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Adviser Losing Patience With Obama
One of President Barack Obama’s former top campaign advisers is “losing patience” with the White House, he told POLITICO Tuesday morning, as frustrations among the president’s liberal allies crest over issues from health care legislation to gay rights.
Steve Hildebrand (The Times/UK)
“I am one of the millions of frustrated Americans who want to see Washington do more than it's doing right now,” said Steve Hildebrand, the deputy campaign manager who oversaw the Obama campaign’s field organization and was an architect of his early, crucial victories over Sen. Hillary Clinton in Iowa and South Carolina.
Obama, he said, “needs to be more bold in his leadership.”
“I’m not going to just sit by the curb and let these folks get away with a lack of performance for the American people,” he said, speaking of Washington’s Democratic leadership as a whole. “I want change just as much as a majority of Americans do, and I’m one of the many Americans who are losing patience.”
Hildebrand is by far the most senior member of Obama’s political team to express public doubts about the White House, though he had already begun to part ways with Obama’s other top aides as the 2008 presidential campaign wore on.
Hildebrand was a key player in the primary campaign but grew increasingly alienated from the organization over, a person close to him said, strategic differences. Other top campaign officials grew frustrated with what they saw as Hildebrand’s at times negative attitude and his candid comments to the press, rare in the intensely disciplined campaign.
Still, he remains close to some top Obama aides, and his blast from the left is a mark of the depth of dissent even within elements of the organization that elected the first black president. His public comments are “nothing I haven't directly said to folks in the White House,” Hildebrand told POLITICO in an interview from his native South Dakota, where he came to prominence running former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s political operation.
Rresponding to Hildebrand’s criticism, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said it’s true that Hildebrand had raised the same frustrations to him and others inside the White House. But he stopped short of directly addressing the his criticism that Obama hasn’t been bold enough.
“We all know and love Steve Hildebrand,” said Gibbs, who noted Hildebrand was involved in then-Sen. Obama’s decision whether to run for president. “There’s nothing in there we haven’t all heard from him. But, look, I think Steve's frustration is the frustration of people not only in this town but a lot of people outside of this town — and that is Washington's inability to address big problems and get something done.”
Asked to address Hildebrand’s comments that the president hasn’t been forceful enough, Gibbs said, “Well, I'll e-mail Steve and tell him what which affiliate in Sioux Falls will be covering the [health-care] speech so he can listen to the president.”
Hildebrand broke his long post-campaign silence in a speech to the San Diego Democratic Club on August 22, which was reported in the gay press but passed without national notice. Hildebrand, who is gay, confirmed the comments reported in Zenger’s Newsmagazine, though he said the article’s assertion that he’d made a “slashing attack” on Obama was “over the top.”
“The problem is, Obama isn’t listening enough,” Hildebrand said, according to the report. “I love him, I love Michelle, I want him to succeed, but all of us need to put pressure on him and Congress to do the right things. The American people put confidence in the Democrats because they thought we could get things done, and if we fail, they’re not going to give it back.”
“I gave up a lot to elect Democrats, and I expect them to give it up for me. I’m going to speak loudly. The Republicans don’t have power unless the moderates and the Blue Dogs give it to them — which is what they’re doing now,” he said in the speech.
Hildebrand also said, according to the Zenger’s report, that that 2009 is shaping up to be “1993 all over again.” He told POLITICO he blames moderate Democrats in the House and Senate for the party’s weakness.
“There's basically three different parties, and one of those parties tends to be the barrier to getting anything done — and that's the Blue Dogs in the House and the moderates in the Senate,” he said in the interview. “Change is not going to come by people in the Beltway deciding we should have change. It’s going to come because they’re feeling pressure from all over the country.”
“I know where Barack Obama is on these issues and I don't question his sincerity or his honesty towards trying to solve them,” he said. “I do question whether or not the Congress as it is constituted right now is going to have the capacity to ever deliver on some of the most critical issues facing our country right now.”
Hildebrand was a singular figure as Obama’s campaign bus rolled through the hills of Iowa, a goateed, soft-spoken, and sometimes mischievous gay man who lived in sleepy Sioux Falls, right across the state line. Along with running the field organization alongside his former business partner, State Director Paul Tewes, Hildebrand made Obama’s case in his black leather jacket and casual clothes to key local Iowa leaders, one by one.
He said in the San Diego speech that gay rights was among the issues that had spurred his disappointment, mourning that after his 22 years of working for Democratic candidates, “we haven’t come very far,” according to the report.
“The government still doesn’t treat Gay people equally. Should I continue doing what I’m doing, or should I be a strong voice from the outside?” he said.
Hildebrand said in San Diego that he had demanded that his own congresswoman, South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, return his contribution after she voted for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and that he would vote for a Republican against her next year.
Hildebrand, who worked for a stretch for Rep. Kendrick Meek’s bid for a Florida Senate Seat, is no longer working on that campaign, and said he’d returned home to focus on issue campaigns, rather than candidates.
Hildebrand told POLITICO, however, that Obama may be getting back onto the right track.
“He needs to -- much like he did yesterday in that speech [to a union audience in Cincinnati], much like he'll do, I assume, [in an address to Congress] on Wednesday -- rally the American people to force change on Washington,” Hildebrand said. “Change is not going to come by people in the Beltway deciding we should have change -- it's going to come because they're feeling pressure from all over the country.”
37 Comments so far
Show AllThis could very well be too little, too late. Hildebrand is also right about there being essentially three parties, with the mushy middle (embodied by the Blue Dogs) having caved completely to their corporate paymasters.
We gotta vote the Dogs out and Progressives in!
They are basically Republicans who ran as Democrats. It's an old trick and it's working unless we are vigiliant and put a stop to it.
No one said that this was going to be easy.
I'm behind the President.
Give him a break and send your support and also make it count at the polls.
I bet that he has at least a 14 hour work day at the moment.
Let's hope that he can make progress on this almost impossible task.
If you're behind Obama, then he just farted in your face.
Whatever can you have possibly seen that gives you the idea that 0bama is not a Republican who ran as a Democrat?
You know, I would love to have a MOR political party support something that I believe in or something that would make my life better. I don't particularly enjoy voting with under 5% of the population for politicians that support what 70+% of the population supports.
But progress is impossible, not "almost impossible," if one does not support it. I would be only too glad to support 0bama, but he is not going my way.
“He needs to ... rally the American people to force change on Washington,” Hildebrand said. “Change is not going to come by people in the Beltway deciding we should have change -- it's going to come because they're feeling pressure from all over the country.”
Nor is "change" going to come from secret deals made with the Plutocracy's representatives behind closed doors, which is classic "inside the beltway" behavior. And the only reason the Right isn't fawning over him is because he's black; otherwise, he'd be more popular than Reagan.
Obama, he said, “needs to be more bold in his leadership.”
That's not leadership Obama is demonstrating. In polite circles it is known as boot licking, brown nosing, bending over and grabbing your ankles . . . in short, SURRENDER.
I wouldn't call it surrender, in Obama's case. I'd call it willing collaboration, collusion, business as usual, more of the same...
The president has to do something because this strategy isn't working and it ISN'T leadership. I just read on Yahoo news that there's language in this health bill that says Americans will be fined if we don't take health insurance. That's ridiculous!
Baucus is behind that, and there is much more that's damnedable in his swindle. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090908/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_health_care_overhaul
Baucus is no more than a mad dog and deserves the treatment mad dogs get.
Here's a link that provides more details to Baucus's swindle, http://www.startribune.com/politics/57768372.html
And here a link to Baucus's email reply page. Let him know what you think of his so-called plan, http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue
Thanks for the links karlof1.
Forcing people to give money to profit-motivated insurance companies when it comes to life or death health issues is rape, not reform. Such a law is unjust and should not be followed.
I agree. Baucus' latest proposal - to force people to buy health insurance from private insurers and FINE them if they don't - is an OUTRAGE. I just sent Baucus an email telling him so (as if he cares what I think). This is what I feared the most - that Single Payer would be taken off the table, that the weak public option would likewise go down in flames, and that we'd end up forcing the poor to buy health insurance from the greedy Mother F--ing insurance companies. It's so predictable. I'm so angry, I could spit.
I think Obama has tried to bring some civility to government and society. It's a laudable goal. But if bullies are pushing you around, you have to take some strong action. The "bullies" in this case are using inuendo, fear, dirty tricks, outright lies and downright stupidity to convince people that change is "unamerican". Bullies do not respect compromise or dialog. I hope that Obama soon takes a stronger hand and effects the change that has fired the imagination of so many.
"I hope that Obama soon takes a stronger hand and effects the change that has fired the imagination of so many."
"hope"
"change"
=
"imagination "
bcoop:
Please stop.
Do we want public policy to be "guided" by prevaricators, fear mongers, Elmer Gantrys and profiteers or not? There's no doubt Obama has brought civility, but it's being painted weakness and become a time for, dare I say it, warriors! He's proved his point, but sometimes leaders need to eat a little more red meat and a little less arugula!
Oh, I think President Obama is quite bold enough, thank you. In an environment where the public is literally screaming for the end of wars and some decent health care, you have to be very bold to ignore them.
In the intelligence community, it's called Mutt and Jeff or good cop, bad cop.
We've all noticed that the more mealy mouthed the demorats get, the more belligerent the repurats get.
But have you noticed that the inverse is also true?
Yep, when we have thoroughly branded repukes as coarse, offensive individuals, behold there cometh a principled, polite repuke that "everyone" is wowed with (see the Obama campaign). At the same time, you will have the demorats begin to appear more haughty and disconnected from the people. Of course it will be our wonderful media that will be selflessly informing us of these "amazing" developments. Excuse me while I throw up.
Now I feel a lot better. Don't get SNOWED. Emmanuel is already packaging Olympia Snowe (my what a heroic, teutonic, mythological, powerful, winner, caucasian, great white hope name that is as a contrast to a "black arab socialist" type president) for the "new" polite, principled republi-rat party in 2012. I can already imagine that Wagnerian Opera playing to Snow White's nomination for Ein Volk, Ein Reich President of the US Fodderland. Busy, busy, busy.
Note: For those that have a "problem" with the concept of a demorat white house chief of staff working to help a repurat female senator from Maine win the presidency in 2012, I can only pity you.
edited from:
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama Back to School Event
September 8, 2009
http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
Prepared Remarks of US Citizens Back to Democracy Event
Everywhere, USA
September 8, 2009
The People: Hello Mr. President – how are you doing today? We're here with people all across America. We're glad you could join us today.
We know that for you, today is your first Labor Day as President, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. We imagine there are some fake democrats out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just 3 more years to go until the next election. And no matter what caucus you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still the cold war, and you could’ve stayed at that war just a little longer.
...But we're here today because we have something important to discuss with you. We're here because we want to talk with you about your election and what’s expected of you in this new year.
Now we've signed a lot of petitions demanding democracy. And we've talked a lot about accountability.
We've talked about our Congress's responsibility for not giving in to you, and for pushing you to the left.
We've talked about our Main Stream Media's responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and fulfill your oath of office, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of Wall Street or on that golf course.
We've talked a lot about our government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting the rule of law and principles, and turning around the assault on the Constitution where people aren’t getting the liberty and justice they demand.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated journalists, the most supportive democrats, and the best golf courses in the world – and none of it will matter unless all elected officials fulfill their oath of office.
Unless you enforce the law; pay attention to the liberals; listen to your boss, the citizens and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what we want to focus on today: the responsibility you have for your success. We want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
There are things you’re good at. You do have something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity a legitimately-elected Presidency can provide.
Maybe you could be a peacemaker – maybe even good enough to have a peace summit – but you might not know it until you stop making war.
Maybe you could be a statesman – maybe even good enough to come up with the next New Deal – but you might not know it until you advocate for public works projects.
Maybe you could call out a corrupt Senator or a corrupt Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know if you can do that until you grow a spine.
And no matter what you want to do with your Presidency – we guarantee that you’ll need a spine to do it. You can’t be a fake-democrat and just drop into a successful Presidency. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your Presidency will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in office today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn from intelligent left-leaning citizens around the country to cure diseases like corruption and greed, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain from citizen movements and social organizations to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your meetings with liberals to build new companies that will create green jobs and a green infrastructure to boost our long-term economy.
We need you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on democracy – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now we know it’s not always easy to do well in office. We know you have challenges in the board rooms right now that can make it hard to focus on your oath of office.
...But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on on Wall Street – that’s no excuse for neglecting democracy or having a wishy-washy attitude. That’s no excuse for talking down to liberals, or raising military spending, or dropping the left off a cliff. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
contd...
That’s what leaders like you are doing every day, all across America.
People like Dennis Kucinich, from Ohio. Dennis who wasn't afraid to speak up when it was tough to do so. He worked hard, earned the respect of the left, and is now on his way to being the next Prez.
We're thinking about Russ Feingold, from Wisconsin, who fought the so-called Patriot Act. He’s endured all sorts of treatment and slander. But he never gave up, and he’s headed to a run for the Whitehouse someday himself.
And then there’s Cindy Sheehan, from Nancy Pelosi's hometown, San Franscisco. Even when enduring the name calling and disparagement, she managed to still call herself a liberal; fought to keep young people out of war; and she’s on track to become a card carrying American-with-honors and go on to Congress someday.
Dennis, Russ, and Cindy aren’t any different from you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their beliefs and set the country right again. And we expect you to do the same.
That’s why today, we're calling on you to set your own democratic goals for your Presidency – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as giving an anti-war speech at the United Nations, paying attention Labor, or spending time each day reading a David Ray Griffin book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in a peace group, or volunteer in habitat for humanity. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for poor people who are being raped and murdered because of who they are or how they look, because, calling yourself a democrat, like we do, that all people deserve healthcare. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you wash your hands a lot after sending young Americans off to wars based on lies, and stay home from Wall Street meetings when you're not feeling like a democrat, so we can keep people from getting raped and robbed again this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, we want you to commit to it. We want you to really work at it.
We know that sometimes, you get the sense from Wall Street that you can be a rich CEO-President without any consequences -- that your ticket to success is through raping the poor or being a better republican than the republicans are or by trying to get the Fox "News" people to like you, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every liberal you study. You won’t click with every peacenik. Not every anti-war activist will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything, the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful Presidents in the country are the ones who’ve looked like they had it wrong at first. Jimmy Carter showed the world that Americans really can be a smart and caring people.
FDR had ups and downs all the while keeping domestic terrorists at bay saying, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in bed with Wall Street, that doesn’t mean you’re a Republican, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad poll number, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying liberals.
contd...
No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport.
You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your Presidency. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to be worthy of being called coming from a real democrat.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from liberals when you need it. We do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
So find an adult you can trust – a liberal, an anti-war activist or liberal blogger; a Labor union or peace group – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like liberal people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It’s the story of Presidents who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Leaders who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war against fascism; who fought for civil rights and a 40 hour work week. Men who sat where you sit who helped found The Peace Corp, Medicare and Social Security and changed the way the rich treat the less fortunate.
So today, we want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What goals will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what you did for this country?
We citizens and independent media, are doing everything we can to make sure you have the backing and information you need to answer these questions. We worked hard to get you into office and get you the Presidency, the opportunity and information you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So we expect you to get serious this year. We expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. We expect great things from you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your party or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. We know you can do it.
I'm afraid that the CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION AND GREED has morphed into a fatal disease for our country. The Constitution has been shredded by the congressional shills who have completely handed over our country to the Coporatocracy.
Mr. President, if you don't start fighting, with everything you've got, the fatal illness that has befallen our country and return it to the health of a functioning "DEMOCRACY," which is completely SEPARATE from the Corporatocracy, you will not turn us away from the ugly death toward which our Democracy is careening.
You could begin by fighting immediately for the sordid business of Lobbying being declared a CRIMINAL OFFENSE. It should be labeled for what it is - BRIBERY!!! AND, I BELIEVE BRIBERY OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE!
Get with it, Mr. Obama. Stand up to the Corporatocracy and our corrupt Congress. Let them know that you are NOT in their court and will do everything you can to eliminate their influence from our government. You could start be naming names and pointing fingers at those members of Congress who are completely in the hands of their corporate masters.
You are now the LEADER OF AMERICA, a country that is filled with an angry, used, hurt, insulted, and disillusioned citizenry!
Fnally, we citizens need to wake up and REFUSE to vote for any puppet who is being manipulated in any way by the Corporatocracy!
I've been very disappointed with Obama. Thom Hartmann hopes he's playin' chess instead of checkers and so do I. but, i fear Obama's missed a move or 2. So, let's listen to tomorrow's speech; and then send all of our $ to primary challengers to blue puppies. Should that fail, send it to 3rd party canditates.
If Hildebrand is disappointed with Obama (who the hell wouldn't be?), what must he think of Tom Daschle? He worked closely with that total zero, so Hildebrand must be among the more cynical ex-advisers around. Alas, he hasn't learned much! He's pissed at his congresswoman for voting against gay marriage--so he's going to vote now for a Republican! That'll show the Blue Dogs! Vote for assholes even further to the right than they are!
He is to young, to inexperienced, to Naieve and to Ivy League like the Clintons, the Bushees, Al Gore, etc..
All together they have sold out our country to China and Wall St. He does not realize it, but under Bill Clinton who sold out our industrial base to China, he inherited the Depression that has been brought on by the Clinton deal.
We need some hard nose decisions on how to rebuild our industrial base and the community organizer still does not have a clue.
"He is to young, to inexperienced, to Naieve and to Ivy League like the…"
This doesn't make any sense. You are using adjectives and nouns in verb phrases.
No, he just isn't following conventional spelling rules.
There IS something significant here. It was soon after Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president that I noticed a very definite shift in his rhetoric. He became more and more like Bush as the campaign went along - until I (along with many others) had had enough.
It seems that the same is somewhat true of Steve Hildebrand.
How was it that he went from the position of Deputy Campaign Manager to a position of disillusionment?
Could someone please ask Mr. Hildebrand about the chronology of his dissatisfaction with Obama?
Was there a meeting after which there was a marked difference in Obama's demeanor?
Was there a moment when a change became noticeable?
Perhaps, by the time Mr. Hildebrand became involved it was already too late.
I really would like to know how someone like Obama, who worked as a community organizer and who obviously has exceptional intelligence, would later degenerate into a corporate lacky.
Seriously, I would like a thorough interview with Steve Hildebrand to try to find out what happened.
Oh my gawd ! Steve Hildebrand, please don't give us this cock-and-bull to us. You know very well that Obama is already bold but for the wrong side. He was "bold" enough to bully his own party in Congress last year into voting for the 700b bailout and earlier this year he was "bold" enough to bully Congress into voting for the stimulus sham and more war spending. If that's not "bold" enough to Steve then what is. Obama is a coward to the working class but a "boldy" to the ruling class !
You have put your finger right on it. If 80% of us screaming NO BANK BAILOUT didn't make a dent, there is no grassroots movement that can affect policy.
I have come to the conclusion that the only way to lick them is to refuse to join them in anything. All efforts to "do something" at the Federal level will result in more money funnelled to the corporate powers and their minions.
"Blame it on the Blue Dogs" Will it get to the top of the charts or fizzle at number 40?
"Hildebrand said in San Diego that he had demanded that his own congresswoman, South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, return his contribution after she voted for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and that he would vote for a Republican against her next year."
As if that is going to help with anything. What do Republicans want ? They really will be instrumental in NOTHING. If people just vote for them because they are cynical and pissed off with democrats, you are giving them power to destroy the country even further. Why not put pressure on the Democrats by voting for a Green candidate ?
I wonder if there are other 'advisors' pouring poison in the President's ears.
At times like this I remember the words of Harry Truman who said to do what is right; if you succede then the words of your detractors will amount to nothing and if you fail then flights of angels singing your prases won't help.
I think one the main forces behind the rules set in Washington and Wall Street still come from G.H.W.Bush. Obama was bought by Wall Street and the GOP, to be another Puppet like Bush Jr. and now expected to pay the piper. He will only be allowed to go as far as the GOP will let him, and as we see now, they will be out in force to block him. What other reason did he have to keep the Bush war mongel generals, and Bush SR. old pal Gates? Go back in history and one family who was connected to the Nazie party was the Bush family, and a lot of their tactics were showed during the Bush term, and overflowed into the campaign, as well as the recent town hall meetings, and such. Listen to the rants of Palin, Beck, and the like.
Hildebrand "...came to prominence running the political operation of...Tom Daschle"
Doesn't that say it all? If there ever was a milquetoast corporate whore, that's our boy Tom, the precursor to Harry Reid. He was Obama's mentor in the Senate. And Hildebrand couldn't see this?
Don't expect Obama to come around.
The only course of action has to be tell the truth to the people.
Tell us what's been going on in Washington.
Tell us the LIES of FOX News, and then lay out the facts.
Obama has the microphone, he can set things straight and FOX News has to put it on the air.
But he won't.
I know because he let Van Jones go. Van Jones had the vision for a green economy. To fund this economy we need to switch government subsidies from fossil fuel to a renewable one; sunlight.
We CAN'T do this overnight, we have to be weened off of fossil fuels.
At this point we are only talking about it, and actions speak louder than words.
Obama has backed off and watered down any agreement he's made since being elected. I want to like the guy and I know he wants to do what's right but he's obviously not willing to stand up to the insane opposition, who are somehow convincing the public that they are 'warriors of freedom' when they're really just the status quo.
www.mindwafers.com