General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Disrespect of Obama hits new low [View all]whereisjustice
(2,941 posts)If respect hits a new low, that's a bad thing.
I don't necessarily agree that it is much worse now (in Congress) than it has been earlier in his term. Clinton might have even had it worse (Whitewater, travelgate, vince foster, and?) and both Obama and Clinton are right of center, arguably moderate Republican in governance. Clinton could rely more on charisma to cover his ass but NAFTA, welfare reform, and banking deregulation, capital gains tax cuts, etc set most Americans far back and they were pushed by Clinton in cooperation with Republicans. Nevertheless, Republicans still went after his throat.
Obama is facing a more advanced/sophisticated media machine fomenting hatred, using a concentration of wealth and power that Clinton didn't have to deal with.
I don't like Obama's triangulating principles and he has lost respect among many Democrats. However, Republicans are using Wall Street controlled media as a catalyst to turn raw racism and hatred into false patriotism.
The false patriotism is a dangerous development (*), and Congress is pandering to it on both sides of the aisle.
(*) for example, torture is never an expression of patriotism.