Obama seems so calm

[CreekDog]

Wish I could say the same, watching our agenda go down in flames.

[LaurenG]

1. Close your eyes, it's just going to get worse.

:(

edit: typo

[ProSense]

2. What has gone down in flames?

Can you point to something specific?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

19. DADT, getting troops home, ending Bush's tax cuts, not freezing Federal employee pay.

And that's without even trying.

[ProSense]

23. What?

DADT has not gone down in flames. In fact, it's closer to becoming a reality. Getting troops home (more than 90,000 have been brought home) Ending Bush's tax cuts (for the rich only) and nothing has happened yet. Not freezing Federal employee pay (that is part of his deficit cutting agenda so it has not gone down in flames).

People make a lot of claims, but they have nothing to do with the actual status of the President's agenda.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

28. You need to take off the rose-tinted spectacles.

There is no longer any hope whatsoever of DADT repeal via Congress - it might well have been possible in the last two years if the Democrats in general and Obama in particular had made a serious attempt at it, but the Republican takeover makes it impossible. The only hope now is the court challenge, which Obama is doing his best to prevent.

There are currently 50,000 US soldiers in Iraw and 71,000 in Afghanistan. I don't know what your 90,000 figure represents - is it "number of troops who have come home" or "number who have come home, minus number who have been sent out"?

We're currently in the middle of a slow-motion collapse by the Dems on Bush's tax cuts for the rich.

Freezing pay for the poorest arguably is part of Obama's agenda, to be fair. It's just a shame he's only delivering on the bad bits of it.

[Uzybone]

25. Making sure federal employees got yearly raises was on our agenda?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

27. Hell yes.

Freezing the pay of nursing assistants is not something Democrats should be doing.

[Exilednight]

31. Freezing federal pay doesn nothing to the defecit. Over a three year time period it saves .........

a grand total of 0.1% of all government spending. Same thing with earmarks. It's deficit saving tokenism. It accomplishes nothing while giving the appearance that he's doing something.

[dave29]

3. How many threads?

Just give me a number. Because I am thinking it will be over 20 today on the same subject.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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

[babylonsister]

5. !

:applause:

[TwilightGardener]

6. I just think he's not into politics as a team sport. Whereas the rest of us

view everything through the lens of The Dem Team vs. The Repub Team, who's up and who's down, who's winning and losing, who's getting their way and who's caving. I don't think he generally looks at things that way--and that can be frustrating for those who want clear "victories" for the team with every piece of legislation and every Presidential action. As others have noted, he's more interested in getting stuff done (through compromise, if need be) than in standing on principle. Sometimes it would be nice if he occasionally DID stand on principle and refuse to budge, if only as a morale booster for the team--and that's where good advisors come in. I'm not sure if he has any left--I hope Plouffe can read the pulse of the base better.

[young but wise]

7. ......

I clicked on this thread thinking you was going to say something intelligent. My bad.

[CreekDog]

8. "you was"

point taken. :P

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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

[dionysus]

18. typical level of class...

:puke:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

10. Well, he is a mature adult.

I'm glad he doesn't fly off the handle for every little thing that happens.

[DrToast]

12. I don't know. It think our country going down the toilet calls for flying off the handle

Especially at those who are causing the problems. Instead, he acts like their political strategies are legitimate.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

14. So you want someone unhinged?

[catgirl]

29. Our country went down the toilet because of Bush

Did you not notice when this happened?

[CreekDog]

16. that's not what i'm asking for --nice straw man

:hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

17. You seemed to imply that him being calm means he doesn't care.

Sorry if I misread your post.

[Phx_Dem]

11. LOL. I don't kow what your agenda is, but the Democratic agenda is alive and well.

* Health care form
* Financial reform
* Equal pay for women
* Same-sex benefits extended to Federal workers
* Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Crime Prevention Act
* DADT soon to be repealed (and don't complain about it until it isn't)
* Extended uneployment benefits for 2 years! (all the Dems to voted Republican can thank themselves it has ended now)
* Massive infrastructure funding
* Increased funding for NEA
* Provided $12 billion for individuals with disabilities (in stimulus package)
* Settlement for black farmers
* Ryan White Treatment Act


And so much more that I'm not going to list it all. Have a look at all he's done: http://obamaachievements.org/list#top

[Unvanguard]

13. I'm sick and tired of his "calm."

Never thought I'd say that, but since it only seems to lead to passivity, I'm not sure what else to say.

He needs to learn that while some anger uses you, there is also anger that you can use. And he could use some.

[CreekDog]

15. i agree...i'm not asking him to rant and rave uncontrollably

but to show some fire once in a while when it's important...and to risk losing over an important issue.

part of it is to educate people on what each party stands for and what each thinks is important.

the other part is that he won't truly know who will be with him or against him until he actually takes a risk on a policy and forces people to decide based on a real proposal in front of them rather than on the hypothetical it's so easy for a blue dog to lean against.

but my overall idea is to stop acting like he lost. though he sustained some losses, he is the most powerful person in DC...i'd like him to act like he knows that.

[catgirl]

30. You live in la la land

Either you perceive things in a very skewed way, or you're so self-absorbed that you
play Obama's personal victim. Of course, you attack him and blame him for everything,
even for the things Bush did to this country.

[polichick]

20. I'm not sure his agenda ever was our agenda - every day I'm more sure...

...it wasn't.

But I'll just add that I hope he feels as calm as he looks rather than holding in a lot of tension, which isn't good for anyone.

[dionysus]

21. just say he's a GOP plant then, don't beat around the bush.

[polichick]

22. I would say that if it's what I thought - I've never been shy that way...

I think he's a Dem who's very comfortable with the current corporate structure, which is why he doesn't fight for policies that would change it too much.

[HipChick]

24. He can't win...."angry black man"

is a label the media is just waiting to pin on him

[CreekDog]

26. he's losing without being called that

exactly what are we afraid of? him being called an "angry black man" (and how well would that work anyway?)

or are we afraid of our agenda dying on the vine because someone wasn't setting a contrast between ours and theirs in a way that makes ours look favorable. and no he isn't doing that.

if he did that and got called an "angry black man" i think i'd be happier than him not doing it and the agenda failing anyway --seemingly without proper representation and defense.