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Is This as Good as It Gets From Obama?
Yeah, I'm disappointed, too. I thought we were sweeping into power; I thought change meant Change. I believed all that talk about another First 100 Days, a la Roosevelt. Well, that didn't happen. The question is, is this as good as it gets from Obama, or is he pacing himself? He may have a four and eight-year plan and they included a first year of just gettin' to know you and not gonna rock the boat too much. Well, Mission Accomplished on that.
It's still to early to lose hope in a guy as smart and talented as Barack Obama. But I would counsel him to remember: If you're going undercover to infiltrate how Washington works, so you become one of them for a while, to gain their confidence, well, it can be just like all those movies where a cop goes deep, deep, DEEP undercover with drug people and -- fuck, he's a drug addict, too!
Logic tells me that really smart guys like Obama and Rahm Emanuel know better what they're doing than I do. They certainly know things I don't know. I think we have the same general goals and beliefs. And this is what they do for a living -- I wouldn't even try it. But I will never stop having this doubt: that maybe if they had really charged in there riding the forceful energy of the historic election, and acted like it was an emergency moment -- which it was -- they could have gotten some big victories right up front, and there really could have been an historic "first hundred days" for this administration and the country. Instead of what happened, which is the Obamas got a dog. It could have worked -- the country had given its endorsement to "...and now for something completely different." There might have been a way to knock the Republicans back on their heels right away, with the argument that "The American people demanded we make these changes, and you are unpatriotic to stand in their way."
We'll never know. Because that moment passed, and now it could follow the pattern of World War I and devolve into boring, static trench warfare where nothing really gamechanging happens while both sides slowly bleed to death.
That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras.
- Posted in
119 Comments so far
Show AllAll that "smart" and "talent" is meaningless without courage and a conscience.
The banking/military/insurance/energy/media interests have steamrolled the weak and unprepared community organizer.
Very well said Cygnus.
Now, he's getting it from both sides and he deserves it.
Obomba makes Bill Clinton look like a man of conviction!!!
You can be smart and an asshole, or stupid and an asshole. But in either case, you're an asshole.
So it really doesn't make any difference wasting time discussing whether Obama is smart or not. All I know that he hasn't stopped the war, isn't promoting single payer health care, just allowed the money (800 billions dollars to the banks) to be unaccounted for, and yet people are saying that he is pacing himself?
I would say that Obama already sprinted around the to the endline, and people like Maher don't even realize it. The game is over.
And I admire Maher for a lot of what he has to say. I don't know why relatively intelligent people like Maher supported Obama in the first place after looking at his voting record as Senator.
Oh wait, Pelosi is reasonable, as is Hillary, as is Bill. Now I understand.
One way I cut through the BS is ask people if they thought that Bill Clinton was a good president. The same way you can ask people if the Vietnam war was okay. You know where they stand on the current flavor of the week. If they liked it then, they'll like it now.
Same old same old.
Silence only protects the guilty.
Single Payer or single term.
EXACTLY.
it's like a person with a great, beautiful , big once-in-many-lifetimes Singing Voice with the world his stage eagerly awaiting for him to sing a night of unimaginable beauty -- and then chooses to sing a few banal, tired songs limited to 3 notes..
it's like paying a baseball team player 200 million dollars for a contract and then he is a fat big flop..
Obama is all "soaring rhetoric" minus the Wings to Fly...
it's like preaching "Freedom" when his own feet are chained to the ground.
what a waste.
i just hope he is learning quickly that all he has done thus far is WRONG...and that he needs to boldy tack HARD LEFT!
he needs to use his bully pulpit to focus attention on the establishment ITSELF...he has to be "populist" which has become a derogatory word in american politics even if in reality that IS what is needed.
period.
The most brutal military power in the world hired a scam man to charm the easily charmed Americans into ga-ga land for an entire year.
Mission accomplished. (These people are far ahead of the game)
My prediction: as the next election draws near, Obama will throw a bone or two. As we already know, it doesn't take much to get the Obama worshipers back to church. He could simply say something nice to them and their little hearts, again, will be all a twitter.
If I was a religious man, I'd be praying not for Obama to "tack HARD LEFT" - since that's preposterous to imagine - but for Americans to wake up and see him and the empire for what they are: criminals, willing to steal, kill, maim, all for world domination. (read Chomsky for some history of the process)
"If I was a religious man, I'd be praying ... for Americans to wake up and see [Obama] and the empire for what they are: criminals, willing to steal, kill, maim, all for world domination."
I'm sure that one of the main reasons Obama is making sure the torture photos aren't released is that their release would wake up many Americans to the true nature of the Republican/Democratic party that perpetrated and defended such horrors.
Given Obama's zealous defense of the torturers, I suspect that many Obama supporters who have been willing to "give him more time" would change their minds if they saw the photos described in a recent Raw Story article quoted below (see http://rawstory.com/2009/10/obama-law-torture-photos).
A few select quotes:
Major General Antonio Taguba, the author of a report on allegations of detainee abuse in U.S. prisons in Iraq, said that photos exist depicting the following:
–An American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner.
–A male translator apparently raping a male detainee.
–A female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts.
Other photographs depict sexual assaults on prisoners with a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube, according to Taguba.
"Populist" is exactly right.
But the left is incapable of that.
Expect Sara Palin not to be...in 2012.
What will Bill, Michael, Zinn and the rest say then.
Oh, it was Bush.
Oh, it was the MSM.
Oh, it was Ronnie Ray-Gun
Oh, it was Rush.
Oh, it was Glenn.
Oh, it was Ralph.
Oh, it was... oh heck, you get the picture.
"steamrolled the weak and unprepared community organizer."
No, he was a willing accomplice and has been all along. Don't be naive.
These people aren't innocent, naive political newbies. They are politically talented, savvy, calculating, evil human beings--that just happen to be democrats.
"unprepared community organizer."? I don't think so.
I think if you look at his major corporate campaign contributors, he's doing exactly what one might expect. Hedge fund managers, pharmaceuticals, banking, the insurance industry; I think we've all been had. The guy had a bang-up PR team. Also, to be fair, he was fairly straightforward concerning wanting to go into Afghanistan and Pakistan. I don't think people were listening. He never sounded like a pacifist to me.
Anybody who has read the history of the Great Depression knows what Hoover did and knows what FDR did.
To date Obama is doing what Hoover did, not what FDR did.
Obama continues to enable the "too big to fail" banks to get even bigger and take more risks, thereby assuring that the next crash will be the worst ever.
Last February's stimulus package had the potential to be an FDR program until it was watered down with too many tax cuts and too little infrastructure work that is sorely needed and would produce good jobs.
FDR had noblesse oblige while obama has the clinton doctrine of "i'm going to get what's mine when the end of my presidency comes"......
it's quite insulting to FDR's legacy and historical FACT by comparing obama to FDR......where's harry hopkins when we need him......he hired 3 million people in 6 weeks w/ a 3% overhead.... that means that the amount spent went 97% to the people who did the actual work.....
unlike our current stimulus plans where we outsource then it gets trickled down.....take Katrina for example....we paid out around 185 per hour for work to get down....it went from one firm to the next - with each taking their cut - when it came down to actually doing the work? 8.50 an hour! that's a 95% overhead.......
basically we're getting a big "screw you" from the obama administration!
Obama's heart is in the right place. But corporate money and influence will resist REAL change. Obama may still deliver something of value in time. I hope.
Hope plus two bucks buys a good cup of coffee.
I only tip the barista with hope...
If we can't have "hope & change", at least there's still hope...
Obama's heart is in the right place? Yes, I can believe that -- his heart is with Wall Street and everything that stems from it, including the insurance, hospital and pharma cabals.
The only way he'll deliver anything of value for the good of the 90% in this country is for maybe the Progressive Dems to stand up to him and vote no on some these major initiatives, starting with health care. That would be some eye-opening loss for Obama. Right now it doesn't look very good. Progressives are folding. Kucinich is still fighting, though. But will Kucinich vote no? I sure hope so. He voted no on the war funding bill, in spite of the hate crime provision attached to it.
"Obama's heart is in the right place."
Why would you think so? Because he seems fond of his own family?
Gee, I never heard of the heart being contained in the anal sphincter as "the right place" before.
Bill Maher presents himself as being politically astute ala the corruption cycle in DC. It is a sad commentary for this nation that the majority of political journalists are so out of touch with just how bought and paid for American politicians are. This article confirms how flipping stupid we have become collectively as a citizenry. Duh, Bill, Obama is proving himself to be a puppet of the financial oligarchy. Shocking!!!
It's so easy for a rich comedian to act like another silly dilly Obamabot and say "It's still to early to lose hope in a guy as smart and talented as Barack Obama". Most of those who lost their trust of Obama and even some of us who were skeptical of him would have supported him had he been a real progressive and not playing kissyface with the GOP on everything. We are already heading towards a barter economy like it or not with the dollar continuing to lose its value and don't say that war with Hondorus or Iran is off the table. This administration is very slick compared to the last one who at least let you know in advance. Oh, Barry is "smart and talented" for the monied elite but for the people, we're not even getting crumbs to fight for let alone slices. Mr. Mahar, I'll take your article as a silly dilly piece of satire but if you really mean what you say, then SHAME ON YOU !
Good comments! Because Mr. Meher (sp? it's really hard to spell!) is probably the siliest dilliest Obamabot in human history, right? What a goofus doofus Mr. Mihir is. Some of us who are skeptical smarty warties would for sure have supported him if only there was any money left in the world that hasn't been pocketed by the hedge fund Republican voters on their 500 foot yachts. Remember Mr. Mohor, the good thing about the Repubs is that at least they let you know in advance! Whatever that means! :]
Hey Bill, do you get a royalty fee from that clip Glenn Beck uses of you calling us little people stupid? You know the one where people are so stupid they need to be dragged to your point of view. So much for the marketplace of ideas. We really appriciate your opinion of us. I trust you don't mind if we project that consideration onto the White House.
The LESSER of two evils IS still EVIL.
Cygnus is right about "courage and conscience".
A sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Bill Maher, as well, sounds guilty of this.
Let's hold on to our sanity, PEOPLE.
Take the pledge, NO MORE:
Millionaires
Harvard graduates
Lawyers
STOP voting for the same person over and over again.
WE NEED "courage and conscience", not arrogance and wealth.
SUPPORT DENNIS KUCINICH 2012 FOR PRESIDENT.
Kucinich may very well have his chance to primary Obama out in 2012 if today's elections in NJ and VA, both appearing redder than expected, mean anything. The bigger the Republican victories, the more popular Kucinich will get.
Can you explain how? Are you suggesting a sort of "the worse, the better" effect?
I can only guess that Obama will look at this as a sign to move further to the rightwing and further and faster sink the party. I could be wrong on my predictions if there's a miraculous change in the trends but I remain skeptical. Lord only knows what will happen next IMHO.
Kucinich is a waste of time. I'm tired of hearing about him. God, he's a little democratic toadie.
Vote for a democrat again? You must be out of your f**king mind.
"NO MORE.....Millionaires.....Harvard graduates. Lawyers." –(sue1403)
This proscription may sound simplistic, but it is anything but. It should be amplified to its full nihilistic potential, as it points the way to a truer discourse.
One hopes to live long enough to see the smoldering ashes of what was once Harvard University– especially the law and business schools– trampled ignominiously underfoot.
It is important to keep in mind the power of the symbolic in any future emancipatory struggles. Hold the beneficent image of the destruction of Harvard University steadfastly in mind as one would caress a delicious dream.
William Blake once said, to paraphrase: 'Anything that can be imagined is an image of truth.'
Harvard is one of the seminal malefic nodes of darkness of the American death state, little more than a 'killing ground' a death site. –(Jill Bains)
"one of the seminal malefic nodes of darkness"
What a wonderful phrase! And I learned a new word, "malefic".
Anyone who actively seeks political office should immediately be disqualified from holding office.
I am so disappointed with Obama...he is just another corporate hack.
People should ask for their donation money back.
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
Maher's level of denial is actually aversive to witness. I feel simultaneously incredulous, disgusted, irritated, and bewildered, as though I'd seen a well-groomed adult drop their trousers and defecate in the middle of the pavement.
NOW, If we could just(ly) count on Olberman to hold the NAPP(NoAccountPresident/Party)sters to account, ala countdown!?
Bill Maher, like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, is at times, very clever. In the long run, their careers are dependent upon the same opportunistic manuevering as the politicians they ridicule. You and I can never know what they are up to at any moment.
It is not wise to give any comedian, whether on HBO, in the Vatican, in Windsor castle, or in the White House, any credence.
If Obama and Emanuel are comedians, I wish they were funnier!
I suppose we should bestow our credence instead on random posters at various websites.
Yes. That would be wise.
Also, that's not blood; it's lipstick and that's not a dog; it's a PIG! And it's NOT to (sic) early; it's TOO DEM LATE!
Well Bill, join the growing list of koolaid drinkers who are now waking up with a massive hangover. Just to remind you, and all the other idiots who foisted this narcissistic sock puppet on us: next time THINK before you vote and when one of your friends says "This guy is spewing a lot of BS."... you might want to listen to them.
If I sound angry, it's because I have to live with the consequences of the stupid decisions you and the other Obots made... and you're supposed to be the smart, cynical, sophisticated, no BS political opinion maker - talk about disappointment.
Well Bill, join the growing list of koolaid drinkers who are now waking up with a massive hangover. Just to remind you, and all the other idiots who foisted this narcissistic sock puppet on us: next time THINK before you vote and when one of your friends says "This guy is spewing a lot of BS."... you might want to listen to them.
If I sound angry, it's because I have to live with the consequences of the stupid decisions you and the other Obots made... and you're supposed to be the smart, cynical, sophisticated, no BS political opinion maker - talk about disappointment.
No one who employs the term "koolaid drinkers" deserves the time of day.
Funny, I'd've said that anyone who *objects* to the term doesn't deserve etc. Clichés become so because they pithily express an important concept, so those who object to them are quite often actually objecting to the concept itself.
Hilarious.
Bilderberg Guoup
While Bill Maher is sleeping in "happy Obama land", the PUBLIC LAVA IN TODAY'S ELECTIONS IN VA, NJ, and that district in NY is flaming high. Today, I didn't bother to vote but for the first time in a gubernatorial election, I saw hundreds of seniors and vets all lined up at the polling both, most of them supporting Bob McDonnell. Never before have I witnessed such huge Republican turnout. I just got off the phone with one of my coworkers who was at a meeting in NJ and he says that voters in NJ are reporting much bigger Republican turnout even in heavily Democratic precincts. There has been some higher Democratic turnout in NJ being reported compared to VA but even there, doesn't look good. I don't want to rain on Maher's parade but if the GOP is ahead in NJ by more than 5 points and/or ahead in VA by more than 15 points when the election is over, this is going to be a very very BAD OMEN for Obama and his party come next year and likely in 2012. So far, this is very very bad.
I hear you. Turnout is not all that great in Northern Virginia. There were mainly older white males lined up at the polling booth. I voted none of the above on every choice selection. VA will be over by 8 tonight but NJ might go into tomorrow morning.
Boy I hear you too! No wonder you didn't vote, because it probably took a lot of time to go to all the polling places and do a survey to find out that all those seniors and uniformed vets were voting for McDonnell. Good citizenship is hard work! All of us progressives here on CD appreciate the heads up from your coworker on the phone who already knows there is really high Republican turnout in NJ. So who is it raining on now Bill Maher, probably you. : [
Having a little trouble reading before you post? Poor you. I think you meant to respond to max, not me.
HA ! Don't blame me. Blame your party for screwing up like this. See the election results for yourself. This is a very very BAD OMEN ! We all hate it but this is what we get when our party gags like this !
The self immolation of the Democratic party proceeds in turn! That it is destroyed at the hands of the right is obviously not as auspicious or as salutary as if it were destroyed by the left. But it must be destroyed none the less. Alarm bells ringing heralding the implosion of the Democratic party inspire little more than a tired yawn and a good riddance. Fascism out, fascism in. America resplendent in the ongoing psychopathy! –(Jill Bains)
"That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras."
And why would this have been a bad thing? It would have had a cathartic effect on Main Street. As far as I'm concerned, a little chaos right now is what we need. It would wake up a bunch of folks and demonstrate that their vote, as well as action/inaction, has consequences.
It is well known political theory that though votes to a third party do not often result in officeholders, demonstrations by large enough contingents prod the powers that be into acquiesence on popular issues.
In other words, you need to lose a few before you see results.
"Yeah, I'm disappointed, too. " –(Bill Maher)
–Why does no one believe you? Your criticism is so faint it seems afraid of its own shadow, which it is. Nothing but corporate 'boilerplate' serving to appear as media 'evenhandedness.'
You are not really disappointed at all as your misgivings are so cautious they amount to a backhanded apologia. But worst of all, would it have been too much to ask that you should have known better to begin with? That way we could have avoided this luke warm attempt at contrition and faux 'disappointment,' this tedious, disingenuous shilling.
"It's still to early to lose hope in a guy as smart and talented as Barack Obama." –(Bill Maher)
–"Still too early?" This is the type of revelatory statement that consigns your entire oeuvre-past, present and still to come–to the scrap heap of incoherence: There is no need to read you at all anymore. Corporate double-speak filtered through progressive pretensions is a dull knife indeed.
"That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras."
–(Bill Maher)
–Thanks for your contribution to the dubious litany of the 'lesser of two evils' argument. There is no 'lesser' evil in American politics, only differences in aesthetics or perceived style. This tedious bromide deserves to be consigned to oblivion. –(Jill Bains)