Obama's Enablers, Obama's Adversaries, and the Fight to Save the New Deal

[sasha031]

The Democratic base seems to have coalesced around two opposing realities: Either President Obama is inept - if not an enemy of all things good and true - or he's doing the best any human being could possibly do. Both of these seemingly opposing positions lead to the same outcome. They encourage inaction, either through trust or through hopelessness, at a time when action is urgently needed.Whatever his motives, reports suggest the President's about to make a terrible mistake by announcing cuts to Social Security in his next State of the Union address. If he does he'll be remembered as the "anti-FDR," the President who destroyed the Democratic legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, began the dismantling of the New Deal, and led his party to overwhelming defeat. As for his Presidential legacy - well, you can bet he'll be remembered. Generations of older Americans will mutter his name under their breath every time their Social Security check arrives.
What are his motives? I don't know, and at the moment I don't really care. He's shown that he'll respond to public pressure, and he urgently needs to feel some of that pressure right about now.
Alternate Realities

These days the activists who helped elect the President seem to be living in one of two realities:

Reality #1: Barack Obama is a cynical hack, a sell-out who lied to get elected and then reversed himself as soon as he got the keys to Air Force One. He's a Manchurian Candidate sent by Corporate America to destroy all government, with David Axelrod in the Angela Lansbury role. (Mother, stop it!) We're all f**ked.

Reality #2: Barack Obama is a brilliant, wise, and compassionate leader. His carping critics don't realize that he's playing a subtle, n-dimensional chess game that's beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. Sure, it looks like he's caving on key campaign promises before he even fights for them. It looks like he's a weak negotiator, or that these are the results he wanted. But if you could see the whole picture - if, for example, you had the reality-revealing sunglasses Rowdy Roddy Piper wore in They Live - you'd understand.

much more at link
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/obamas-enablers-obamas-ad_b_799433.html

[TBF]

1. Thinking we'll still have social security to mutter about is quite naive at this point. nt

[sasha031]

2. what are you saying? SS is not the reason for the deficit

[TBF]

5. Which has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Nice try. nt

[sasha031]

6. nice try at what

no need to be nasty..

[creon]

3. third option

There is a third option.

Obama is playing a bad hand, as there is no working majority to do anything.

He was elected with 53% of the vote, not exactly a big mandate. He had only a 29 vote majority in the House, with the majority party riven by factions; and a dysfunctional Senate.

The Democratic Party, a disorganized organization, a party with no discipline and factions which actively dislike each other, is no position to do very much of anything.

The GOP is devoid. All it has are empty words.

I prefer that option to the two shown.

[pnorman]

10. Easily, the most REALISTIC option!

Funny that it wasn't even considered in the OP!

[creon]

14. tough spot

He is not going to get very much 'sympathy' or 'support' from any quarter right now.

I have no illusions about what is possible to be done. People will just have to survive as best they can.

[Erose999]

13. One of those "factions", the one to which the President belongs, is basically just the GOP with the

volume turned down.

[Hello_Kitty]

4. This is very well articulated. eom

[somone]

7. "He could regain that trust by fighting to protect Social Security"

I believe he will REALLY REALLY start fighting in 2012, maybe on the 31st of December 2012.

[democracy1st]

8. LMAO

[Hawkowl]

9. Reality #1 .nt

[democracy1st]

11. K & R

[Erose999]

12. Reality # 1 checking in here. FDR = New Deal. Faux-bama = Raw Deal.

[blindpig]

15. No worries, Capital doesn't want to be saved from itself anymore.

let history run it's course.