Sympathy For Obama - He Has to Deal With a Lot of Assholes

[SoDesuKa]

Obama not only inherited an economic mess from Bush Jr. but also a political mess. The right wingers gained enormous clout during the aftermath of September 11th. So not only did assholes increase numerically, they also became more asshole-ish. Obama has to deal with these people as if they were on the level - even though they deliberately refuse to see the whole picture. Obama has to be the adult in the room, and it's difficult to do that when he deals with jerks like Cantor and Boehner and McConnell. These are not serious people.

Let's not forget that in the ten years following September 11th right wingers were able to dig in, in a way that would have been unthinkable during the Clinton years. Clinton also had to deal with assholes, but the economy was stronger and there was no Patriot Act or War on Terror. Even though Republicans impeached Clinton, he had a much freer hand than Obama to concentrate on policy. Obama comes in like the substitute teacher in a totally unruly grade school classroom.

I give Obama a lot of credit for showing up for work each day and dealing with the difficult people he has to deal with. He maintains a calm, steady demeanor, leading many to believe that he doesn't get discouraged. Of course he does! It looks to me like he really puts his heart into being an effective leader. But let's be candid - he deals with assholes. I mentioned Boehner, Cantor and McConnell, but the Republicans have a really deep bench, full of assholes. There's Joe Barton, Darryl Issa and Jim DeMint, Orrin Hatch, Pat Toomey and Jim Sensenbrenner . . . it is a lo-o-o-ong list, and every one of them an asshole.



Toomey and Sensenbrenner could give classes in assholery.

[Tx4obama]

1. I've just got my fingers crossed that ....

Obama doesn't just toss up his arms and say "Fuck it, I'm outta here."
President Obama, other than the huge mess Bush left, has had to put up with things that no other president in history has had to put up with: Joe Wilson calling him a 'liar' at the State of the Union, all the other racist bullshit that people have said on TV and in print, the questioning of his birth and patriotism, etc etc etc etc etc etc !!!

I am very disappointed at many of the actions of many Americans in regards to the bullshit that they've thrown at Obama ;(

[Tx4obama]

2. I rec'd this thread, and already someone else has unrec'd it :(

Here lately on DU it seems that 'the truth' is not very popular!

[UrbScotty]

5. I just did the same - with the same result! (nt)

[Marr]

3. This argument might carry some weight if Obama didn't use right-wing arguments and frames himself.

It's not like Obama is paddling as hard as he can to the left, but the mean old Republicans just outnumber him. He's paddling in the same direction they are. It's a matter of direction, not speed.

[SoDesuKa]

7. I've Heard That.

Yeah, I keep reading that Obama may be a Reaganite, he talks like one, yada yada . . . But I don't believe it. There is a lot of right wing momentum that he has to deal with. Bush and Cheney did a lot of damage.

Obama has often said that he's not going to turn things around overnight, and I believe him. If he appears to frame his talking points in ways that the right can understand, I think it comes out of his background as a community organizer.

I do not believe that Obama is a right winger. Maybe it's my egotism in refusing to admit a mistake, because I voted for him enthusiastically. However, his job is a lot more difficult than what his predecessors have typically faced.

[Marr]

11. I don't understand. You think he's a liar?

Look at the way he talks about the economy. He talks about "job creators" and giving more to big business so they have that magical "confidence". He argues for more austerity just like a conservative would, when the opposite is needed.

We're not talking about getting there overnight-- we're talking about walking in the right direction. He's going the other way. It's not a matter of using their vocabulary-- he's advocating their economic views, and those are mutually exclusive from the traditional Democratic position.

[SoDesuKa]

27. Obama's Rhetoric

Obama may be using Libertarian rhetoric but it doesn't necessarily mean he accepts Libertarian values. I think he's addressing the faction within the Republican Party that actually has a set of beliefs. Call them the Paul Ryan faction if you like. Obama doesn't necessarily agree with Paul Ryan in order to use a common terminology. The Republicans have a decision in front of them. Are they really going to crash the economy just to prove a point? That's the Ryan faction talking. Obama's taking the risk that emboldening the Ryan faction will cause a split in the Republican ranks.

I like Obama. I think he's a clever guy. For all we know, his purpose in adopting Ryan faction rhetoric is divide and conquer. It's a pretty high-stakes game. If the present government - Republicans and Democrats alike - crash the economy because of their collective intransigence, they'll all be voted out of office - including Obama. Obama can afford to be a one-term president. Can the Ryan faction afford to be run out of town in disgrace? That's a fate that will certainly befall them if they are pointy-headed enough to hold out for one hundred percent of their demands.

[madokie]

30. I think that asshole

can describe a few in our ranks too

[XanaDUer]

36. +1

nt

[Bodhi BloodWave]

58. what about the right wing frames and arguments the left seem to use against him tho?

Even if he were paddling as hard as he could toward the left he'd have a lot of people there pushing him away for some strange reason, so it seems Obama is aiming for some of the more quiet side currents to get what is required done with some bad stuff following along part of the time

[somone]

4. It's a good cop, bad cop act

By their fruits ye shall know them

[EFerrari]

6. Sympathy for my neighbors who have lost their homes

because the administration refused to do anything about foreclosure gate.

Sympathy for my unemployed friends who are sweating eating and paying rent on nothing and no jobs on the horizon.

Sympathy for seniors whose Social Security check is already not enough and who can't afford the meds they need on Medicare already.

Sympathy for a millionaire who has nothing to fear from putting that slim safety net at risk, not so much. He knew the job was dangerous.

[Jim Warren]

9. +1

You beat me to it and said it better anyway. In reality I have forward looking sympathy for any of us in the middle and lower classes that will see our standards of living wither to near subsistence levels.

[Tx4obama]

10. And at the same time you close your eyes and refuse to see any of the good things Obama has done

for the poor, the unemployed, the homeless, the sick, the children, the seniors, the middle class, etc.

[EFerrari]

12. That's right. This whole mess is my willful fault. n/t

[Tx4obama]

13. Wow, I must have written that in invisible ink because I don't 'see' that in my previous comment n/t

[EFerrari]

15. And yet you feel free to tell me what I see and don't see.

No double standard there at all. Have a good night.

[Tx4obama]

16. Nitey nite, sleep tight :) n/t

[ixion]

37. ...

:rofl:

...


:rofl:

...

:spray:

Oh my, thanks. I need that. :rofl:

[SoDesuKa]

18. Ungovernable America

Obama inherited not only an economic near-collapse from Bush but also a political near-collapse. Obama's biggest problem is that Bush and Cheney also damaged America's social fabric. There isn't the kind of trust that there used to be. It's not just that there's less trust in government than there was before Bush; Americans have less trust in each other.

Bush wasn't conservative; he was destructive, like a gypsy moth. A conservative wouldn't have run up the huge deficits Bush ran up; nor would a conservative have embarked on Bush's helter-skelter foreign policy. Instead of leaving behind a more self-reliant America, Bush left behind a mess. Obama calls for shared sacrifice but Americans don't trust each other - this is a Bush legacy. It's going to take a while before people drop their guard enough to allow government to proceed.



Gypsy moth leaves a trail of destruction.

[EFerrari]

20. Bush did what all Republican presidents since Reagan do

and Obama has no business asking working people to "sacrifice" to pay off the debt the Republican financiers ran up. We've lost enough, thanks.

[SoDesuKa]

24. Bush and Reagan Compared

There may be some superficial similarities between Bush and Reagan; however, Bush was a whole lot more reckless than Reagan, and ended up doing a lot more damage.

Like Bush, Reagan was irresponsible but he didn't have Bush's mean streak or other character flaws like Bush's petty vindictiveness. Reagan peddled a fuzzy libertarianism that he actually believed; that is, he believed that selfishness is patriotic. Bush was not any kind of libertarian except in his support for predatory capitalism. Bush also started expensive wars, criminalized dissent, and refused to admit mistakes, much less correct them. Reagan had the good grace to withdraw the Marines from Beirut after their barracks was bombed. Bush would never have done that; he would have attacked.

Bush deserves a much harsher judgment of history than he's gotten, possibly because he left things in such a mess that we don't have time for recriminations. Reagan didn't leave behind the ungovernable mess that Bush did.



Reagan was no bargain, but he didn't
do as much damage as Bush.

[Bluerthanblue]

56. another factor- the internet didn't exist when Reagan was pres.

or when Bush sr. was elected. It's possible the Pres. Clinton wouldn't have been elected if it had been.

I'm not sure people factor this in - or if it will end up being a force for good or ill when all is said and done.

[EFerrari]

60. You don't know that old felon very well.

He killed labor, he conducted multiple dirty wars, IranContra was run out of his Vice President's office, he exported torture to three continents. I don't know as much about the financial part but deregulation led to the Savings & Loan scandal.

Don't buy the bullshit about Reagan. He was every bit as destructive as that cokehead.

[Bluerthanblue]

46. Bush did FAR more than "what all Republican presidents since Reagan"

did. I think you know that.

And just as working people have sacrificed since the beginning of society to pay off the 'debts' of the elite, we will continue to do so.
It's how we've survived.

How about we Democrats really, and forcefull press the issue of the rich not paying their way? How about making it a continual drum-beat, something that can't be silenced or ignored? The tax cuts for the wealthy, removing the SS earnings cap, tightening tax loop-holes that benefit the already rich, offshore accounts, etc.

If the polls are correct, and the majority of citizens are tired of the rich escaping their responsibilities let's press THAT issue- it's something we DO have in common, and should be something we expend our energies on.

:shrug:

[EFerrari]

61. Maybe you were too young to notice but Bush is the natural outcome

of both Reagan and Poppy. They were both horrendous.

[Bluerthanblue]

64. actually I'm probably

older than you :p

Reagan and Bush sr. were bad, but the damage of Bush jr. is ongoing.

(my first presidental election was a vote for Jimmy Carter)

[EFerrari]

66. Mine, too! But remember that it's the Reagan tax cuts

that Thom Hartmann says we need to repeal. What that cokehead did is more noticeable to us maybe because it was more recent. But so many things that Bush did were just follow ons from the pattern that Prune Face and Poppy put into motion. Hell, his administration was full of Reagan's IranContra criminals.

Iran-Contra gangsters resurface in Bush administration
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/aug2001/cont-a01.shtml

[somone]

8. Sympathy for working people at the mercy of asshole bosses who can't wait to outsource their jobs

[RegieRocker]

14. Your're joking right? And who did he appoint?

Treasury: Timothy Geithner
So easy to see.

[SoDesuKa]

28. Obama Rolls a Gutter Ball

I see your point - Geither didn't work out. We know that now, and with 20/20 hindsight we say with confidence that Obama should have known it then. He didn't.



Ball rolls into the gutter. Zero points.

[xphile]

57. 20/20 hindsight? People were screaming about Geithner being unsuitable from the moment

he was announced? That is THEN. Don't try to dismiss people's distaste for Geithner as being mere hindsight when people were predicting that he'd be worthless since before Obama was inaugurated.

YOU didn't see it. Maybe because you didn't want to see it. I don't have a PHD in Economics and I know damn well I saw it then. If Obama even understood the basics of Economics 101 he ought to have seen it.

[ej510]

65. Yep look at his cabinet.

[Raine]

17. All theater to fool the masses. nt

[Bluebear]

19. Like outsourcer Jeff Immelt. Total asshole. Oh, Obama appointed him to be in charge of jobs....

Carry on.

[LooseWilly]

21. As if the rest of us don't have to deal with a lot of assholes??

Though most of us have to take a pay cut to go with it... Obama gets a raise over the Senate, and he'll be able to book speaking tours to suit his whimsy forevermore and never have to worry about a dime or a C-note ever again...

Remind me again why I'm supposed to feel sorry for Obama?

If his "strategems" fail... he'll still be rich. The rest of us will be fucked.

Remind me again why I should feel sorry for Obama?

Obama starts every negotiation at what would sensibly be an endpoint (given Democratic ideal and a sense of what could possibly be seen as a realistic end point of negotiations)... and then he begins to negotiate away concessions in exchange for things the Republicans should've had to give up to even reach that starting point... but Obama, economically, has more in common with those he is negotiating with than he does with those he's, supposedly, negotiating for.

Remind me again why I should feel sorry for Obama?

You said something about assholes?

[SoDesuKa]

22. Sympathy is not Pity

I said I felt sympathetic towards Obama and the difficult job he has because of all the Republican assholes. But I don't think pity is an appropriate word because I don't think Obama's pitiable. I do think he's trying to negotiate in good faith with people who are unserious, and it must be very wearying.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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[SoDesuKa]

26. No Core Values

I've heard it over and over that Obama has no core values or principles, and I've held off from believing it because it's still early in the post-Bush recovery period. Republicans aren't merely well dug in, but they are self-deluded in their belief that they are defending some kind of principle. I think Obama is addressing himself to those high-minded Republicans when he adopts their rhetoric.

There's a schism at the core of the Republican Party that they've been able to keep from crippling them. One set of believers can be called the Paul Ryan wing of the party; the other is the Newt Gingrich wing of the party. Obama's trying to empower the Paul Ryan types by giving them face time, attention, and favorable political coverage.

The Ryan wing will take the GOP down if they're allowed to go ahead with this "entitlement reform" they talk about. That's the interpretation I put on Obama's Grand Plan - he's trying to split the factions, and he may actually succeed. Meanwhile, howwever, the Democrats are feeling unloved because Obama's not using their rhetoric. I think Obama's very cagey, and I expect he'll win big.

[scarletwoman]

44. "Obama's Grand Plan"? Sorry, believing there's such a thing is a sucker's bet.

He's an economic neoliberal, a Chicago School/Milton Freidman acolyte. His only core value is capitalism.

He goes along with right wing frames because they in fact describe his world view.

sw

[blkmusclmachine]

25. Riiiight

:nopity:

[madokie]

29. This is the most honest assessment of the situation he's in I've read yet

Republicons are assholes and nothing but assholes and have been since Nixon's resignation.

Add: funny I rec'd this and that put it a one. :grr:

[inna]

70. Funny, I think exactly the opposite and wish I could unrec this more than once.

[Obamanaut]

31. unrec A president does not "inherit" a mess from a predecessor. He seeks it. The current

POTUS went around the country for nearly two years asking for it.

More people are homeless, more are jobless, more military and civilians are dead in various wars (there are even more wars and more participants in them.)

[KG]

32. word.

[inna]

72. Yep, he sure spread some wealth around. UPwards, of course. Job well done.

[mmonk]

33. No sympathy here.

My reasoning is no one twisted his arm for his administration's decisions. 20+ years of activism for me on public school issues and disabilities wiped out by Duncan's charter school vision is just one of my reasons.

[deacon]

34. Right but thats what comes with it. Who are you and what do you stand for Mr President? We'll know

soon.

[ixion]

35. Yeah, gee, it sucks to be the king

uh, wait...

Sorry, I have no sympathy whatsoever for someone who is now set for life at my expense.

[Enrique]

38. Obama looks ok with it

[KG]

39. word.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[oldlib]

41. Cantor, Boener and McConnell

are, I agree, incredible assholes. They keep repeating the lie that the Democrats want to raise taxes, when they know that the tax raise is only for the wealthy. Dealing with these people must take unbelievable self control. I displayed a little self control myself, when spell check wanted to replace Boener with Boner.

[Fumesucker]

42. Please allow me to introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste



Your OP title just invited that you know.

And the funny thing is, the line is totally accurate, Obama is a man of wealth and taste.

[WinkyDink]

43. True. HOWEVER, the sounds coming from the Bully Pulpit aren't exactly Clarence Darrow for the PEOPLE

[Enrique]

45. who's a bigger asshole than Alan Simpson?

[JVS]

47. Yeah, I'd have sympathy for Obama having to deal with assholes if he didn't invite them to the table

[inna]

69. no kidding. and not just "invited", but put them in charge.

"Sympathy"?? What a bizarre OP. As if Obama wants our sympathy. :shrug:

[oldlib]

51. Cantor, Boener and Mc Connell.

N/T

[lame54]

48. you forgot to mention all the assholes he appointed to his own staff

[krabigirl]

49. Seriously.

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[xphile]

52. I find it hard to feel sorry for him when he failed to dispose of some of them.

He should have squashed Lieberman. He didn't. He should have sacked Bernanke. He didn't. He should never have hired Geithner or Summer. He did.

Everyone has to deal with assholes every day. Most of us do it for a lot less money than he's getting for it and with considerably fewer perks.

[Bluerthanblue]

53. so, are you saying you only have sympathy for those

who do what you think they should?

"squashed Lieberman" how?

Have you considered that your view of the money and perks Pres. Obama may have far less meaning and value to him than they do to you?

I have sympathy for those caught in forclosure, those who bought houses they couldn't afford, but who had hope that they'd be able to - even though it isn't something I'd ever have considered doing myself.

We're ALL assholes in some way, to some people. Understanding that, is an important part of being human. imo

[xphile]

55. When it's their own actions that put the assholes on their tails then yes. I see no reason to feel

sympathy for people who do that. Obama will be okay when he's done with the Presidency. The question is will the rest of us? And so far his policies are not help us for the most part. I think those who are losing their homes, their health coverage, their jobs, those who can't find jobs, those who can't afford to get well if they become ill are much more deserving of sympathy than the president at this time.

Obama brought a fair amount of the assholery he's getting upon himself. That's what happens when you try to play nice with people who have no qualms about stabbing you in the back. That includes that worthless son of a bitch LIEberman. Lieberman caucuses with the Democrats, that means his committee chairmanships can be taken from him and given to actual Democrats. It should have been done.

[Bluerthanblue]

59. I understand and share some of your

perspective on issues you've touched on.

But why 'ration' sympathy? I can have sympathy for those going through hard times even though they are far better off than me physically and financially.

You say Obama be fine when he's done with the presidency- but you don't have any way of knowing that. His life will never be the same in many ways, some of them not good ones. And YES, he probably knew that when going into it, but that doesn't preclude feeling sympathy does it?

Professional Firefighters die of lung and heart disease at rates that are higher than the general public. It's a known risk- should we not have sympathy for those who suffer from this as a result? Soldiers know that they could be called upon to give their life as part of their job- no sympathy for them?

Was it Pres. Obama's role to remove Lieberman from Dem caucuses? Is he a dictator? A king?

[xphile]

62. Why ration sympathy? Because there's only so much to go around. And I don't have it to waste on

people whose money will make them get by just fine while the rest of us attempt to eke out a living. That's why. I save my sympathy for the powerless, the poor. Those with power, money, and prestige have people they can pay to cry for them. Let them. I'll concentrate my attentions where it's most needed for those who are generally ignored.

[Bluerthanblue]

63. ok- that's up to you. I think

I'll keep extending sympathy and mercy those in need of it, regardless of how much they may or may not deserve it in my opinion.

bleeding heart liberal isn't a badge of shame.

peace~


edit for speling erars :silly:

[pscot]

54. If you can't handle dealing with assholes

stay out of the kitchen; or something.

[inna]

67. oh poor, poor little Obama.

Fail.

[Fire1]

68. Worst of all is getting bashed by your own party. But I'm not

losing any sleep over it and I'm sure he isn't either. One thing is for certain. 2012 is my last and final vote.

[JVS]

71. Why aren't you voting in 2014?

[SaveOurDemocracy]

73. 2012 = Armageddon??? n /t

[obxhead]

74. Obama is not being the adult in the room.

He's being the corporate lawyer bending the left to the rights will.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

75. ZERO sympathy for Obama. He set the course from day 1.

[donheld]

79. +1000

[QC]

76. I know a guy who lost his job and ended up living in a tent behind an abandoned restaurant.

When it got too cold for the tent, he finally took up my offer to stay in my spare room, something he had not done before because he did not want, as he put it, to be a freeloader.

By this time, he had already had to sell his car, so it wasn't too much of a problem when his inability to pay child support resulted in the loss of his driver's license. Still, it's hard to hold down a job with no transportation, so he has moved in with his mother, who is also out of work but at least can drive.

So now they are supporting themselves with day labor. On the weekends, they sell stuff at swap meets.

And then there's the friend who can no longer afford the $75 a week rent on the dump of a motel room where he's been living.

And my student who spent last summer living in her truck and showering at the tourist bath houses at the beach.

For now, at least, I'm going to save my sympathy for people like this.

[Bluenorthwest]

77. Good lord, he sought the job with no stops.

It was not forced upon him. It also comes with the highest salary he has ever earned. Also not forced upon him.
I feel sorry for the jobless, the homeless, those struggling to get by. Not for people with private chefs and 747s.

[NNN0LHI]

78. He knew what he was getting into before he took the job

He remembers how easy it was for the GOP to frighten over 90 percent of this country into approving of a boob like Bush.

He knew that and still took the job. Now, that is what I admire.

Don

[SoDesuKa]

81. Reclaiming Patriotism

One of the lasting consequences of the Bush presidency is that he took neutral terms like "patriotism" and made them right wing concepts. That makes it difficult for us to recognize and salute the patriotic actions of other people besides right wingers. I support President Obama because it's normal to feel a certain loyalty to the leaders of one's country.

I understand Obama's reasons for blanket-pardoning his criminal predecessors, but it comes at a price. Bush and Cheney should have been indicted simply to uphold respect for the law, and then he could have pardoned them. As things stand, these guys go around collecting speaking fees like they were all-American boys. Frankly, it's a disgrace.

[mitchtv]

80. well look who he hired

that's half of them right there