have not een advocating for decades.

The difference? He is following through with his commitments now that he has power! He did NOT just give lip service to things that he thought would get him elected.

He said what he was going to do & now he is doing it. I have NEVER seen an elected official do this, I mean, sure, they will keep a few promises, but ALL of them? Never seen it (neither have you or anyone else)

So I have a tremendous amount of respect for that, more than I can adequately convey.

Trump measures his words & does not make commitments lightly, because he always plans to follow through. Seems strange considering his reputation for flying off at the mouth (he does do that, but it is almost always attacks on his foes & rarely an actual commitment or promise of some action)

My biggest concern was SCOTUS - he has kept that promise and that was my "hot button" issue.

And I truly like and agree with most of his policies. I have been accused of parroting "right wing talking points" over the years on various message boards. Well, I could write the damn talking points...

Trump is walking the walk & fighting for MY values - that's why I am a big fan. I like President Trump more than I liked Candidate Trump.

 

[hadit]

The reality of today's world is that partisans insist that those in power throughout history and today are 100% black/white, virtuous/evil, etc. There are no gray areas at all. Thus, the leaders of the south in the Civil War are 100% evil and must be expunged from history, though many were honorable and served through a sense of duty to their home states instead of any animating evil force. Abraham Lincoln is 100% virtuous, though he was a racist and violated the Constitution quite openly. FDR was a saint, despite interning Japanese American citizens. Nixon was totally evil, though he founded the EPA and opened trade with China. And on it goes.

Today's presidents are not allowed to be people making both good and bad decisions. Partisans of all stripes seize upon the extremes, insisting on either complete celebration or complete demonization. Thus, Trump can either do no wrong or do no right. To some, he could eat a puppy on live TV and it would be acceptable, or at worst, ignored. To others, he could end cancer and they would complain that he didn't use union labor, or something. And on it goes.

Truth? Obama is not stupid. Trump is not stupid. Obama is not the devil. Trump is not the devil. They are, rather, leaders who believe they know what's right for the country and rule accordingly.