Hamstringing Obama

[yeahwho]

Seems like giving Obama a chance has flown right out the window. His selections have all been roundly criticized, those he is bringing back or letting continue on are being lambasted and anything he says about the economy, war, or international/national policy is scoffed at by the local membership.

I think his ability to lead is completely ignored, since he hasn't served one day as president it seems pretty shallow to me that many here would basically pile on a load of criticism before the man has even done the job, but hey, that's just me.

So in order to gauge the the BBMB political discussion group I decided to make a poll.

[Schmeltz]

I didn't vote because I'm not American, but I think options one and two are not mutually exclusive. Yes you are going to see more of the same for the time being because the damage done by the Bushies is not going to go away overnight. They have had seven years to exploit a monumentally historical tragedy and shape American foreign and domestic policy to their own ideological ends - how is Obama supposed to reverse this trend immediately? It may very well take just as long to right the ship again. In the meantime there is going to have to be a period of transition in which the momentum can begin to swing the other way. I should think that would be more than obvious.

With this in mind, I think Obama is coming in for a lot of unfair criticism. His job is not to pick people that satisfy the opposing ideology, his job is to pick the people he feels are knowledgeable and responsible in the proper areas that need reform. The pool of such people is unfortunately not unlimited and to me it only makes sense that he would rely on choices with the most experience with the issues at hand, as opposed to candidates who might be more palatable to progressive voters but who might not actually be the most competent people required for the job.

Change will not be instantaneous and it must not be beholden to the whims of progressives who feel that their day has come and it's time for some kind of political revenge. It must be focused and calculated, and if that means hiring on some of the old guard to get it started, then so be it.

[DroppinScience]

I kinda want to simultaneously vote for BOTH option 1 and 2, which is an excellent point Schmeltz brought up that the two are not mutually exclusive. There is no doubt Obama is leading us to a better day, but at the same time, the harsh reality is there will be more of the same, at least in some respects. And yes, reversing the damage Bush has done cannot happen overnight. It's going to take a LOT of work to begin to even counter all that crap.

Here's how I feel about the cabinet picks: yes, a lot of them are disappointing to me. I didn't want Gates to stay on as Defense Secretary (yeah, he seems to be infinitely better than Rumsfeld, but that's not saying too much). Others I will honestly have to wait and see how they pan out, but am not exactly ecstatic. I do think the Attorney General pick is a good one from what I've seen.

And Schmeltz, you're right, Obama can't jam his cabinet to fulfill every single progressive's whim because he's going to have to govern with the considerations of ALL Americans, including the ones who did not vote for him. But the energy and grassroots organizing of the progressive movement definitely played a very strong role in getting Obama the Democratic nomination and ultimately, the presidency. I don't think it would kill him if he at least appointed ONE (just one!) true progressive in a cabinet post. Hell, appoint Bernie Sanders to a low-level position such as Transportation Secretary. ( :p ) I'll take what I can get.

But we still have to wait for him to actually take the oath (who knew two months would take so damn long?) to fully judge. I'm sure most everyone would love to be proven wrong and be shown that Obama did the right thing, but from where we are in November 2008, he's setting us up to be disappointed. Again, we'll see and I do genuinely wish Obama well, because he's gonna need it.

Edit: Oh yeah, if you're happy/unhappy with Obama and have suggestions/comments, I appreciate how Obama (or his webmasters) want to hear what you think. So if you want to be constructive, consider contacting the Transition Team and letting him know.

http://change.gov/page/content/contact/

[alien autopsy]

i dont think the economic situation has anything to do with obama, so, that said, id vote for no change, or perhaps, the illusion of change. meanwhile, we are entering the abyss.

[yeahwho]

There are lots of reasons to be tentative, but this is one I never suspected,

Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy (http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081124_obamas_use_of_complete_sentences_stirs_co ntroversy/)

“Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,” says Mr. Logsdon. “If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist.”

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, “OK, subject, predicate, subject, predicate—we get it, stop showing off.”

[fucktopgirl]

I think it will be the same, although he seem to be a more genuine and nice guy, what on the line is the same; Power and economy. He have the same discourse toward Iran with their nuclear program which does not look good for a peaceful ending. If he is in power it is because they want him to be there , he has big support within the corporate world which control everything. The USA will not suddenly change their trajectory; world domination is still in their mind, master of space, master of oil and so on. But , if i can allow myself to be less pessimist, maybe some good things will happen to US citizen like universal health coverage. If this happen then change is really possible.

BUt yea, it is too big of a machine for one guy...