General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Please take 5 minutes to read an incredible Post [View all]mountain grammy
(26,619 posts)I became eligible to vote (21 then) 3 weeks after the 1968 election. Voted in the 1970 midterms and for McGovern in 1972, alarmed at the direction my country was going in.
Of course, 1980 confirmed my fears. I voted for Carter, but admit to not really campaigning for him or answering the criticism of him because I was pissy about him deregulating the airlines, boo fucking hoo. I did however, recognize the evil that was Reagan. In fact, I admit to being a little disappointed when he survived the assassination. Although I can't even imagine the level of sainthood he would have achieved by dying when he got there by living and nearly destroying all traces of social progress while condemning thousands of AIDS victims to death. That's America!
We are a diverse group and people have different opinions. We will never have a perfect Democratic leader. FDR and JFK weren't, and LBJ, our liberal shining star who honestly believed in equality with his heart and soul and who I thank every day for that Medicare card in my purse, pursued a wrongful war.
Of course we can and should criticize the president's policies when we disagree, but let's try to be civilized and adult about it and leave the hatred and name calling to the right wing nuts. When one of those nuts says to me "even blah blah, liberal writer calls Obama a used car salesman," I cringe, but hold my head up and say "that's absurd!" Well, it should be.
I think Obama is a good president and if his policies are not as liberal as I (me, me, me) want, I think it's about appealing to a huge number of his constituents who are also not as liberal. You've got to get them to listen before you can change minds.
I keep seeing this: Perfection is the enemy of good.