The Liberal Disappointment in Obama

Diogenes -Tuesday, May 15

If you trace liberals disappointment with Barak Obama to its origins, to try to pinpoint the moment when his zealous supporters realized that this was "Not Change They Could Believe In", the souring probably began  in December, 2008, when Obama announced that conservative Evangelical pastor Rick Warren would speak at his inauguration.  MSNBC's Ricky Maddow rode the story almost nightly: “I think the problem is getting larger for Barack Obama.” Negative 34 days into the start of the Obama presidency, the honeymoon was over. 

Since then, the left's gloom has only deepened, as Obama compromise alternated with Obama failure. Liberals speak of Obama in unceasingly despairing terms. “I’m exhausted from defending you,” one supporter confessed to Obama at a town-hall meeting last year.

Justin Ruben, MoveOn.org executive director, told the Washington Post, "We are all incredibly frustrated and  disappointed in Obama". The assessments appear equally judgmental among the most left-wing and the most moderate of Obama’s supporters  In early 2004, Democrats, by a 25-point margin, described themselves as “more enthusiastic than usual about voting.” At the beginning of 2008, the margin had shot up to over 60 percentage points. Now as many Democrats say they're less enthusiastic about voting this election.

The cultural enthusiasm sparked by Obama’s candidacy drained away almost immediately after his election. All the passion now lies with the critics, and it is hard to find a liberal willing to muster any stronger support than halfhearted drivel about the tough situation Obama inherited, or vague hope that maybe in a second term he can really start doing things.  Obama has already given up on any hope of running a positive reelection campaign and is girding up for a grim slog of a negative campaign, with the full compliance by some Republican haters in the vintage media. 

Why are lefties so desperately unhappy with the Obama presidency?

Liberals are dissatisfied with Obama because liberals, on the whole, are incapable of feeling satisfied with a Democratic president. They can be happy with the idea of a Democratic president,  dancing-in-the-streets delirious, but not with the real thing. 

For almost all of the past 60 years, liberals have been in a near-constant emotional state of despair, punctuated only by brief moments of euphoria and occasional rage. When they're not in charge, things are so bleak they threaten to move to Canada; it’s almost more excruciating when they do win elections, and their presidents fail in essentially the same ways: He is too accommodating, too timid, preaches to the choir  but unable to inspire the people. (Except for LBJ, who was a bloodthirsty warmonger.)

 Chris Matthews, who famously thrilled to Obama’s inspirational rhetoric, now complains, “Word is out that Obama is a ‘transactional’ politician.” Jon Stewart put it in even more anguished terms, expressing his disappointment that politics itself did not change under Obama: “He ran on this idea that the system and the methodology are corrupt. It felt like the country was upset enough that he had the momentum needed to reevaluate how business is done. Instead, when he got elected, he acted as though the system is so entrenched that it has to be managed.”

The unhappy moderate liberals seem to be the most irritated component of Obama’s let-down supporters. Enraged left-wing bloggers may harbor unrealistic notions of what Democrats could achieve, but they are at least correct that Obama does share their goals. I believe liberal melancholy hangs not so much on substantive objections but on something more emotional:

A general feeling that Obama turned out not to be Their Ronald Reagan.

Good Monday Morning

image via The Eye of Polyphemus  

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Another Bad Week in O' Town

Anytime an incumbent is below 45% in approval ratings, that incumbent should hire a real estate agent because his time is up.

This polling should trouble Axelrod, Obama and Plouffe:

"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows Mitt Romney earning 50% of the vote and President Obama attracting 42% support. Four percent (4%) would vote for a third party candidate, while another three percent (3%) are undecided. This is terrible news for President Obama. It’s one thing to be trailing at this point. It’s another thing when 60% of likely voters are rejecting President Obama’s message and his ‘accomplishments’."

We haven’t seen numbers this bad since George H.W. Bush ran for re-election. We know what happened that year, don’t we?

This polling is tied directly to Obama’s unpopular policies decisions and ‘accomplishments’. Obama knows that he can’t win if the conversation is about O’Care, the stimulus, the failed economy and the regulatory overreach by the NLRB and the EPA.

If that’s what we’re talking about this September and October, Michelle Obama will be thinking about where she, President Obama, Sasha and Malia will live the rest of their lives.

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Giving Up on Conservatism

Euripides Throws in the Towel.....Kinda

By Euripides@Self Evident Truths

I give up. I'm tired of defending conservatism, so I've decided to give it up in favor of becoming a liberal.

Let's face it, being a modern liberal is a lot easier than defending the Constitution, social institutions, religion, or capitalism. It's also a lot easier to give in to an ideology where I no longer have to be responsible for my actions or my decisions, since, if they agree with liberalism, that is all that really matters. It's much easier to believe what I'm told to believe and to do what I'm told to do. Personal responsibility is so freeing. Plus, there are many benefits to becoming a liberal:

1) No matter how dumb I may sound, other liberals, and especially the media will never question my intelligence.

2) I can now claim group status with any oppressed group I want to, and gain government benefits and entitlements just by virtue of my claim. I can also say whatever I want to about my chosen group and be treated as if I were a spokesman, er, spokesperson for all. Anyone who disagrees with my status in the group is a racist.

3) I no longer have to give to charity, saving myself a lot of money in the process, as I can now just tell rich people to pay more taxes to support government programs that will benefit me. Hence, I can feel compassionate and superior without really having to do anything myself.

 4) I can now take the moral high ground on every issue by telling anyone who disagrees with me that he or she is a racist......."

Keep Reading..........

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Funny Pics from the Obama 2012 Campaign Site.

The following photos are taken directly from the official, authorized Obama for America reelection campaign website and Facebook pages. These are some of the pictures that team Obama hand-picked.

Whoa there big fella, it's called a G.E.D!

“Obama 2012: A pink flamingo in every pot.”

Remind me not to visit the Castro Street Foot Locker.

Exactly!

Chicago Jesus Rules

I’m sure this Mr. Chang, whoever he is, is a hell of a guy. 

But let's stay on topic here.

If this poor dog could shoot lasers out of its eyes, 

this woman would be a briquette.

When you’re gay and lesbian and bisexual and trans-gendered, apparently all at the same time, it’s so hard finding a candidate who can address your concerns and reflect your values.

There’s an old showbiz adage about exiting on a laugh, but I think I’ll do the opposite, and exit on something that’s not even remotely funny. Obama for America chose to feature this picture on its official Ohio Facebook page, championing a symbol of the oppression of women throughout the Muslim world. Oh, but explain to me again how it’s the Republicans who are waging a “war against women.”

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Thank You IOTW - Doug Ross - Ann Barnhardt
- Marathon Pundit  - Randy's Roundtable
and The Blaze for the Linkage

After Hours at O's House

By Big Fur Hat@iOwnTheWorld.com

IOTW.com

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Foreward....

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Join Barack and Sign Mo's Mother's Day Card

Wishing you very a Happy Wookie Mother's Day. 

Kind Regards Kinda,

Diogenes

P.S.  Just a note while I have the opportunity. 

When I was a little boy my Dear Mother would paddle my butt good when I Lied, acted an ass in public or put my feet on the furniture. When I got married my wife kept me in check till I actually grew up. 

It seems you have a similar problem as my mother did, and if I may be so bold as to suggest you reel in your lying little Barry a bit, and also tell him to keep his feet off the American peoples furniture.  As for the paddling thing, what freaky things you guys do behind closed doors is entirely your business...know what em sayin'. But if opportunity was to present itself, would you whack him once for me?

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Pulling Out All the Stops Shows Obama is Desperate

Reposted from March 23,2012

Could this be Obama's October Surprise?

Will he take a Gamble?

Why Obama Isn't Backing Gay Marriage........Yet.

For those wanting to understand why the political deliberation over gay marriage is such a sensitive subject for this White House, look no further than the fact that it splits the two core constituencies that make up President Obama's base: college-aged voters and African-Americans.

Young voters are the driving force behind making gay marriage politically acceptable. But black voters, despite their overwhelming support for the president, are among the leading opponents of gay marriage.

Both groups turned out at historic levels in 2008, helping propel Obama to victory in states like Virginia and North Carolina. The president's re-election team is depending on similarly high turnout, especially among black voters, to make up for their weaknesses winning over non-college educated white voters. Indeed, the very reason they believe those Southern states are in play are directly related to expected high turnout among these demographic groups.

In 2008, African-American voters made up 20 percent of  Virginia's state electorate, and voters between the ages of 18-29 made up 21 percent of the statewide vote. Fast-forward just one year later to the closely-contested gubernatorial race, and African-Americans dropped to 15 percent of the electorate, with 18-29 year olds making up just 10 percent. Team Obama needs the numbers to be much closer to the 2008 figures to win the Old Dominion again. And that's where the gay marriage debate gets awfully tricky for the president's political advisers.

Public opinion on gay marriage is pretty straightforward. There's a huge generational divide - with older voters solidly opposed, and younger voters solidly supportive. Over time, support for gay marriage should increase. And if Obama came out in support of gay marriage, he would probably excite and inspire many college-aged Democrats to show up at the polls and support him -- not to mention winning back some socially-moderate independents who have been disenchanted with the president over the economy.

But college-aged voters are only part of the president's coalition. The bigger element consists of African-American voters, who are solidly opposed to gay marriage. California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage passed in 2008 thanks to overwhelming black support; 70 percent backed it, according to exit polls. Recent gay marriage legislation in Maryland drew opposition from leading Democratic African-American legislators in the state. The same ministers organizing get-out-the-vote efforts in black churches for Obama are also railing against gay marriage.

Obama can't afford to even risk losing the deep enthusiasm black voters have towards him. They gave Obama a whopping 95 percent of the vote against John McCain last election and turned out at historic levels. He should get similar levels of support this year, but with the down economy disproportionately affecting the black community, he's not at all assured that they'll turn out at the same level as 2008. Backing gay marriage would virtually guarantee that some would stay home - perhaps enough to tip the balance in states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Ohio.

The conventional wisdom has been that supporting gay marriage would alienate blue-collar whites, and that's been the main reason he's been hesitant to come out in favor before the general election. But in this case, it's a crucial element of his own base that's preventing the Obama from taking bolder steps to advance a cause that he seems to believe in, but hasn't yet publicly embraced.  

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sources:

Washington post

CNN