Fact checker: They're different, but very much alike (Obama and GWB)

[steve2470]

Please critique this, thanks.

http://www.rgj.com/article/20100815/NEWS20/8150349/1321/news

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said this week anyone who compares Democratic President Barack Obama's policies to those of Republican former President George W. Bush is crazy.

The background

In an interview with the Hill, a newspaper covering Congress, Gibbs lashed out against criticisms of Obama by "the professional left."

"I hear these people saying he's like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested," Gibbs said. "I mean, it's crazy."

So let's go through some left criticisms related to Obama behaving like Bush, and see if they have merit. This task is made easier because Obama himself laid out many of the ways he said he would be different.

more at link above

[atreides1]

1. Question for those who UNREC

Is this article incorrect somehow?

[Bold Lib]

7. I see that happening all the time. People Unrec because they don't like the

information. Not because there is anything factually wrong with it - they just don't like it.

[democracy1st]

2. K & R one black one white !

[KharmaTrain]

3. It Makes No Matter To Closed Minds...

We live in a short attention span world...2008 is turning into a distant memory. Those who have lost jobs and savings don't care whose fault it is, they just know things are bad and nothing's really being done to fix the problems. Thus it's understandable that some will feel that the new boss is same as the old boss. They're not looking at the focus of each...or lack of it...they're only looking at how they feel, and it was shitty then and it's not any better now.

There's also a segment that wasn't really on board with this administration...gave it a short honeymoon and now feel justified to criticize and feed into a general discontent that is picked up by the corporate media and is echoing on the far right and left. Some bought into the campaign promises...many made in times where the economy hadn't begun to crater and the extent of the damage and gridlock was unknown. This President underestimated the power of the beltway elite and his abilities to rise above them. He hasn't and can't...and this has led to many promises being unfulfilled. It's aliented others who can't nuance the difference between campaigning and governing and how gamed our political system has become. The "professional left" crack struck a nerve...one that has galvanized those who feel this administration either was inept or naive.

The bottom line comes down to results...and for too many, they're not there. While this administration has a legitimate claim they've inherited many of our current problems, that means little to those whose expectations or agendas aren't in synch with what is going on inside the White House or "doable" in a very dyfunctional legislative.

[mmonk]

4. I don't think those inside the party that express discontent do so by

picking up what the corporate media tells them. That distinction holds for the many unwashed voters in the US but not from many on the left in my opinion. Granted, its just my opinion.

[KharmaTrain]

5. It's All Perception

I think Gibbs poutrage was a reaction of all the sniping from the rear guard. I think we both agree what ensued was a temptest in a teapot, but we're standing right next to it. For someone in the "real world" they see broad strokes and the perpetual fighting that is our body politic and thinks negative on all.

I'm also seeing a turf battle within the Democratic party. No surprise considering the power the party currently has. Unlike the GOOP whose base is narrow and easily manipulated, the Democratic base is varied with many different agendas. Pay too much attention to DADT and those wanting Bankster reform get pissed...pay attention to the oil spill and those wanting to end the war are pissed and so on. Then there are the many regions this party now represents...not just the solid blue areas of the cities but crimson and purple areas where many Blue Dogs reside. The discontent inside the party is depends on whose agenda hasn't been served...and unfortunately those are many.

Cheers...

[Skittles]

8. WTF

poutrage? THIS IS LEGITIMATE DISCONTENT from very intelligent people - DEAL WITH IT

[KharmaTrain]

9. Deal With It?

Seems like your problem more than mine. I look at actions, not words. Yes there's "legitmate" discontent...so what's the plan? Hitting the streets in a show of numbers? Massive push to get the corporate and big money donors to stop donating to the party? Or is venting on a message board good enough?

[Bold Lib]

6. Wow. I was POed about a few things but did not realize there were so many

many things that President Obama had gone back on.