What other President has gone so strongly against the wishes of those who elected him

[theophilus]

and so strongly for those who voted against him? Are there any comparisons? I know Bush was not a "small government" guy, but he constantly threw bones to conservatives. We get nary a gristle, imo. This is monumentally bizarre, and not in a good way.

[Common Sense Party]

1. George Herbert Walker Bush: "Read my lips."

One term.

[Bandit]

13. Except for going back on his no new taxes pledge, what did he do

that Republicans were completely against?

[Common Sense Party]

26. That was IT, for them. You don't say, "Read my lips: No new taxes"

and then raise taxes.

IIRC, he also advocated cutting military spending, didn't do anything to reduce the deficit, he signed the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Clean Air Act amendment. Plus, some conservatives wanted him to be tougher on Russia following the Soviet collapse, and they thought he was a wussy for not going into Baghdad and taking out Saddam.

[glinda]

2. I rec'd and someone got rid of that. I actually think it a good question. I find it totally bizarre.

[KansasVoter]

7. Some here think Obama is perfect and unrec any truth that does not make him look perfect!

[Pisces]

23. Some here think he can do no right.

[geek tragedy]

3. Reagan and Poppy Bush both raised taxes.

Reagan's base was furious with him.

[theophilus]

5. Yeah, but he did a lot of bad, er, I mean conservative things. And

he talked the talk so purty.

[Oceansaway]

4. K&R...n/t

[Ikonoklast]

6. Polls show that you are incorrect.

A vocal minority unhappy with this president are not the only voters that voted Democratic in the last election, they just make a lot of squeaky noises on the web.

And Obama will win the next election, whiners can sit it out, vote Green, vote for St. Ralph, cry in their lattes, whatever.

[dennis4868]

9. AMEN!

[theophilus]

10. I saw his favorable was down to 42 in one recent poll. As more learn

of what is going on that number will drop. Of course with the media not reporting that might take awhile.

[dennis4868]

11. THAT WAS ONE POLL....

most other polls have Obama holding steady in the mid 40s....also, a poll did come out that showed overwhelming support for the tax deal, including approval by liberal democrats.

[Mojorabbit]

16. There is one on this page that says there is not that much support

for the tax deal as an idea. I think it depends on how it was worded. Most people think they are worse off than two years ago in the poll also. I think it will be up in the air during the next election because it seems the unemployment situation is slated to still be bad in that timeframe.

[Ikonoklast]

12. Way ahead of almost every modern presiden at this point, even at the number you cite.

Obama will be re-elected in 2012, and no amount of hand-wringing, third-party candidates, 'let's primary him!' bullshit will stop it from happening.


The squeaky minority that comes on this site to whine are ineffectual and statistically non-existent as ant type of political force. This place has become an echo-chamber for their venting, the real world doesn't know or care what happens here.

[Bandit]

14. We will see.

I think a lot of very dedicated political junkies will not do what you think they will.

[Ikonoklast]

15. No numbers there.

Every 'political junkie' thinks they have far more influence in the real world than they actually have.


It all comes down to everyone having just one vote, no matter how huge an ego one has.

[highprincipleswork]

19. Glad you love what he is doing.

So happy you love what he is doing.

Any problem if a lot of us here deplore it?

[Ikonoklast]

25. No. You are entitled to your opinion.

I will never say you cannot have an opinion, you just cannot have your own facts.

Too many here confuse op/ed pieces as fact, or completely ignore anything accomplished for the good because it fails to conform to their world-view.

And then there are those here whose agenda has nothing to do with the Democratic Party being succesful.

[highprincipleswork]

29. Oh I see.

Oh I see, You are the Lord of Facts.

Fooey!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x535450

[Skittles]

31. then this country is truly FUCKED

[dennis4868]

8. Are you saying that....

Obama is for tax cuts for the wealthy? Obviously he is not but he sees what the political situation is and he had no other choice other than to let the taX cuts for the middle class and lowest tax bracket to expire and he was NOT going to do that as President.

Also, I don't think you can make the case with a straight face that Obama doing these things - www.whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com - was done based on the repubs wishes.

[Hardrada]

17. Woodrow Wilson who ran on "He Kept us out War"

Not long after his re-election we were in WW1.

[theophilus]

27. That is a good one. n/t

[BzaDem]

18. Given that the President has the highest approval among Democrats in 50 years, I would say that this

President has gone stronger FOR the wishes of the people that elected him in decades.

Your problem is conflating yourself with a representative sample of "people that elected him."

[highprincipleswork]

20. Some people must not be paying attention.

Either some people are mightily not paying attention to the potential shit storm being created by enacting policies that have failed to help the economy for so many years, or else many people are not being polled. Probably some of both.

You think you saw bad numbers and a bad night in 2010? Have you considered that 2012 could be worse.

Highest approval rating according to whom?

Media has been taken over, country has been taken over. Sure, folks like me feel like we've been left out on the cold. We also feel we're right. And I suppose time will tell. Just may take a lot of time, and recovery from that time, well, not something I have ever cared to imagine.

[BzaDem]

21. Perhaps others feel as I do, that YOU are the one not paying attention, rather than everyone else?

"You think you saw bad numbers and a bad night in 2010?"

Liberals voted in 2010 in the same proportion that they did in the previous midterm. He lost because centrist Independents swung against Democrats by 36 points compared to 2006. If you are so concerned about 2010, shouldn't you be pushing for Obama to act more centrist?

[highprincipleswork]

22. Well, as they say, everyone has opinions

Well, as they say, everyone has opinions. You apparently don't trust mine, and I don't believe in yours.

I think weakness is not tolerated by anyone. And I believe that he and the Democrats will not attract what you call Independents or anyone because of his cautious, triangulating, deliver very little moves. I believe that the center will follow a strong leader, in whichever direction that leader goes. But when that leader is not trusted by a sizable number of people even in his own party, when he fails to deliver much of what he promised (including change - scarcely a timid, conservative concept) then I think he will lose a sizable portion of everybody.

But if you think these polices are great, if you think defending them is great, well, have at it. I'm having none of it, and haven't yet decided what is the right thing to do. But I'll be damned if I'll support a bunch of policies I think are examples of the same sort of b.s. we've had shoveled down our throats since the days of Reagan, and by a Democratic President no less!

I'm not a willing participant to this happy fizzy party, which I suspect will lead to a lot less fizz and a lot more disaster over time.

Disagree with me if you want.

[Laelth]

32. I agree. Independents follow strength, without regard to policy.

As I argued here:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Laelth/41

-Laelth

[highprincipleswork]

36. Man, this is so true.

That's beautifully written. And if only Democratic politicians had an ounce of that political strategy, things would be different.

We've got to stop chasing the mythical center all the way to the Right!!! That's just not working out O.K.

When your opponent offers you "compromises" that actually compromise your own position (like the "tax holiday", that rips holes in Social Security, while giving eager taxpayers a "cookie"), you gotta know they're not serious. And you've got to stand up and stand for something.

Heck, I know Republicans who are suspicious of this tax deal, knowing that it gives us crumbs while possibly taking away what really counts, like Social Security and our fiscal solidity.

But how do we get messages like this out there, when there are even Democrats who refuse to see the swindle?

[Hardrada]

30. Where is there a center to anything?

A center to trickle-down? A center to pre-emptive war? A center to DADT? If people ever wake up they would put all the so-called centrists (the DLC popinjays) in re-education camps.

[stray cat]

24. Who elected Obama?

[theophilus]

28. A range of voters who wanted him to make America a better place to

live. Fix the economic mess, fix corrupt practices in government and business, fix healthcare, get us out of two bungled wars, etc. He has "fiddled" around the edges of these problems but trillions have been lost and those responsible have not been held accountable. He seems to now not even be talking the talk much less walking the walk of a Progressive.

A Pragmatist will give up ideologically rigid positions to put in policies that work. In my opinion, Mr. Obama has put in policies that WON'T WORK in the name of some fatastic inclusionism that masquerades as Bi-Partisanship. Just a little shit in the punch is bad and there is a whole lot of rw shit at this party. It bodes ill. It bodes very ill. IMO.

[jillan]

33. It would be interesting to get a list of his campaign promises, and see which ones he actually made

good on, so far.

[Still a Democrat]

34. He has high approval ratings among liberals and Democrats

Don't get so bent out of shape over the tax package.

[Warren Stupidity]

35. Bush-I - but the obvious answer is up thread response 1.