"...he'll come off as the adult in the room once this mess is resolved."

[babylonsister]

Get Over It: This Is Who Obama Is
By James Warren

Jul 27 2011, 8:30 AM ET Comment


From his community organizing days to the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama has always put pragmatic deal-making above ideology, even when it angered allies




As President Obama is pilloried by the left, including by bloggers and editorial writers, for supposedly selling them out during debt ceiling negotiations, a reality check is desperately needed.

Get over it, guys and gals, and remember whom you're fuming over: a deal-making community organizer.
Recognize this man? In a showdown with ideological enemies, he fashioned compromises which made some Democratic allies apoplectic. Republicans weren't happy, either, with what he wrought but grudgingly realized there were few alternatives.

Throughout he exhibited a preternatural calm, always seeking some common ground among disparate interests as if compromise was a goal in and of itself, not any diminution of principle as some Democrats thought.

Yes, that's our president, the man at the center of the improbable Debt Debate of 2011. But it was also State Senator Barack Obama a decade ago. The equally rancorous issue back then was the death penalty and the setting was the Illinois legislature. Not much about him has changed.

snip//

Perhaps the Beltway media sharpies are smarter than the rest of us. For now, I'll rely on unscientific, anecdotal evidence to conclude that he'll come off as the adult in the room once this mess is resolved.


more...

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/07/get-over-it-this-is-who-obama-is/242600/

[TheKentuckian]

1. What does it buy our nation and our people for Obama "to be seen as the adult in the room"?

[JohnnyLib2]

2. That's the huge question, for sure.

And only hindsight and histories will begin to answer IMO.

[vaberella]

11. A good portion of the nation don't think he's an adult and try to undermine him regularly. n/t

[VeryConfused]

3. Accomplishments are much better than fighting

fighting for a cause and getting nothing just doesn't do it for me. I want a President like Obama who gets things done.

[Dawgs]

4. Are you joking?

"Fighting for a cause and getting nothing just doesn't do it for me."

You know what you're saying, right?

President Obama offered up cuts to everything that is important to Democrats, EVERYTHING.

[VeryConfused]

12. The President pulled this nation out of certain economic disaster

He has accomplished unprecedented increases in the civil rights for the GLBT citizens, he has regulated the banks that cheated the public and nearly wrecked the economy, he has ended Iraq for all intents and purposes and killed our nation's greatest enemy.

What you speak of his bargaining positions and talk, which again doesn't cut it for me.

[girl gone mad]

34. Pure fantasy.

[jefferson_dem]

5. Some serial critics will still deny that he's done anything at all or concoct some kind of

"he's a KKKorporatist" nonsensical smear. :crazy:

[jeff47]

8. Yep! He's doing a great job of getting those SS and Medicare cuts done! (nt)

[VeryConfused]

13. Fact not fantasy please

please list all the cuts you claimed the President has made and the amounts of those cuts.

[jeff47]

22. Verb tenses are important

You'll note my snark contains the future tense. So asking for cuts made in the past makes no sense.

But Obama is the guy who put Medicare and SS "on the table".

[woo me with science]

35. How absolutely ludicrous

to put forth as an argument that the President has not cut anything, when he has put huge cuts on the table and is begging for them to be accepted.

[Phx_Dem]

32. That's news. What's been cut?

[woo me with science]

36. How absolutely ludicrous

to put forth as an argument that the President has not cut anything, when he has put huge cuts on the table and is begging for them to be accepted.

[jeff47]

37. I'll respond the same way as the previous poster. Verb tenses are important

It's dumb to ask what has been cut in the past when the post is using the future tense.

Obama put Medicare and Social Security on the table. It has been widely reported that Boehner and Obama agreed to cuts before Boehner's caucus tore him a new one. So at the moment the only thing protecting the bedrock of the Democratic party is Republican insanity.

[Phx_Dem]

31. Ditto x 100.

[Armstead]

6. Well this column gets my vote for Most Condescending of the day

But the day is still young...

[woo me with science]

7. Be quiet and eat your peas. nt

[indepat]

16. Like your style

:thumbsup: :patriot:

[CakeGrrl]

9. But suggesting the POTUS needs others to show him how to do his job is OK?

Hmm,

Some can dish out advice like candy, but...

[Armstead]

10. I have no problem being condescending towards public figures in this...

The message of that post (columnn) makes points that one can legitimately agree or disagree with. Fine. No problem.

But the tone is yet another "You silly naive whiuny little liberals. Let us adults run things, and just sit in your little elite corner and suck your thumbs."

That's needlessly condescending to the max, and is not going to win people over to that arrogant columnist's point of view. (But having seen him on television, condescension is one of his stocks in trade.)

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

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

[personman]

39. "The leftbaggers are no better than the teabaggers."

If you really think that is true, you have to think:

Tolerance is no better than racism.

Equality is no better than disparity.

Peace is no better than war.

I don't know exactly what your definition of a left-bagger is. My assumption is you mean anyone to the left of (and hence critical of) President Obama. Well I take that shit personally. I'm an intelligent compassionate human being, unlike most of the political leadership. I am not any equivalent of a teabagger, and I resent the accusation.

-Andy

[paulk]

14. I don't need the reality check

I've always understood that Obama is, in the words of Mr. Warren, "a deal-making community organizer". It's why he was on the bottom of my list all through the primaries. I felt then, as I do now, that this approach to governance would be a disaster given the economic collapse and intransigence of the modern Republican caucus.

What has surprised me the most about Obama has been his inability to adopt to changing circumstance - the situation now calls for "principle" and ideology over deal making. IMHO.

[Maven]

15. Well that's reassuring.

:eyes:

"Throughout he exhibited a preternatural calm, always seeking some common ground among disparate interests as if compromise was a goal in and of itself..."

This is exactly why he is the absolute worst person we could have picked to lead our party at this point in time.

[A Simple Game]

18. You have that exactly right.

Sometimes the best answer is to just leave things where they are.

To many on DU compromise is the best answer. So if most want to leave SS where it is, not add to it, just leave it where it is, and the Republicans want total elimination of SS, is the best solution to cut SS in half? Then the next time we have to compromise cut it in half again?

Many think if you give them an inch they will be happy. They won't, they want the whole mile and will not rest until they get it. Giving in just encourages them.

Obama gave in on the Bush tax cut extension, look what they want now. A wise negotiator would have settled the debt ceiling if he had to extend the tax cuts.

[jamieque]

25. Actually... you are wrong in your assessment

The absolute worst person would have been McCain with his female counterpart, Palin. The people made the right choice and chose the correct leader for the job. Perhaps you should stop doubting the president and actually do as he asked you to do. You want things to change and get better then damn it do more then just complaining. I am so fucking sick and tired of hearing people crying and bitching about he 'the president' isn't performing like he said he would or he isn't keeping his promise or etc...

My god people wake up and realize the truth! He can't do everything for us. We have to get up off our lazy asses and do our part. This country has always worked best when the people stood up and fought together for common cause and goal. This is a problem that concerns all of us and instead of crying like a bunch of children we should be acting like adults and dealing with the problem. Instead all I see is blame the president for this and that... Well... if you wanted to make his job easier then all I have say is that voting more democratics in would have been a real nice start. Instead many americans stupidly voted these asshole tea party republicans into power to make his job even harder. Many did so because they could be patient and wait for results. Many sadly were duped into believing the Republicans had changed... ha ha ha... how fucking hilarious is that. The only way the Republicans will ever change for the better is to vote them into minority status for a few years and make the party in power do more to make sure corruption is removed from the halls of power. Oh and don't fucking tell me it is impossible or can't be done. Nothing is ever impossible. The only impossibility is the actions not tried or attempted. If no one has the courage to take a stand and try to change things then nothing will ever change.

The president tried to hint this little fact to everyone during his campaign run and apparently it fell on many deaf ears. Lazyness now is something that will doom us all. I know many people are doing their part but everyone needs to come together and unite. Tell the Republicans that we won't put up with their shit any longer and then hold true to that threat and throw the bastards out when the time comes to do so.

THE ULTIMATE TRUTH IS THAT THE FATE OF THIS NATION IS NOT IN THE HANDS OF THE POLITICIANS BUT IN OUR HANDS! They are nothing more then our employees and as their employers it is past time for us to exercise our constitutional rights and liberities and take back this nation for the people. The president knows it and even if you deny it on the surface I know deep down in your heart you know it too. So stop doubting the leader we have and be thankful because the alternative would have been much worst. And please don't bother with 'how do you know' comments because the facts are damn obvious. If you think McCain and Palin would have been better in the job then Obama and Biden then you obviously have been sleeping through the last 30 plus years. Every time a Republican gets their hands on power we the people pay the price and it past time that this insanity is put to an end.

ENOUGH IS FUCKING ENOUGH!

[paulk]

29. who knew?

McCain as leader of the Democratic Party?

[Armstead]

33. Unm, many people who are complaining also work for what they believe in

In many cases work their asses off.

Some work directly in the political sphere, others work for organizations and causes, some do both.

Criticizing our leaders does not imply non-involvement.

The level of involvement, or non-involvement, has nothing to do with one's ideology or one's view of how our leaders (of either party) are performing. Apples and oranges.

[Safetykitten]

17. Wow...Just wow.

[Hydra]

19. My sentiments exactly

Did you ever think we'd see such a thing?

[CakeGrrl]

20. "Wow" what? This is NO surprise if you paid attention to the primary campaign. -nt

[ProSense]

21. Here's a really good piece

Finally, a pundit with a clue explains Obama to progressives

[jeff47]

23. Here's a much better piece

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/27/obama-s-reason-fetish-leaving-him-defenseless-on-the-debt.html

[LoZoccolo]

24. K&R

:kick:

[FirstLight]

26. What's the point of being 'the adult'

...if the children have tied you to a post and are burning the house down around you?


(couldn't find a graphic to illustrate this...damn!

[Logical]

27. This is true, but if the GOP gets 80% of what they want does it matter? n-t

[tallahasseedem]

28. I don't see how anyone...

actually payed attention to one of his lectures... ;)

Recommended btw.

[Phx_Dem]

30. Refreshing to hear from someone who gets it rather than the partian

pantywastes from both parties.