Another try: Posters' ages and attitudes toward Obama and the Dems

[Lydia Leftcoast]

Poll question: Another try: Posters' ages and attitudes toward Obama and the Dems

I'm testing the theory that the level of disappointment has to do with a person's life experience (e.g. a person under 25 remembers no presidents before Reagan or perhaps even Bush Sr. or Clinton, while an older person's memories may go all the way back to FDR).

In this poll, "I'm disappointed" covers everything from mere disappointment to outright rage.

"I think they're doing as well as they can" covers everything from resigned support to outright enthusiasm.

Your turn.

[groundloop]

1. I think most people...

who are old enough to participate in DU remember the previous 8 years. What more do we need?

But yes, I really started paying attention to politics when Ronnie (Iran-Contra no f'in law's gonna stop me) Rayguns was in the White House.

[omega minimo]

3. "What more do we need?"

perspective, sense of history, context and grey areas i.e. NOT black and white thinking.

[DevonRex]

2. kick

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Interesting results so far

The 45-54s (born in the Eisenhower to Kennedy years) are the most disappointed.

[Skittles]

39. we know what lack of accountability leads to

[omega minimo]

5. "I think they're doing as well as they can" and "I'm disappointed"

"I think they're doing as well as they can" and "I'm disappointed" that the game is rigged and I'm not surprised -- esp. with impeachment "off the table" and the candidates campaigning instead of holding the previous regime accountable -- so "I think they're doing as well as they can" and that's not a good thing.

btw, that whole "off the table" thing contributed mightily IMHO to the miseducation of generations who were deprived of the example of an appropriate and timely use of the Constitutional impeachment process and now consider that "normal;" just like being caged up in "free speech zones" for protests or seeing Obama use "Signing Statements" and other powers of the Unitary Executive.....

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. Yes, I know I'm guilty of posting a binary poll, but I wanted to

see on which side of the fence people sat. You sound more negative than positive, though.

[omega minimo]

8. You framed it well

The negative sound and the Boom era votes for disappointment may come with the knowledge of what has happened, is ongoing, of something different; not like younger informed folk who learned in academia or derivations the reality of history.

"Resigned" was the operative word and yes, resigned to the player who got to be president and has good qualities and didn't promise to change the (economic/corporate TPTB) status quo and happens to be of color and is a Constitutional scholar who retains powers grabbed by King W and campaigned rather than impeach.

If the poll is in response to the jockeying going on on DU lately b/w reasoned dissent and passionate allegiance, I dunno. I haven't seen the "Obama bashing" going on (except by tr*lls). Those who don't understand that we can support, respect and watchdog the president and his administration would seem to be the ones with less experience.

Thanks for the thought provoking, LL :yourock:

I'm disappointed that we have to accept that this is the best they can do and corporate government is already in place.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Up you go

:kick:

I want as large a data sample as possible.

[ThomWV]

9. Well, who says old folks aren't tolerant of pain?

[omega minimo]

11. droll

very droll :spray: makes voting even HARDER!! :hi:

[FiveGoodMen]

10. I started paying attention during the Carter years

I was 16 when Carter won.

I didn't have a strong opinion of him initially but came to think of him as the most honest and respectable president during my lifetime.

By the time Reagan won, I viewed it as the fall of the US (akin to 476AD for Rome). My father thought I was wildly over-reacting, but I think it was pretty close.

GHWB was horrible.

Clinton was a breath of fresh air -- but he could have been better.

Dubya (or more accurately his handlers) play the role of Satan, Hitler, Stalin, etc in my personal narrative.

Obama seems like an intelligent and fairly decent man, but he's too close to Wall Street and too far away from the rest of us.

More importantly, he's not going after the Bushies, which means they'll be free to start it all up yet again.

As for the congressional Dems (with a few exceptions, of course) ... :mad: :puke: :wtf: :grr: :nuke: :scared: :thumbsdown: ... off the table.

[omega minimo]

12. Youth (and punks) were right, the parents who supported are now in retirement goin WTF

"By the time Reagan won, I viewed it as the fall of the US (akin to 476AD for Rome). My father thought I was wildly over-reacting, but I think it was pretty close"

[FiveGoodMen]

14. My dad was on my side (he was a liberal, too)

But he had more faith in the strength/resilience/reliability of the American political system than was warranted.

[omega minimo]

16. yes, that's generational and in a sense, those of us who care have that too........

[Echo In Light]

13. Institutional collusion

[mitchtv]

21. he's doing a very good job

it's a shame he's stabbing my group in the back

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. Results so far: About 1/3 of posters are dissatisfied, with about

1/2 in the 45-54 age group being dissatisfied.

Interesting.

[omega minimo]

17. maybe we're all disappointed and think theY're doing as well as they can.......

:yoiks:

[PatSeg]

18. I'm not necessarily disappointed

I always had realistic expectations. Ask me again in three or four years.

Interesting idea for a poll.

[Bluerthanblue]

19. 50+ doing very well considering the situation-

:hi:

[PatSeg]

20. Kick & Rec for more exposure.

[FiveGoodMen]

22. Maybe the folks who grew up during the 60's and 70's are most disappointed

because those were America's most liberal years and we thought things would keep getting better.

I pretty much started my adult life with the crashing reality that my country (including my own generation) was turning its back on every good and sensible thing that we had embraced up till then.

[omega minimo]

24. disappointed with the sheeple

because the turning back of the clock on progressive era gains and obvious monopolistic corporatization were IN OUR FACES, so intentional, obvious, meanwhile destroying our culture and social safety net...........

so history repeats itself? does progress always get turned on its head by greedy bastards with no souls?

[FiveGoodMen]

26. "does progress always get turned on its head"?

Maybe, if you take a long enough view, it's a case of two steps forward, one step back.

But scaled down to my half-century, it looks like two steps forward, three steps back.

[omega minimo]

47. or rather, one step two step around in a circle......

[ChiciB1]

55. I Agree!!! n/t

[depakid]

23. Disappointed on some matters- pleased with others

Thus far, I think we're getting a replay of the Clinton administration (without the deregulatory fervor and outright coopting of right wing issues).

Which, btw, is more or less what I expected to see.

[omega minimo]

29. aye, which is a continuation of Reaganism,+ warnings of corporate governance being institutionalized

and the democratic process being neutered.

[Buck Laser]

25. Nearly 74, and I think he's doing GREAT!

[damntexdem]

27. I'm over 60 and I think Obama is generally doing well, Congressional dems not as well.

But they should forget "bipartisanship" and try to do everything without GOP votes, including the use of reconciliation and even the 'nuclear option.'

[closeupready]

28. Disappointed.

Feel misled by Obama.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

30. I'm exactly 25...where do I post?

:shrug:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. Oops, I left out you exactly 25 types, didn't I?

Well, let's say that if you're past the six month mark, you vote with the 26-35 group. Otherwise vote with the under 25s. Does that sound reasonable?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

34. Thanks!

:hi:

[bvar22]

31. I'm old enough to remember a different America.

An America where a non-college educated man could hold a blue collar job and:

*raise 3 children, buy and pay off a decent home, and have time for family

*have good HealthCare for the family

*buy a new American car every 4-5 years

*could retire in peace and dignity with a good pension

*a time where anyone willing to work a part time job could attend the state college and graduate debt free.

*A father could promise his children that they could do better than he did.


There was a lot of stuff wrong with the 50s, but problems were being solved. We were moving in the right direction with the Civil Rights Act and Women's Liberation.


ALL of the above would be possible again if we had a political party that represented the Middle Class.

[omega minimo]

38. OP worthy post

[whathehell]

41. Yes, I remember all of that as well...during the fifties, sixties, seventies.

Reagan came in and, with the help of gullible people, screwed it all up...Not that he didn't have help down the road.

[scarletwoman]

43. Yup. I remember that America very well also. Excellent post.

That was America before "Free Trade" started disappearing our jobs.

That was an America that made all its own stuff, and paid the people making the stuff good wages which in turn enabled them to afford to buy the stuff that their fellow Americans were making.

That was an America where the working class didn't question the importance of belonging to a union. That was an America where people could be confident that an honest day's work would earn them an honest wage.

That was an America where family-run farms fed us all, with enough left over to send as aid overseas. Where every rural town had thriving local businesses that took care of their community's needs.

That was an America where credit cards were unheard of, and the only people interested in the stock market were the big businessmen.

And our so-called leaders have allowed all of that to be shredded and destroyed -- so that a small cadre of greedy sociopaths can enrich themselves by bleeding us of our Commonwealth.

Bah!

sw

[Lydia Leftcoast]

45. I remember that, too

I spent my grade school years in a factory town in Wisconsin. Most of my classmates were the children of factory workers, and their families all had a house and a car and took vacations.

[Juche]

32. We need more options

I am 29. I agree with about 80% that the dems do, and about 10% of what the republicans do. So I vote dem. Its not as simple as disappointed vs. happy. Sometimes I am happy, sometimes disappointed.

[anigbrowl]

35. You can only have 10 options on a DU poll

In this case, the reaction is simplified in order to examine the significance of demographics.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. You get only ten blanks for a poll, and I was concerned mainly about

the age distribution.

If you want to do a poll about the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, please do.

[Juche]

37. It has been done before

I have seen polls like that, however getting both the degree of satisfaction and age isn't going to be doable.

Personally I am fairly satisfied and would give Obama and the dems a B+ so far. Anything at a B- or higher would qualify as satisfied (in general) in my view.

[Lerkfish]

40. the bars are going to be misleading

because the respondents are not evenly distributed, age-wise

[Lydia Leftcoast]

42. True, but we can make inferences about each age group

:-)

[scarletwoman]

44. k&r -- thanks for the interesting poll.

(Over 55, voting "disappointed".)

:hi:
sw

[G_j]

46. I was interested in this also

after reading and partaking in some recent threads. Thanks for doing this poll.

I am happy that Bush is gone, incredibly happy!

Still, as someone who has been voting since '68. and observed politics and world affairs more than most, I am very cynical.
No tin foil hat, I know there is a shadow government, and I also know that until somebody stands up to the military industrial complex and a few other elephants, such as health care and drug laws, we will not succeed in reaching our higher potentials.
Obama is not doing that, I didn't expect him to. I had hoped he might, and I still hope he might, I have no illusions.

However, I am FURIOUS (& I mean LIVID!) that he does not think prosecuting Bush and admin. for war, and other crimes, is crucial to America's future.

[KoKo]

48. Lydia...many of us don't want to post because the mods check us out

for our posts and folks got into trouble by answering polls. Just saying...that's why you might not be getting the full DU membership replying.

[DemBones DemBones]

49. K & R

[lostnfound]

50. The question would be easier to answer if it didn't include "the Dems"

You can't make a blanket statement about a group that includes the Progressive Democratic caucus as well as the Blue Dogs and CorpoDems.

[FiveGoodMen]

51. 45-54 Doing as well as they can is winning.

I'm surprised.

Even if people are willing to give Obama more time, the congressional Dems are doing as well as they can?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

52. As of 9:35PM, Central Daylight Time

Under twenty-five: 30% unsatisfied, 70% satisfied

Ages 26-34: 50%-50%

Ages 35-44: 49% unsatisfied, satisfied 51%

Ages 45-54: 40.2% unsatisfied, 59.8% satisfied

Ages 55 and up: 44.5% unsatisfied, 55.4% satisfied

[countryjake]

53. K&R

[Djinn]

54. 30 - 40 here but none of these covers me

I don't think you can really be disappointed when someone does pretty much exactly what you (and the people who paid them) thought they would do.

Pissed, yes, surprised/disappointed? not really