People seem to have forgotten that Obama's a politician.

[baby_mouse]

Not a rock star. A politician. This means that he makes decisions that affect people's lives.

Several times today I've pored over DU and seen people begging other DUers to just get with the Obamaphobia, well, I can understand why, but that's not something that anyone who takes politics seriously can be expected to sustain indefinitely.

Winning is great fun, certainly, but I wonder if some of us are forgetting what it is that was actually won.

Do you guys want some kind of American Tony Blair?

I hope not.

[Captain Hilts]

1. I kept telling folks here that. He's a politician that sees things within...

those boundaries. His history showed him avoiding taking stands whenever possible, etc.

[jonnyblitz]

4. he has NEVER taken a brave stance if he even shows up to vote.

he is actually a political COWARD and that is seriously on display right now.

[Captain Hilts]

5. I tend to agree with you. nt

[Sebass1271]

10. Explain why you accuse Obama of being a coward?

I think someone who doesnt' stand for something and fight for it will eventually fall for anything, however, I see Obama to have more political braveness and courage and have stronger ideas than Bill Clinton ever did.

What has he done that you are calling him a coward?

[Sebass1271]

11. Explain why you accuse Obama of being a coward?

I think someone who doesnt' stand for something and fight for it will eventually fall for anything, however, I see Obama to have more political braveness and courage and have stronger ideas than Bill Clinton ever did.

What has he done that you are calling him a coward?

[county worker]

2. Could you please describe for me Obama's first 100 days?

You seem to have a crystal ball. Please tell us all what the future holds. I sure as hell don't want to get my hopes up that life could get better than the last 8 years if it ain't going to happen.

[NJmaverick]

3. Your post reminds me of a Teddy Roosevelt quote

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

[Captain Hilts]

6. Roosevelt HATED being called "Teddy." It was 'Theodore', 'Ted', or 'Tee'. nt

[NJmaverick]

7. I don't think he would mind

[Captain Hilts]

9. He hated the "Teddy" bear. Yes, he would mind.

Obama doesn't want to be called 'Barry' any more. So, we don't use that. Same thing.

[baby_mouse]

12. Rock star, then.

Oh, dear.

See... normally he would be right. Except that this is politics?

[gratuitous]

8. I'm of two minds

Yes, I understand the political nature of selecting Mr. Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration. It's a nothing-burger bit of fluff that doesn't mean a goddam thing (Don't believe it? Tell me who delivered the invocation at any of the last 10 inaugurals. See?). It doesn't make a law, it doesn't set a policy, it doesn't enact a rule. It does nothing.

And yet . . .

And yet it does affect people's lives. Not necessarily everyone's life or anyone's life in quite the same manner. Having been in the trenches, fighting the last 15 years for the full participation of my g/l/b/t/q/i sisters and brothers and others in my congregation, my district, my denomination and in the churches, synagogues, temples, and other houses of worship in my city and its environs, the invitation to Mr. Warren is shocking. I can reel off a list of a couple dozen men and women of the cloth, known to me personally, who would bring a truer, better and higher representation of God and the United States than Mr. Warren in all his materialistic sanctimony.

For all my political support, the just recompense appears to be "Thanks for your efforts. But when it comes to doling out the perks and the privileges, here's a great big sop to the ruinous policies of the last eight years."

I'm prepared to judge the Obama administration on the totality of its policies and actions. There's a part of me that's willing to just let this one go, like basketball defenders standing aside so some guy can get a slam dunk in the last five seconds of a 20-point blowout. Okay. All right.

But I'll be watching from here on. Very closely. I'd advise folks who agree with this post to do the same. Because if this is a prologue and not an aberration, I don't want to have to waste my breath on "I-told-you-so."