Is this Democratic Underground?

[naturallyselected]

218. I agree, but...

If we leave the cocoon of DU and venture into right-wing web territory, or even into the mainstream media, the perception is that the President has coddled the Occupy folk, and not done nearly enough to condemn their tactics if not their message.

Which I think is bs, but this is the environment in which President Obama finds himself. It's a delicate balance. I think he is far too cautious, and comes down too far to the right far too often, but look where I'm posting this. DU is not the real world. For many, the squabbles here would be seen as the petty disagreements of the lunatic left. Out there, "liberal" is still a dirty word, thanks to so much propaganda for so long a time. The President does need to get re-elected, to enable even the baby-step changes he feels he can foster, and he's not going to do that by publicly embracing a movement that is denigrated daily in all types of media.

I hope the Occupy movement continues and grows; it is providing the only balance to the right-wing status quo. But I don't expect, or want, President Obama, to publicly side with the movement. Now privately, to the extent that his Justice department is involved in any repression, and I honestly don't know if there is any Justice department involvement or not, he should stand up and tell them to back off. But we're not going to see this happen publicly, even if he does this - not in the current sad political climate we're living in. President Obama needs to be cautious, as much as it pains me to say it, and as much as others here disagree, if he is to have any chance of re-election.