Reply #31: And you'll get that criticism from me. Let me put it this way...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

I was a HUGE Paul Wellstone fan. However, he made some votes that I was not happy about. And in fact, I was quite perturbed. One of those votes was his support for the Patriot Act. I remembered that Russ Feingold attempted in vain to convince Paul to change his vote. Similarly, and ironically, I was pissed off at Russ for supporting John Roberts as Chief Justice. Roberts has been the most politically driven, pro-Corporate CJ in the history of the SCOTUS. Russ was warned of this but believed that Bush had the right to see his nominees confirmed! (Too bad the Republicans on today's Judiciary Committee don't share this view.)

And finally, I'm a big Teddy Kennedy fan, but he penned No Child Left Behind, which has been an abysmal failure and a destructive force on our education system in this country!

So you see, my point is that one can be critical of the choices that politicians make and still support them as candidates in the larger scheme of things, especially when considering the nature of the governing process.

That's why when taking EVERYTHING into consideration--from the horrible economy that landed at Obama's feet, as well as the unprecedented obstruction and disrespect--I will continue to support the president, even in disappointment with many of his decisions. I believe that he has kept a vast majority of his campaign promises, despite the rhetoric here at DU and in the Corporate Media and right wing circles. And I will continue to maintain that if we really want a more progressive reality in government, we MUST get busy and work to elect more progressives to lower level offices and in Congress!