2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Supporters - Please read my post [View all]carolinayellowdog
(3,247 posts)Thanks for a post that caused me to un-trash this forum to respond. I'd like to suggest that every Democratic candidate must show Obama the utmost respect as a person, for restoring dignity to an office that had been utterly trashed by his predecessor. Because the Republicans will continue to attack him both personally and politically, any criticism of him from the Democratic side will have to be framed in terms of a wider context of general approval and support. But the candidate with the most to prove on the Democratic side is the one who was relentlessly snarky and contemptuous towards him in 2008 and whose campaign used racist dog-whistles, IMHO.
I have never had the kind of personal admiration for a candidate that I did for Obama, and six years into his tenure I still find him far more appealing as a person-- and as a national spokesman-- than any of his would-be successors in either party. But when voting for him as a primary candidate and then in the general election, I hoped that he would change the party by moving it to the left, and had reason to expect that outcome. From day one in office, with the eminently unlikable and obnoxious Rahm Emanuel at his side, that hope was dashed and the question became either how much the party would change him, or how center-right his sympathies had always been. All these years later I still wonder. The empowerment of DINOs like Lieberman and Lincoln in the health care arena was horrifying and destructive of trust for those of us who most desperately needed real reform.
Further on the subject of likability, I had always had positive feelings for Hillary until the 2008 primary season, and have always had negative feelings toward her since. Doesn't mean I won't vote for her over any Republican, but does mean it would be with a very heavy heart. Sanders and O'Malley are both preferable to her, personally and politically, but if I could have my druthers Senator Warren is the only one I'd feel 100% positive towards as a candidate.
Thank you especially for apologizing re broad-brushing Sanders supporters; there has been a lot of manipulation going on to cause stereotyping and scapegoating of progressives as "haters" of Obama when mostly they're politically disappointed but still admire his personal qualities. Weighing the good and not-so-good aspects of the Obama legacy is going to become de rigueur for all candidates on both sides in the coming year. Poo-flinging about "haters" could become a year-long free-for-all at DU if we let it. Let's not.