You know, this is really not a topic that lends itself to people being ‘Shopped onto toilets. At the risk of sounding like a malcontent can we A)get some of the aforementioned commodes in here or B) dig up some reliable shitpile like Jay Nordlinger comparing people who believe Teabag Parties are astroturfed to Holocaust deniers or whatever-the-fuck?
[Dumbshit CNN anchor voice] Just sayin’.

So my question for those who are currently having a lot of fun mocking those starry-eyed dreamers amongst us — when are you going to start holding Obama’s feet to the fire instead of flacking for him at every turn?

Well, that’s a great idea. How do you want us to go about it, exactly? It’s one thing for folks like Taibbi to exert pressure on people, but I find it highly unlikely that anything Obama does hinges on what I may write in a comment section. You can call that cynical, because it is. However, I prefer to think of it as realistic. As it stands right now, I can’t apply any pressure. There seems to be this concept in the left blogosphere that if there’s enough negative tension in the environment, then things will change. Well, the atmosphere’s pretty fucking negative right now, and what’s happening, hmm?

With a few exceptions, bloggers are passive players in politics. I harbor no illusions about that, but it seems that you do. Fine, but if you have a way to “hold Obama’s feet to the fire”, then let’s see it. Your words aren’t enough. Either come up with a plan of action or drop the self-righteousness.

The fact is, I can probably at least teach you liberals to really, deeply believe people care what you’re writing on the Inter-Nets. Who’s better at that than me? As long as you pay me in delicious Trident Layers. Also.

I’m with the Kid. It’s getting depressing around here. These recent topics are hardly conducive to POOP jokes, mention of PENIS or any other fun stuff.

Well, I think all you can do is what you can do. If it’s commenting on blogs, then that’s what you can do. What bloggers, or anybody with a handiness with words, can do is to find the rhetorical space where a healthy-but-not-wingnut-class of presidential critique lives, and use it to persuade others.

Obama sucks. Republicans suck. Everything sucks.

Except Micky Kaus, who blows.

I didn’t think that Obama would usher in the progressive Utopia, but I did believe he would attempt to deliver the promises he made. That’s where the crushing sense of betrayal comes from.

I don’t think I bought into the idea that Obama was uber-liberal. But I did hope that somehow his administration would seize a moment when Republican policies had been decisively repudiated by a majority of the country. But, they did not. And I guess we will have to live with the consequences.

President Obama needs to bulid a shit-moat around the White House to prevent his administration from being influenced by dirty hippies like you.

Going to the polls do to what we can to keep wing-nuts from getting elected may buy us some time and save us some grievous pain. Doing our best to elect more liberal congress-critters can’t hurt. It’s not all or nothing.

I

I didn’t think that Obama would usher in the progressive Utopia, but I did believe he would attempt to deliver the promises he made. That’s where the crushing sense of betrayal comes from.

I’ve been reading sentiments like this a lot lately and I just don’t get it. Really, what has Obama done (for better or worse) yet? He’s been in office less than a year.

A lot of “experts” on the lefty blogosphere confidently assert Obama is a sell-out to Wall Street. Okay, but when you have a country and a media that correlates the Dow with overall economic health in this country, to top it all off with a Democratic “majority” in Congress that nevertheless won’t move unless it plays nice with people like Olympia Snowe and Joe (The Party of Me) Liebermann.

Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that ballyhooed political movement within the Republican Party, whose platform is that Obama is a socialist amidst its cry of “we want our country back.”

These are just a few of the things a young Obama administration contends against while it tries to define itself. Obviously the path of least resistance amidst all this is to be Republican-lite, but to me the jury is still out on the guy. I suspect most here don’t have the first clue either, all the same.

Well, I think all you can do is what you can do. If it’s commenting on blogs, then that’s what you can do.

Oh, come on. If all you can do is comment on blogs, you might as well find you a Buffy fan site and let the grown-ups run things. You got access to the internet, you got access to your elected representatives and you can let them know, repeatedly, how you feel about how they represent you. You can give money to causes and organizations that have some pull and voice in the halls of power. You can use the medium to organize and plan and connect. Sitting around and bitching about how Santa didn’t bring you the pony you were expecting is beneath the least you can do. The ACLU is hard up for cash, for example, that’s the least you can do.

And as for any “crushing sense of betrayal”, do get over it. If you don’t like the way things are going, do something about it. Make a little noise, don’t just sit around and moan. The guy did say “we’re the change we’ve been waiting for”, not “Elect me and sit on your ass for four years while I fix everything”.

Someone on some other blog noted that calling Obama’s presidency a “failure” or “betrayal” after less than a year in office is like giving a term paper a failing grade after reading the first two pages. There’s something to that, but if we really want change – and frankly, most of us in the blogging world are pretty happy with the status quo since we’re pretty much the beneficiaries of it – we actually have to, ya know, change things.

Be a verb, for cryin’ out loud.

Which is not to say I don’t think people should be sitting on their asses on not pressuring Dems to do better, including Obama. It’s just to say that amidst all the infighting that’s going on in lefty blogworld we should try to have a little perspective is all.

Matt T. – are you saying that my last blog comment didn’t single-handedly break up all too-big-to-fail financial institutions?

Ya know, it might have. I haven’t checked.

Nope, it didn’t – B of A just jacked up the interest on my line of credit. But maybe the next comment will disintegrate those sons of bitches.

Ya gotta have faith, baby.

This is what I meant by “Keep kicking the bastards.”

And yes, more POOP. This place is turning into Balloon Juice, which turned into Digby’s House of Despair.

The fact is, all you LIEbruls are suckers. That’s why you believe I’m Gary Ruppert.

“Ba-diddle-doodle”, uh, “loony libs”! While Coach is on sabbatical from commenting, this is Tim Tebow, the Cool Quarterback, here to serve up some truth butter — some, uh, four corners of truth? Whatever. John 16:3, y’all. Tebow out.

Bloggers and their readers ARE having an effect on the House of Representatives, and the House is a powerful body, which holds elections every 2 years. Not too hard to get rid of the dead-weights like Nancy (“impeachment not on the table”) Pelosi, and put in progressive people like Grayson. It can be done.

To insist that it matters if one was overly hopeful about Obama is to toe the classic Village line, where opinions are judged ‘unserious’ based on who they come from and not what they contain.

But now the reverse is happening, and people like Taibbi and Hamsher are getting judged super-serious based on how despondent and/or pissed off they are. It’s hyper-over-correction. People are so eager not to come off as defenders or “Obamabots” that they’re rushing to embrace shit-stirrers _because they stir shit_. Outrage is a cheap way to feel aroused, and fake outrage is an even cheaper way. I don’t believe that Taibbi is _actually_ outraged about anything. I think he wants to _project_ outrage and betrayal because it makes him look authentically left-o’-center.

It’s the same dynamic as when a band that has been a critics’ darling puts out the second major-label album, which has some flaws, and all these people pop out to tell you how much they HATE it and THEY KNEW they sucked all along, and THEY TRIED TO TELL YOU. When the fact of the matter is, it’s still a solid album, and in ten years you’ll pull it out again and enjoy it and think about how for some reason people thought it was disappointing. Taibbi probably pulled some of the reviews of the post-_Tim_ Replacements albums from the Rolling Stone files.

And yes, more POOP.

Rice and veggies for dinner tonight, so I should be delivering that POOP right on schedule.

Thanks for the reminder about donating to the ACLU. Done.

@ Xecky, if Digby is the House of Despair, what is FireDogLake? The Slough of Despond? The Necropolis?

i’m surprised taibbi and greenwald express much surprise over the behavior of a certain segment of “obamaniacs.” if i recall correctly, both men commented as far back as the primaries on the tendency for supporters to see in obama exactly what they want to see and to pardon the same sins in their candidate for which they’d have excoriated bush.

what’s most entertaining is to watch as people make the argument “yes, obama is better than any of the alternatives (hillary included) but this doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be criticized and held accountable” only to have people shout back “HEY ASSHOLE WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE BUSH OR MCCAIN IN THE WHITE HOUSE?”

taibbi, i think, makes a very good point in one of his recent posts at trueslant where he argues that the very reason obama is beholden to wall street and pharmaceutical interests is that he knows there will be repercussions if he crosses these interests. to insist on blind allegiance from all good liberals is to take away whatever (very modest) resources we might have to hold him in any way accountable.

The Ravine of Resignation

And now sadlyno is getting serious. Sigh. I’m reaching for the Oreos.

what is FireDogLake? The Slough of Despond? The Necropolis?

Bridge of sighs.

So, basically, what you’re expecting people to do is to spend 95% of Obama’s term criticizing him for the shit they don’t like and then, right at the end, try to convince their friends and neighbors to rush out and vote him a second term. Gotcha. Who, exactly, do you think this is supposed to convince? Do you imagine there are Reubs and Indies out there thinking “well, his so-called allies really bitched and moaned about him lo these 3 and a half years, I really respect that.”?

The Church Of The Fiery Feet is just as disconnected and self-absorbed as the Church of High Broderism.

you might as well find you a Buffy fan site and let the grown-ups run things.

What, like that’s…bad?

And as for that binary Cheerleading or Despair? choice we’re given, count me out. Obama’s only half the problem/solution anyway. The real problem is the Senate. Focus your rage/activism/voting there.

The Pit of Despair. Or the Cliffs of Insanity.

So, basically, what you’re expecting people to do is to spend 95% of Obama’s term criticizing him for the shit they don’t like and then, right at the end, try to convince their friends and neighbors to rush out and vote him a second term. Gotcha. Who, exactly, do you think this is supposed to convince? Do you imagine there are Reubs and Indies out there thinking “well, his so-called allies really bitched and moaned about him lo these 3 and a half years, I really respect that.”

wait so we all have Obligations as Serious People to suck it up and put on brave faces because after all, we’re all part of Team Obama now?

that’s adorable.

And now sadlyno is getting serious. Sigh. I’m reaching for the Oreos.

i know, right?

rofl, man, rofl.

what is FireDogLake?

Poutrage, Lefty-style. Still nowhere near as bad as the right-hand kind, and they back some (IMO) worthwhile activism and whip people up (again IMO) in useful ways. But they’re getting into that habit of getting pissed first, no matter what happens.

wait so we all have Obligations as Serious People to suck it up and put on brave faces because after all, we’re all part of Team Obama now?

How well has that “hold their feet to the fire” bit worked out so far, champ? The liberal blogs have erupted at every compromise in the heath care debate. Doing that sure helped to protect the Public Option, right?

Honestly, the shock and amazement that political partisans might be, you know, partisan, is a little precious. Now, please do go on and tell me how my pointing out that constant criticism may be politically counterproductive makes me a a deluded Obot who is suppressing your noble dissent. Y’know you wanna…

Thank you, Citizen_X. I just happen to be an Evil Slayer (oh, not a Slayer who’s evil, shut up). I say much of the Senate is evil. I say I slay.

I mean, what the fuck? We still need better Democrats, but the Republicans have declared themselves to be some kind of Resistance movement. Until I clean out that nest, I’m going to settle for yelling things at Obama and giving him mean looks sometimes. Then I’ll show him what Slayer power is really like.

And to hell with the Cheerleading/Despair. What about grumpy, sarcastic, still kinda hopeful, and still kinda convinced that the dude is smart, and that his prime directive is not to enrich every dumb-fuck, greedy-ass crony he or his dad ever knew?

A democracy in which most folks are somewhat grumpy and irritable (but not exclusively either) is probably on the right track.

But you grown-ups go ahead, tell me what to do. Tell me how my last Presidential vote was so profoundly stupid and bubble-brained.

I’m not making fun of anybody, or at least I don’t think I am, and I’m not getting any pleasure out mocking people who thought Obama would be more liberal than he’s acting. In fact, what I have more of a problem with is the idea that any president could simply march in and change the entire fucking culture of national politics. And if Taibbi or whoever thinks that, then I’m sorry, but they’re wrong. It’s not about who bought into what hype or who’s being too forgiving of whom, it’s people not being rational. Obama is just one guy, under a constant microscope from a media composed largely of idiots and with his fate tied to a congress chock-full of dead weight. These people who say “Obama should do more”, “Obama’s not doing enough”, what exactly are they expecting him to do? Punch Lieberman in the face? Put a shock collar on Harry Reid for when he starts compromising too much? I think it comes from an overestimation of what American executive power really entails.

That said, PENIS.

i’m surprised taibbi and greenwald express much surprise over the behavior of a certain segment of “obamaniacs.”

What I don’t get is why they think that the “Obamaniacs” are dominant. They ain’t. The prevailing mood of every blog runs from indignation to apoplexy. People who make lukewarm statements of support get dogpiled immediately. Look at the comments on Yglesias or Ezra Klein or Steve Benen. There it’s like 66-34 foot-stamping wannabe radicals wallowing in emo purity. Places like Digby it’s like 95-5. It’s a bad scene.

Taibbi and Greenwald think they’re being brave to be critical. That’s not brave. That’s _dominant opinion_ on the blogs lately. It’s about as brave as writing that you’re not especially psyched about the new Creed album.

These people who say “Obama should do more”, “Obama’s not doing enough”, what exactly are they expecting him to do?

Obama could do lots of satisfyingly tough-minded things to take on Big Bank and Homunculus Lieberman. But the problem is how much worse it would shit an already shitty bed to actually do them. It would feel pretty kick-ass to tell your coworkers that you’re not going to put up with their shit anymore and you don’t care if it costs the company the account. Not just no, _hell no_! Then there’s the problem of what would happen the next day. It ain’t good.

It’s the same dynamic as when a band that has been a critics’ darling puts out the second major-label album, which has some flaws, and all these people pop out to tell you how much they HATE it and THEY KNEW they sucked all along, and THEY TRIED TO TELL YOU. When the fact of the matter is, it’s still a solid album, and in ten years you’ll pull it out again and enjoy it and think about how for some reason people thought it was disappointing.

You a Gomez fan, too, man?

“Wallowing in emo purity.” It’s an instant gratification thing.

The banksters really are powerful. More can be done, and probably will be done to reign them in a little, but putting them where most people want them— quickly— is the stuff of revolution.

Punch Lieberman in the face? Put a shock collar on Harry Reid

If only we could do fun stuff like this instead of having boring old elections where we have to canvass ‘n shit. POOP.

It’s an instant gratification thing.

For some. For others it seems to more of “at least I ain’t like one of them Wingnuts who cheered for Bush to the very end” thing.

Hi depressing DemocRAT sissies! Your failure to be honest with yourself is too good for you, you boorish devils!

I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why. It is altogether against my will that I tell my reasons for opposing this contemplated invasion of the antarctic – with its vast fossil hunt and its wholesale boring and melting of the ancient ice caps. And I am the more reluctant because my warning may be in vain.

Seems vaguely appropriate. Will consider further when less drunk.

Really, what has Obama done (for better or worse) yet? He’s been in office less than a year.

Gone to sleep at the wheel on healthcare, fumbled the stimulus (again by not pushing), escalated the Afghan War, failed to end the Iraq War, and not closed Gitmo. Will that do for a start?

Fortunately we now have Sarah Palin for the wingnuts to cheer. Let’s hope they don’t become disenchanted [like if she blimps up, or drops Trig and kills him or something].

but putting them where most people want them— quickly— is the stuff of revolution.

You say that like it is a bad thing.

Your failure to be honest with yourself is too good for you

Anybody care to translate?

Anybody care to translate?

I’m sorry, but I don’t speak gibberish.

I agree with what a lotta people are saying about the leftie agonistas who are trying to get cred by bashing Obama (especially Taibbi, who’s an entertaining writer but definitely an attention whore), but I don’t believe that Greenwald should be put in that category. He’s been very consistent about criticizing Obama, from before he was prez, about his support for telecom immunity, his continuation of Bush detention policies, etc. I think he has a lot of integrity and he helps keep me informed about such weighty matters.

And hey what’s wrong with a couple of semi=serious threads every now and then? There’s a lot of intelligent people on this site with good insights, and besides there’s more to life than shit moats and
PENIS BRIDGES

The right moved the Overton Window consistently to the right by jumping up and down and pitching temper tantrums every time they didn’t get what they wanted. Is there a way to move it back to the left without similar temper tantrums? In order to get sanity to return to the US, I think there have to be angry ranting moonbats for a long time. When, “maybe we ought not to torture our prisoners” is considered a radical position, a lot of radicalism is going to be required.

These people who say “Obama should do more”, “Obama’s not doing enough”, what exactly are they expecting him to do?

From my foreigner’s perspective, it seemed that Obama came into office with a big club (popular opinion) but then through timidity, he just didn’t use it. He seemed to be popular enough that he could have shamed Congress into going along with him if he worked to keep public opinion mobilized. Maybe it wouldn’t have worked. Maybe he never had any interest in doing it. Maybe I was the fool for thinking he wasn’t Clinton II. Certainly the opposition in Congress started on Day One and hasn’t stopped, so maybe it was more of any uphill battle than it seemed.

Anybody care to translate?

Ha ha! Self-hatred is all you can hope for, you kooks.

I think it is a bad thing. Very violent. We don’t have enough cohesiveness, community, and common language to strengthen unions, much less bring down profoundly powerful institutions.

Honestly, the shock and amazement that political partisans might be, you know, partisan, is a little precious. Now, please do go on and tell me how my pointing out that constant criticism may be politically counterproductive makes me a a deluded Obot who is suppressing your noble dissent. Y’know you wanna…

oh. you’re a self-identified “partisan.” then yeah, we don’t have much to talk about. you’re behaving exactly as you ought to be behaving. carry on.

Ha ha! Self-hatred is all you can hope for, you kooks.

FUCK YOU TROLL!

Ha ha! Self-hatred is all you can hope for, you kooks.

Naw, we hate you too, you creepy bitch.

I agree with what a lotta people are saying about the leftie agonistas who are trying to get cred by bashing Obama (especially Taibbi, who’s an entertaining writer but definitely an attention whore)

i don’t see how taibbi is attention whoring in this case. when he’s in attention whore mode, i think he cranks out another “literary offenses of james fennimore cooper” style piece about friedman. he’s honestly been pretty restrained, and he’s been making the same criticisms since the primaries.

greenwald does do better at coming off as a Serious Dude who says Serious Things.

also i think everybody would be better off if we got clear that the screeching critics and the screeching blind supporters of obama are both loud, irritating, minorities.

Dammit, where’s the Dragon King when we need him to ride in on somebody’s mother?

Your confusion of intuition with rationality is beyond you, you decrepit airhead!

Some of us did warn others to be careful about thinking Obama was a progressive dream ahead of the election.

I honestly wonder how much we’ve bought into (however subliminally) all the wingnut screeching about what a dangerous radical he is? Oh I know, I don’t take them seriously either, but it’s just possible that there’s a cumulative effect at work–enough idiots running around with their hair on fire yelling “Marxist! Socialist!” for long enough, and after awhile maybe we start to internalize the narrative a bit, in the sense that we think “Hmm, wingnuts are terrified of him, there must be something progressive about him.

I mean, look at all the nostalgia the left has for Bill Clinton. He really doesn’t deserve most of it, but hey, if the right frothed and screamed for eight years, and tried their darndest to get rid of him, he must’ve been okay, right?

I think it is a bad thing. Very violent.

And trashing the economy for personal gain and paying no penalty isn’t?

Oh, thank you for Penis Bridges. That is very funny. I wish I could do a little performance art and glue raggedy pieces of red cellophane to the outside edge of the bridge, make it look like a bloodbath.

Your confusion of intuition with rationality is beyond you, you decrepit airhead!

<blockquote?Dammit, where’s the Dragon King when we need him to ride in on somebody’s mother?

Oh, let me try–

Your mother confused intuition with your father’s dick and thought she was blowin his mind!

Gone to sleep at the wheel on healthcare,
Right. He should have just, what, did it by fiat? Worked well for Clinton, dinnit?

fumbled the stimulus (again by not pushing),
[citation needed] Who didn’t he push hard enough, congress? Right. Congress does whatevefr the Preznit tells them to do, uh huh.

escalated the Afghan War,
Which he said, time and again before the election he was going to do.

failed to end the Iraq War,
Yesd, he should have immediately told all troops to stand down. Right. That would have been a brilliant move.

and not closed Gitmo.
Have you been paying attention? Did he not order Gitmo closed? Did not congref bitch and whine and do what they could to thwart that? C’mon, stop playing stupid here.

PENIS, just because I can’t take any more of this seriousness.

DrDick, let’s do this thing. Should we form a strike force of some kind? We need a logo goddammit.

TKKM nails it in the first comment, hilariously. I do appreciate the serious reflection of late and with judicious commode p-shopping this is fast becoming my fave place on teh tubes.

Q: Is there a troll on Earth too boring to be bothered with?

A: see God’s Fire.

C’mon, stop playing stupid here.

I do not believe that Obama can do it all by himself, but he hardly seems to be trying. I have yet to see Obama actually fight or seriously push for anything. He politely says, “This is what I want,” and then takes whatever the hell congress gives him and says, “Thank you.” I remember Johnson pushing through the Civil Rights Act over the violent opposition of the Southern Democrats. Now that is how you do it. You seriously want to try to tell me that he really did everything he could to push those initiatives? He is a compromiser, not a fighter and we seriously need a fighter.

PENIS, just because I can’t take any more of this seriousness.

But Pee J didn’t you like my “yo momma” thing? (you can be honest, but please don’t be!)

Should we form a strike force of some kind? We need a logo goddammit.

Nah. Trike Farces are a wingnut thing and I am kind of partial to this logo.

With a few exceptions, bloggers are passive players in politics. I harbor no illusions about that, but it seems that you do. Fine, but if you have a way to “hold Obama’s feet to the fire”, then let’s see it. Your words aren’t enough. Either come up with a plan of action or drop the self-righteousness.

so…bloggers….shouldn’t use words? if you don’t have a plan of action….keep your mouth shut? and for god’s sake don’t type words….on your blog?

weird.

Q: Is there a troll on Earth too boring to be bothered with?

A: see God’s Fire.

Janus Troll(currently in pre-alpha) is the future of trolling, just lie back and enjoy the magic.

When are people going to hold Senators’ feet to the fire?

‘Cause you know, Obama has done everything I would ask of him, and has been dogged at every corner by holds and filibusters.

Throw out the Blue Dogs, I say. Then complain about Obama. ‘Cause attacking Obama gets us exactly naught.

Please, please kids! Stop fighting. Maybe Lisa’s right about America being the land of opportunity, and maybe Adil’s got a point about the machinery of capitalism being oiled with the blood of the workers.

Maybe Lisa’s right about America being the land of opportunity, and maybe Adil’s got a point about the machinery of capitalism being oiled with the blood of the workers.

Indeed. where else do you have so many opportunities to have your blood drained and to be ground into Soylent Green?

and to be ground into Soylent Green?

Little known fact, but people were not ground into Soylent Green, they were minced.

Little known fact, but people were not ground into Soylent Green, they were minced.

In America, we have perfected the process. Much more efficient this way and gives a more consistent texture.

Soylent Green is sort of the Velveeta of cannibalistic products.

Soylent Green is the genius of capitalism in action. Extracting every last ounce of value from labor.

Janusnode trolls should eat a big bag of dicks.

DrDick said,

December 14, 2009 at 3:13

Really, what has Obama done (for better or worse) yet? He’s been in office less than a year.

Gone to sleep at the wheel on healthcare, fumbled the stimulus (again by not pushing), escalated the Afghan War, failed to end the Iraq War, and not closed Gitmo. Will that do for a start?

I don’t think people have a fair attack on the S,N! common taters for being starry-eyed pollyannas. I recall that most of us realized we had a choice between two DLC politicians, or the rethugs.

I am very unhappy with Obama’s decision to let the Bush-Cheney regime get away with torture.
~

I do not believe that Obama can do it all by himself, but he hardly seems to be trying. I have yet to see Obama actually fight or seriously push for anything. He politely says, “This is what I want,” and then takes whatever the hell congress gives him and says, “Thank you.” I remember Johnson pushing through the Civil Rights Act over the violent opposition of the Southern Democrats. Now that is how you do it. You seriously want to try to tell me that he really did everything he could to push those initiatives? He is a compromiser, not a fighter and we seriously need a fighter.

DrDrick and Wyatt, while you’re both here…

In the last thread, that bit about “I agree with you now make me do it” (paraphrased) that was LBJ wrt to Civil Rights. He wasn’t some King, or Unitary Executive like we’ve been so conditioned to believe Presidents are during the neo-con era. The president can’t do shit except sign paper. Make him do it. That means get your reps in “co-equal congress” to do their fucking jobs. If your senator sucks you better be telling them that every goddamn day.

I recall that most of us realized we had a choice between two DLC politicians, or the rethugs.

Exactly. I do not fault Obama for not being liberal enough, as he never was and never presented himself as such. I do fault him for what seems to be undue timidity in pushing his agenda. Nice and polite will get you handed your lunch in DC.

.

Is this the petition? I sign here at the bottom?

OK, well, Mr Obama, I think you suck.

Man! That felt good!

OMG, I just read some of this comment thread. It’s awful.

Sadly, No! not being funny I can handle. Stupid bitching in the comments? That’s just taking shit too far, man.

You killed captain clown.

OK, well, Mr Obama, I think you suck.

True, and I thought that before I voted for him, but unfortunately he seemed at least to suck marginally less than any of the other choices when I got the chance to vote in my last in the nation primary and to suck a whole lot less than the competition in the general election. That does not mean he gets a pass.

Yeah, if I wanted to be serious I’d, well I don’t know what I’d do, it’s never happened. BOOP.

You killed captain clown.

Watch those trigger words, dammit!
~

Remember that LBJ had served in the House & Senate (Senate Majority leader, right?) for yrs., was an old school pol, & therefore knew where Congress’s bodies were buried. And other factors. Different from today’s situation.

Also, politics is boring, dull & completely useless. We are all royally screwed; there is no hope.

Imagine a world w/ a few billion more oppressed idiots sucking it dry, & all the coastlines a few miles farther inland. And no one could be bothered to stand athwart history yelling “Hey, wait a fucking minute here!”

Some catchphrase that eludes me…

Hey M-Boo, Dub-Watts,

So I looked around to see if maybe we’re all right, it looks like that’s the case… There’s a very interesting scene when Martin Luther King came to Lyndon Johnson and said, “We need this Voting Rights Act. You know, we need your help,” and Johnson turned to him and said, “I wanna do it. Make me do it.” He wasn’t just gonna do it. He needed to be made. He was telling Martin Luther King to get out in the street and make it happen.

I guess leverage matters. But if leverage makes post-congressional presidents so Kingly, and we all want Kingly presidents, why do we always reject those old-school long-time congress-critters when they run for pres? Oh that’s right, leverage cuts both ways. We are royally screwed.

Pound on me for a while, that usually cheers you up.

You are all dumb, I am vary smart. If you read lizard lips, you can see the proper translation was “Darmok and Gilad ate Viagra”.

“Darmok and Gilad ate Viagra”.

OK, now that’s funny. And is a veiled PENIS ref.

More PENIS jokes and POOP. Also.

I’m “vary” smart too. Like, sometimes I is, & sometimes I isn’t.

This thread kinda makes me Zinda, his face black, his eyes red if you know what I mean. We nee to get back to the Jonah, his pants down.

Things could be way worse, obviously.

I think many of us lefties would be just a smidge happier if oh, say a couple of things actually directly in Obama’s power happened:

1) Direct the Justice department to throw Yoo to the wolves and not continue the previous administration’s policies regarding torture. I think Greenwald is right in holding their feet to the fire on that one, not that it seems to matter.

2) Some token little lefty executive order, perhaps revoking DADT? Something he could do that isn’t subject to the “oh well, I tried, those wankers in congress stopped me, sorry” excuse.

Obviously that wouldn’t make everybody happy, but what’s the harm in throwing a little bone our way?

You said bone.

Oh, and POOP!

I dunno what you youngsters & your rock-hop talk is all about, but Jonah, his pants down, is plain in any language. No, sadly, this doesn’t have him w/ his pants down (I doubt if it is he.) but could this be Jonah hisse’f on the far right (so to speak)?

Ahem.

As others have pointed out, it’s not so much an Obama failure as it is a Congress failure – he is after all only one guy.

However…as leader of the Democratic Party, which once upon a time claimed to represent the working man, it wouldn’t hurt at all if every now and again he were to enunciate the idea that this notion that the conservatives and indeed many who are not conservatives, as well as the media, have clung to these past 30 years is pretty much a bunch of shit, that idea being that the highest purpose and ideal of democratic government is to help those who are best positioned due to already having wealth have even more wealth.

That’s the fucked-up idea that gets in the way of everything that needs to be done – this idea that “America” is all about knocking down barriers so a few guys can own everything. Since when is “freedom” all about voting in favor of what allows the 5% to own it all? Doesn’t more freedom for the 5% = less freedom for the rest of us? If you believe the right it does, since they’re always screaming that expecting the guys who own everything to pay taxes infringes on their “freedom”. Ok, so what kind of fucked-up system aspires to infringe upon the “freedom” of the 95% in favor of the 5%? Our system, that’s what kind.

And that’s the system this president, and every member of Congress, is operating within – one in which the “conventional wisdom” states that what’s good is what’s good for the rich. Until that is challenged on a regular basis, it really doesn’t matter whether you think Obama could make more of show of support for progressive causes or not, because it wouldn’t change a damn thing.

If you want to knock him for anything, knock him for not challenging this “conventional wisdom” at every opportunity. He’s got the bully pulpit and a lot of peoples’ ears – his greatest failing IMO is that he doesn’t use it to convey this message whenever possible.

That having been said, that’s a message that shouldn’t JUST be coming from the president – it should be coming from every member of the party and each and every one of us at every opportunity. The wall of bullshit has been built pretty high and reinforced regularly these past 30 years. It’s not going to come crumbling down with just one guy, or a few guys, battering away at it.

1) Larry and the Gang
2) Civil liberties

Those are Obama’s big fuck ups. A lot of the other “fuck ups” are people thinking that things happen really fast. You are wrong. Obama is not a cheetah, he’s a boa constrictor.

He’s got to work with some of the biggest shitheads on earth and any one of them can hijack the entire agenda.

This thread needs more tongue action.

I voted for least worst and knew it going in. I’m mighty hard to disappoint over here.

It’s hard to harsh my mellow right now anyway — with my sincere thanks to Harmonix, my daughters wanted a few Beatles songs for their mp3 players. Their dad went ahead and put the catalog on there. The younger was singing along to I’ll Follow The Sun after she went to bed tonight. I’m busting, Jerry! Busting!

The bizarre idea that Obama is some sort of Superman just itching to take off his Clark Kent suit and fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way – just give him time! – is what keeps the idiots over at Think Progress and Move On in business. Obama is George W. Bush all over again in blackface. More war, no health care, more money for Wall Street racketeers, more torture, more “unitary” power, less government accountability, and the biggest transfer of wages to capital in history, something that Ronald Reagan could have only dreamed about. And let’s not forget the administration’s brazen intervention in the CIVIL suit against John Yoo over which they have no jurisdiction whatsoever yet insist on trying to cover up the Bush administration’s crimes. Obama is well on his way to going down as the worst president in history. Who would have thought that Dubya would be such an easy act to follow on the race to the sewer?

Hey you can’t blame me – I chaired the Howard Dean campaign in PA. I did what I could, motherfuckers. It’s you who failed me, yeah that’s it.

I’m off to sleepybyes now. Pray to Dog there will be a new thread, and a new mind set come morning.

I think I’m going to stop myself from reading blogs for at least a day and try to make it stick for longer. Because we blog-liberals have become an utterly insufferable bunch of purity pricks play-acting as radicals. I’m fucking sick of us.

Because we blog-liberals have become an utterly insufferable bunch of purity pricks play-acting as radicals.

Hey, complaining beats actually trying to change things. That might involve getting up and leaving our computers. That might actually be difficult.

“In fact, what I have more of a problem with is the idea that any president could simply march in and change the entire fucking culture of national politics. ”

Felonious,
Isn’t that what George W. Bush did?

It must be Monday.

I’m getting really, really, really fucking tired of people calling Obama a “DLC politician,” as part of a larger frustration with people who didn’t bother to do their homework on this guy.

He’s doing an OK-to-decent job of keeping his campaign promises, despite a mostly intransigent Congress, and he’s acting exactly like the politician he always said he was.

What I don’t really understand is why Obama’s critics, both on the left and the right, always have to frame their criticism in terms of betrayal. It’s like it’s not enough to simply think he’s not doing the wrong thing, but that somehow the right thing to do is always what he promised he would do, and if it’s anything less, that means someone got thrown under a bus.

“You killed Captain Clown! YOU KILLED CAPTAIN CLOWN!”–Mark Hamill

I’ve got a question, not being a religious man, and instead being a big fat atheist. How does Joe Lieberman face his God? How does that foolish, stink-causing old mummy–renowned God-botherer that he is–face up to his imaginary pal God and tell Him, “I know I’m doing your will” when he’s instead just tying up the health reform bill in the name of personal grandstanding. Why will he not just die and go join his invisible pal for eternity?

In a way Obama during the election cycle was a bit of a blank upon which many people wrote their own hopes and desires. Many of my friends were absolute ga-ga over him, and while I liked him OK I couldn’t understand the almost religious fervor I saw. He’s a politician, and pretty good one, with a basically decent heart. He’s not a radical, not even a very dogmatic liberal.

He’s still WAY better than the alternatives we had.

I am not very impressed with his passive style of leadership, but maybe that’ s because I and many others are so used to Bush’s in-your-face style, sort of like too much (bad) hot sauce all the time.

How does Joe Lieberman face his God?

His what? You mean The All-ighty Ollar?

All of this whining over health care and hate for Joe Lieberman does not help. He has presented the best possible non-partisan reasonable balanced option (and that cannot include public, because that would cost too much), and you liberals throw bombs and still demand socialism. Maybe you should learn to work within the system instead of trashing it.

Oh, and any criticism of him for Israel policy is RACICT.

You kids quiet down! Stop making all that RACICT!

We all agree it would be terribly unfair to judge Obama until 5 minutes before midnight when his second term ends, because we know that is when the game of 11 dimensional chess concludes and then he sneakily signs eleventeen million executive orders which fix everything.

So my question for those who are currently having a lot of fun mocking those starry-eyed dreamers amongst us — when are you going to start holding Obama’s feet to the fire instead of flacking for him at every turn?

What if we knew that AND we feel he’s doing a pretty good job?

After all, if we held no illusions going in, then you have to admit that he’s lived up to our expectations.

I admit, it has been fun watching the fulminations from the left with respect to his “failings”.

You know what would rescue this thread?

More ZOMBIE.

Plus, Obama has TOTALLY failed in his imaginary campaign promises to set up LongPig camps. I hates him forever, I does.

Plus, Obama has TOTALLY failed in his imaginary campaign promises to set up LongPig camps.

You haven’t heard about the FEMA camps????

FEMA death camps, now with MOAR MICROWAVES!

Obama promised to return my shoe!

I admit, it has been fun watching the fulminations from the left with respect to his “failings”.

Whether you had expectations or not, shoveling no-strings money at bankers and continuation of two wars plus torture-lite are actual no-quotes failings from many perspectives.

Whether you had expectations or not, shoveling no-strings money at bankers and continuation of two wars plus torture-lite are actual no-quotes failings from many perspectives.

None of which he failed at because none of which he promised to stop, Sub.

Now, fault him for policy, that’s appropriate and I agree with you there, but anyone paying attention knew he was going to take his sweet ass time with respect to Iraq, knew he would arm-up in Afghanistan, knew he would likely continue the Bush bailouts, “too big to fail,” and never heard him promise anything about torture except to close Gitmo, which he has started the ball rolling on.

None of which he failed at because none of which he promised to stop, Sub.

If you wanna haggle over what “failure” means, I didn’t promise to shovel the walk this morning, yet I have failed to do it.

There are moral and political failures that exist regardless of promises.

If you wanna haggle over what “failure” means, I didn’t promise to shovel the walk this morning, yet I have failed to do it.

The substance of the post is that Obama did not live up to the promises he made to the electorate, not whether he’s lived up to our idealations.

The substance of the post is that Obama did not live up to the promises he made to the electorate

I don’t agree.

So my question for those who are currently having a lot of fun mocking those starry-eyed dreamers amongst us — when are you going to start holding Obama’s feet to the fire instead of flacking for him at every turn?

It sounds like it to me.

Now, I think in totality, given the monumental tasks he was handed, Obama’s done a pretty good job. When I think he’s made a mistake, I’ve called him on it at my blog as well as in comments at other blogs. Like with healthcare: I thought he needed to use his bullypulpit and really hammer home his support of a public option, but he hasn’t, regrettably.

I don’t know how big a difference that has or will make, but it’s out there. That said, I trust that he knows a lot more than I do and is making decisions based on that information as well as the advice he’s been given by the people around him, the people who REALLY know a damn sight more than I do, most of whom I have great respect for.

I may not agree with them, but as with some conservatives I know and respect, I can follow their logic and can at least understand where they are coming from. He ran. He got elected. It’s up to me to give him a fair shake.

It sounds like it to me.

That’s a stretch. This part is more apropos:

Bush is not president now — Obama is. We can call him out for his own misdeeds on their own merits, particularly his capitulation to Wall Street interests and escalation of the Afghanistan war. Doing so is not the same as crying in your soup about not getting the rainbows and ponies you thought he’d hand out upon election.

So again, it’s not about the promises, it’s what he does now.

Felonious,
Isn’t that what George W. Bush did?

No. 19 guys with box-cutters did that. He just took advantage of the windfall.

Minus the yellow lantern corps, the Bush presidency would have played out very differently.

It’s so complicated. Back in the day, there was only the Green Lantern Corps. Now you’ve got Yellow, Red, Blue, and Black Lanterns. Just like with Superman and the Kryptonite…and Earth-X, Earth-2, Earth-Prime, and all the rest…it all gets out of hand and you wind up having to have a big Crisis to clean it up just so you can figure out what to do next.

I didn’t think that Obama would usher in the progressive Utopia, but I did believe he would attempt to deliver the promises he made.

My goodness, look at the calendar! How time flies! It’s 2012 now, right?

Oh, wait, he still has 3 more years left?

You killed captain clown.

Cesca has a good piece up about Taibbi’s article

http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2009/12/more_thoughts_o.html

I liked this version compared to about 50 others I’ve read over the Internet.