One of President Obama’s biggest problems is his faith in the intelligence of Americans at large.

The mainstream media refuses to make a habit of responsibly examining issues, exposing lies, and inculcating the public with facts. Instead it shamefully fosters then exploits divisiveness, no matter how ludicrous a position, in a frenetic chase for ratings. Most Americans haven’t the education to critically distill truth from the chaotic mess the media presents, and would be just as well served by Saturday morning cartoons… and if you think I’m not being PC, just look at data about how many Americans can’t find Canada on a map! You know, such as…?

Too many gullible Americans, some stuffed with contempt because they’re losing the culture war, feel no affiliation with the buffoons leading their party, and have no clue how to solve a single problem or how to broaden their ranks in the least, are ready to cling frantically to the first inane sound bite they think might rally forces to their side… a sort of frat boy mentality that the only important thing is that my side win, damn the issue or how it benefits the general public, and damn the facts. Just look at the absurd lies the right keeps repeating about the proposed House health care bill! You’d think they were brainless two year olds!

Since the media typically won’t present facts, but instead fosters “point/counterpoint” shout-fest fiascos, President Obama needs to seriously improve his administration’s message machine… I mean, come on! How hard is it to get some good PR people? The opposition’s message is often so ludicrous, any decent teen debate team could make mince meat of it in minutes.

Mr. Obama, sir! If you had less faith in the broader American intellectual capacity and the intellect of Congress (including Dems!), and had worked as hard at delivering your message after the election you did prior to the election, then you wouldn’t have had to give up on single payer health care and we wouldn’t have this pointless mess that has become the compromised health care bill. You had enough Americans convinced single payer was a good idea that they put you in office! What happened?

Because he is a scholar of constitutional law and government, I expected President Obama would better know how to handle Congress and build working coalitions, especially with party majorities in both Houses. I can only believe that he is being very ill served by his staff. Someone needs to get on the ball and start throwing some weight around.

I understand that Dems, by and large, are smart enough to differ reasonably with each other on important issues, and will never walk in lock-step as mindlessly as Republicans did, rubber-stamping anything put in front of them by a Republican President or lobbyists without first trying to understand or read it. But how in the world can these blue dogs run so roughshod over the new administration? Are they so clean that no one can dig up any dirt what so ever to leverage with? Is that the difference? Was every crooked Republican just scared to make waves during the Bush years for fear of what might be exposed in retaliation?

I just can’t imagine why President Obama’s staff can’t find any way to build a workable coalition in Congress, especially when so many Americans are wholeheartedly behind this honorable, intelligent man, and have such a low opinion of the House and Senate.

Early 1990’s Goldman makes lucrative deals with Mexico. Co-CEO Robert Rubin, made millions and millions from deals.
1995 Mexican Peso is in trouble, the Goldman’s Deals are going south. Goldman on the hook.
Mr. Rubin, The Treasury Secretary, uses the Exchange Stabilization Fund (reserves to protect the “US Dollar”), gamble with Taxpayer’s Funds for another country’s currency [illegal].

Add 13-14 years to the story above. Paulson (Mr. China), incredible bonuses for deals in China as Goldman’s CEO. Amount spent to bailout the Goldman’s interest is only 20 times more than what they spent in 1995.

Why? Because Obama Administration cannot find a single Mexican American, African American or Irish/Italian American who can add numbers to head up the Treasury. All Treasury Secretaries have to have ties to Goldman, New York and Brooklyn.

The Bush Administration increased spending in every government program by 25 percent and we have very little to show for it. I can’t see why Obama wants to continue down the same path.

Wall Street Compensation – how our money is spent

Kenneth Feinberg is known with his favoritism, secrecy and loyalty to certain idologies. Appointing him to monitor and be the ultimate Czar means “Screw you America, here is our middle finger”.

I have never seen this country more divided or in worse shape than it is now. I have lost faith in President Obama’s abilities to effectively lead this country through these difficult economic times.

“I have lost faith in President Obama …”

Hahaha, Joe B! Who are you kidding? We know from your many postings here that you never had any to begin with.

The sad truth is every democracy gets the leadership that it deserves. Our population is too dumb to protect its own interest and we’re hearing people saying they don’t want government running their healthcare (a good number of those people are currently on medicare). Why don’t the supporters of healthcare ask this… “Would you rather have a private insurance industry that has in its financial interest to reject as many claims as it legally can and take as much money in premiums as it could running wild with no regulation and basically a price-fixed market? But then again, this might be too much to digest for a public that’s been dumbed down over the years and would rather hear one-line arguments like “Socialism”

Dead on Gina. The right-wing has been salivating waiting for any issue to use to vent their bottomless anger and sorrow at the loss of their vision of some nostalgic America of their youth. Health care is the latest, the angry mob will be heading to your neighborhood soon, full of half truths and venom.

America is changing and they cling to the god guns and gays rallying cry.

Thankfully we have a calm leader to guide us.

Oh yeah Joe B. WE WON in November, time to deal with it.

“I have never seen this country more divided or in worse shape than it is now.”

I have. Just 8 months ago.

As Secretary Clinton said yesterday, if Obama walked on water, the press would report that Obama can’t swim. What he has to do is very hard and the opposition in Congress is insurmountable; good that we have a supermajority, especially since we have the Blue Dogs to contend with. I have no faith that the GOP will participate in any non-partisan efforts; they are too entrenched with the corporations to act on behalf of the people of this country. On the other hand, the Left will pick him to death; nothing will ever be fast enough or Left enough for them. Watching the Left’s treatment of Obama has driven me from the Left towards the center. We elected him; we have to give him a chance to do his job. He’s only been in office for just over six months facing the most daunting challenges since FDR. His even temperament is good for the country.

TO ME HE HAS BEEN A GREAT PERSON AND PRESIDENT. HE HAS THE COLOR LINE TO DEAL WITH, MOST OF ALL. ALL ELSE IS 2ND. HE REALLY NEEDS TO TO EXPLAIN TO THE PEOPLE HOW MONEY WORKS. HOW DIVIDENDS, SAVINGS ACCOUNTS INTEREST,
STOCKS INTEREST, AND EXACTLY WHAT LOBBYIST DO TO INFLUENCE THE OUT COME OF LEGESLATION.

On health care he is not doing a very good job. In fact he has blown it. The deal he cut with Big Pharma is very worrying and undermines democracy. Read Robert Reich’s piece on his blog.

http://robertreich.blogspot.com

On the economy it’s mixed but the deals with the banks was a huge mistake. Basically it’s the special interest come first and the rest of us, well we get the table scrapes.

Obama is a centrist and is looking like Clinton and we need a post-modern Roosevelt, not Clinton.

Obama wooed the progressives and he has now all but lost them.

We need a viable third party a good solid progressive party. The Democrat’s have become a centrist party with leanings towards the right. The Republicans are becoming the party of crazy white people who seem too think that screaming and using fear is the way to address the public arena.

We need a reform of how government is run in this country. Until lobbying is stopped, until corporations are not interpreted as citizens by the Supreme court, until money is taken out of the equation of running for an office in this country nothing will change, period.

What is with this slow to the task… criticism?
^ months and what has he to show??

What was done domestically over the last 8 years?
Really..Come on man

I think it was Greenfield asking can Obama mobilize the grassroots on something as complex as health care. Yesterday the Obama e-mail came through: Please drop by your senator’s office; make an appointment here on line and download the brochure of instructions. Something like that.
I signed up to drop by (an all-day project in my case) in order to see that brochure. It couldn’t be downloaded. Too bad. If I knew what to say, I might go and say it. Now I’m not sure what they expect since I got bounced out.

Democrats control the White House, the Senate, and the House and all that they have to show for it are excuses, and a failing economy. Was that the “Hope and Change” all you liberals wanted?

Rosie I bet you’ll say the same thing six months from now, a year from now.

I voted for him, but he has made secret deals with big Pharma. Obama has not restored the powers of the presidency changed by Bush at all, he’s increased them.
His policy in Afghanistan is not looking very good.

Re Obama-
Obama is working hard to lead the solutions to our major difficulties. He is being thwarted not only by congress, but also by the American people who expected miracles instead of the reality that change takes time, and who don’t understand some very fundamental issues for what they really are, e.g., single payer health care. And then of course there is big business wanting to keep their profit margins as high as possible, the People be damned!

“Democrats control the White House, the Senate, and the House and all that they have to show for it are excuses, and a failing economy. Was that the “Hope and Change” all you liberals wanted?”

I’d like Obama and Dems to be more forceful in enacting the national healthcare reform, repeal the Bush tax cuts (as one caller just said), withdraw troops from Iraq and Afganistan, have real open hearings on the doings of the Bush WH (Iraq war, war contracts, energy policy), and a few other things. I agree they are using a lot of excuses and backpedaling. I would not vote for him next time, except I’d like GOP to stay where they are. So what am I to do come elections time?

OK, Onpoint producers – time to have a show on the private insurance companies featuring appropriate guests to educate your listeners on the insurance business, how rates are determined, who designs plans, and where private insurance profits come from. Many like Moe Black have a lot to learn.

I have voted in every election since Nixon and realized a long time ago that campaign promises are almost impossible to translate into reality. It takes all branches of the government to make those promises happen and, as we are seeing today, not all those branches can agree to bring them to fruition. Obama’s situation is no different. For the public to believe that one person, even if that person is the president, can bring about change by themselves is short sighted.

I fully support President Obama and his adjenda, understanding that all he has supported will not come about.

A couple of commentators have noted the fear that the American people are feeling around the health care debate. It seems that much of the fear is being created by right wing talk radio, fox news pundits, and others in the blogosphere telling outright lies about health insurance reform. There is so much misinformation out there it makes me sick. My opinion of the Republican party continues to plummet even lower than I thought it ever could.

This may be a bit general, but it feels like the Obama administration, is trying to work with the other players, and taking the team aproach. And then the opponents are not so much.
If one team is playing softball, & the other hardball, isn’t going to be easier for one team than the other?
D-

Under the extremely difficult circumstances, I would say President Obama is doing a great job. Perhaps the biggest problem for him is that he is far-thinking and an optimist. I believe he really thought he could create civil discourse among the American people and among the factions in Congress. I believe he thought he could, given the seriousness of problems facing the country, bring a certain bipartisanship to Congress, asking of them to behave like statesmen and stateswomen and help find serious solutions to problems, rather than behaving like the political animals and demagogues they have become over the past 30 years. In his eagerness to engage Congress, he’s given away too much – to the financial sector and to harmful lobbies like the pharmaceutical industry. Still, the man has a great vision, and he is brilliant. He needs to be more bold in his leadership, and not just through Rahm Emanuel. All the initiatives he’s taken on represent huge change, and change, which is what we want, is still always extremely hard. There will be a lot of sturm and drang from the left and the right over the coming years, but I think we are off to a remarkably good start. And, I believe as he grows into the job, Obama has very good odds of becoming one of our greatest presidents.

Someone posted that Obama is thwarted by our high expectations. I agree that campaign promises are not cast in stone. “Read my lips.” Especially once in office, the terrain might reveal itself in new ways.
I suspect Obama’s looking at the sheer bulk, the hulk, of defense industries, of health industries, of finance industries, of industries like the auto industry that are frankly bad for the environment as currently constituted — he looks at all the major contributors to the economy and wonders how to unwind it little by little, reweave it in a more sustainable way.
You can’t undercut everything all at once in the name of change and watch the economy crash, expecting to get reelected and finish the job.

I think the answer to Tom’s question “Is the president able to pull out his promises or CAN he with our system” is, sadly: No.

It is all horribly partisan, look at the Sotomayer hearings and vote. Look at the senators who pushed to continue MULTI billion dollar defense programs even the Pentagon DOES NOT WANT.

IMO, we NEED single payer health care for all, employed or not, with private supplemental insurance for those who feel they need and can afford it. We won’t see it. There are too many fear mongers and special interests who don’t even look at how much we spend and where our health care rates compared to other developed countries. If you haven’t compared, we spend a LOT more and rate very low on the ‘quality’ scale. Every developed country with single payer has better health care than we get in the USA.

So I cut Obama slack here, he doesn’t get to make the decision, but I am still disappointed. And no matter what your situation, no one can expect the economy to recover as quickly as it crashed. I don’t care WHO is running things, the path back will be gradual.

It is very easy to NOT increase the deficit by reforming health care. You give 50% of what is paid now by the government into the health system. That money goes to the totally unsupported industries of organic farming and naturopathic health care (homeopathy, chiropractic, naturopathy, ayurveda and so on), which a huge amount of the country already uses. This will drive down the costs of these and encourage citizens to take responsibility for their health and at the same time build sustainable business that protects the planet. You also create numerous jobs. At least three major factors in the recession are addressed at one time. The remaining 50% can serve the hospital/insurance/govenment network that can provide emergency care and those who don’t feel comfortable taking a natural route.

It amazes me how angry people are that Obama hasn’t “righted” the country yet. We’ve spent decades letting the metaphorical car we’re driving in break down…If you don’t change the oil things are going to break down, and at this point our car’s engine has seized up…and we are fools to expect it’s not going to cost a lot to fix it.

Add to that that you’ve got Republicans trying to pour sand in the tank, and we’re doomed.

Finally, it’s frustrating that we’ve become so spoiled as a society that we expect this new administration (or any administration) to fix problems the average American has bought into with gusto…to expect that we aren’t going to have to pay the bills on our individual tabs is just ludicrous.

Obama can’t even get members of his own party (the Blue Dogs Democrats) to support his health care proposals. His own party is abandoning him. That’s weak leadership.

Obama is partly resposnible for the high expectations people have had for him. He did promise things. And some things do not take miracles. Getting out of foreign adventures Bush started does not take a miracle worker. Just takes some political will. I am frustrated not because we don’t have a national healthcare yet six months into his administration. I just don’t like the direction he seems to be taking, which is to say compromise a lot.

Looking at the Obama adminstration’s actions (and inactions) I have often wondered if Barack is a lot greener than we thought, or if he’s a shrewd politician picking his battles. I wonder if his team of rivals stacked with establishment figures might have the effect of co-opting any real leadership, aka change.

We the people handed government our treasure and trust, however it is no longer a good steward of either. I hope that change starts right here among groups like this who are collectively getting their heads wrapped around the perversion that our system has become.

The prophet Thomas Jefferson summed up our catch 22 long ago: “Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition.” Sounds pretty ominous to me.

The democrats are in control and all the democrats can do is blame bush and the republicans. Man up! if you want healthcare then pass it. Bush and the republicans are not the issue here, obamas’ own party is stopping healthcare. The problem is obama has no leadership skills, he needs to be leading the charge….

no one is abandoning obama. some are expressing doubts of details of his reforms. but make no mistake, the massive pendulum has changed course. to believe and expect that the effects of obama/dems changes must show their effects in six months while turning the ship from the extremes of the last 8 years is ludicrous.
and the rants/freakout of the extremists of the right are merely those caught in the midst of their degeneration throes. not to worry. the firmly balanced views and intelligence of a middle view will rule the day…

It’s surprising to me how much lefty gloating and cheerleading is going on in this forum. Left, Right, practice partisanship at your own peril. If you have an open mind and a reasoned ideology, you’ll call yourself Independent.

During the Republican Revolution and Bush years, Republicans (even Bush himself) claimed again and again that if Americans didn’t like their policies, they could always vote for change at the next election. This was the appeal of the american system they claimed, and this little argument served them well as long as they were winning elections. They used this logic over and over to belittle and mock the discontent of the left.

Now that the majority of Americans have indeed made a new choice at the polls, the argument no longer holds true for these hypocrites, and bullying and intimidation is the way to assert a party platform, rather than the election system.

This “astroturf” is really scary stuff, yet the truly insane thing would be to back down from fighting this stupidity in the least. If terror-mongering by a handful of extremists is allowed to win sway in national politics, then we might as well be living in Iran.

Just released, in time to cure the Democrat apologists, who with their misguided sense of partisanship, prevent real reform and real progress from taking place: “Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny” by Theresa Amato.

“As the national campaign manager for Ralph Nader’s historic runs for president in 2000 and 2004, Theresa Amato had a rare ringside role in two of the most hotly contested presidential elections this country has seen. In Grand Illusion, she gives us a witty, thoughtful critique of the American electoral system, as well as a powerful argument for opening up the contest as if people and their daily lives mattered.

Looking beyond the Nader story to campaigns waged by challengers John Anderson, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and others, Amato shows how limiting ourselves to two candidates deprives our country of a robust political life, strips would-be contenders of their free speech and association rights, and cheats voters out of meaningful political choices.”
[Link]

I hope she’s invited on On Point soon to promote her book. What do you say, Wen Stephenson?

The more we get to know him (and he didn’t know him,) the less we like him (at least according to the poll numbers.) No surprise there!

We have a depression and war and looming environmental disaster and a health care system that’s costs too. Obama’s doing the best he can with very tough circumstances.

Personally, I give him about an A. I don’t know that there’s more he could be doing right now. I’m thankful the previous party is out of office that’s for sure.

give Obama a break , Rome was not built in one day .

Let me see now, the Dems control by majority Washington and pretty much incharge of the USS Titanic and we still are blaming the Repubs. for our troubles. The blame game continues. What we have so far is a program called healthcare reform with no confirmed facts about it. We are asked to sign off on it and as time goes on we will learn more clearly what is in the new bill. Alot like signing a contract and reading the small print later, dumb idea. This reform will pass and probably not one politician would have read it completely. Who cares, we gullible Americans want something to cure the problem WE have created. Yes! we have created. Healthcare reform is needed to curb increasing cost of healthcare. We blame the system for the cost, when in fact, we are the reason healthcare cost are skyrocketing. The facts prove it. We are a people who have been given over to our own excesses and now we want the govt. to cure us. We are a people who due to our out of control lifestyles have created a bottomless pit of coming chronic diseases. Fact! Americans are fat and getting fatter. A host of money draining chronic diseases will be in our futures for decades. Smoking and alcohol abuse, you should check out the expense for these chronic money-pits. Add to all this, a migrant population of millions with poor health problems and growing. All these problems are preventable!! There will never be enough money in the system to cure this problem until this generation dies off and the next one wises up. My state just went from #16 to #6 on the fat chart. A state full of diabetics due in part to bad lifestyles. But I doubt change will come, so lets blame it on the Repubs. are maybe the supersize Big Macs.

I’m pleased with Obama…he has dismissed the left wing of his party and created rage among the right who are denied details about the health care reform initiative…looks good for ‘10…

Can you imagine what those right-wing crazy would be doing now if obama was truly pushing Single payer?

Anyone in there right mind and who actually is paying attention would know that the health care reform is going to cover people that don’t have it and nothing close to single payer even a liberal will tell you that.

I was surprised to see on the history channel a ad saying the health care bill was going to force old people to die, and the articles listed and marked as facts where false, and if someone wished to check it could see it but most probably watching will do no such thing.

Sadly many Americans have become lazy and uninformed in the political sphere and will only act on sound bits, and instead of finding information for themselves will go with here say as if facts.

These right wingers are fearful of diversity, fearful of change, fearful of sex, fearful pretty much anything that is not them. And will listen to info-tainment garbage such as (foxs news) because it excites them, it comforts them, it dumbs down complication issue to good and evil, black or white.

If we continue down this road (hopefully not) and let these extremist terrorize our countries debates than our county we become a nations of fools who yelling the loudest is considered debate(bill O’)

No I wont give him a break. He’s the president. Not my friend.

Can one person here name anything on the health care agenda that Obama has proposed. I can’t. Why? Because he does not have one. He’s letting the clowns who run both houses do it hoping he will have something, anything to sign and then he can call it a victory.

It will be a disaster and if you so called progressives think otherwise I urge you to start following this closer.

On all other fronts Obama has not done so well. The economy is still tanking except for wall street and the banks. Obama has not done one thing to reform what’s going on in the financial sector. He’s made statements and there is a bill but it is being watered down by the Senate. He has lost control of the agenda too the extreme right. The media is not helping. When I hear George Stephanopoulos ask about euthanasia in context too the Obama health care plan (whatever that is) I know something is very very wrong.

Right now if you count the underemployed and unemployed you will get something near 16% unemployment/underemployment.
That’s depression level numbers.

On the international front he’s expanding the war in Afghanistan and he has done a 180 on the Guantanamo prisoners’ habeas corpus rights.

Not to mention Obama is using a Bush’s tactic of issuing signing statements claiming the authority to bypass dozens of provisions of bills enacted into law since he took office. That’s not what he said he would do when he was campaigning. This was one thing he said he would not do and yet here we are.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/us/politics/09signing.html?hpw

If people want too give him a chance that’s fine but it might be prudent too start to pay a little more attention to the details. He’s not what you think and the way he has slid around on health care has been extremely disappointing. If this does not work it will set back the single payer and decent health care for ever. If you don’t think so ask yourself why he’s cutting deals with the main players which in itself is an unprecedented act against the premise of our Democracy.

Anyone in there right mind and who actually is paying attention would know that the health care reform is going to cover people that don’t have it and nothing close to single payer even a liberal will tell you that.

Wrong, it wont cover them. It will mandate these people to buy insurance that will most likely be useless and costly.
This is going to be smoke and mirrors bill favoring the insurance industry, wait and see.

Your right about the right. But they would go nuts if we just say the word Medicare.

Is it not enough to have brought the global financial system from imminent collapse? I would say that his presidency is already a success.

I checked out the New York Times article Putney Swope gave the link to — about Obama’s use of signing statements. I will follow Putney’s lead in holding Obama’s feet to the fire. I am hoping this president will grow in office — or at least not shrink into a beltway shadow of himself. And Putney’s points are valid. But Republicans, note the article is much more nuanced. Bush in signing bills challenged 1200 provisions of those bills, double the total of challenges of his predecessor presidents combined. However, presidents have been signing bills with such statements since the 19th century. The article says the practice picked up under Reagan. McCain made a campaign promise not to sign such.
Obama did not make such a promise; he said he’d restrict his use of such practice to matters of “legislative intent,” but according to the article shifted the inflection point in a March memorandum on the subject to restricting his use to settled Constitutional understanding. See the article.
Obama in signing 42 bills has written 5 signing statements. Each is spelled out, and the letters from congressmen (starting with Massachusetts’ own Barney Franks) protesting them are linked. The 5 bills have 19 provisions challenged, plus “numerous” where Obama challenges the necessity of various officials to get permission from Congress to spend appropriated funds.
So to paint Obama evil for using this Bush tactic is to generalize a lot. But it is better to criticize the president for things he actually does in particular than for a lot of flimflam that the extremists make up. We need him to do a terrific job; we don’t want him to hole up, in fake victory or a defensive crouch, in the shadow of the sort of advisers who make it into his inner circle, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If he is listening, tell him the truth.

No I wont give him a break. He’s the president. Not my friend.

PS, excellent!!
That gave me a chuckle.

Obama is a hypocrite. Nearly everything he criticized Bush for during the election, he’s now doing himself. Except for the fact that he is slowly (and under the radar) bringing terrorists for Gitmo to jails in this country.

president obama is a great president.he has been witty and inteligent so far,but as we notice his popularity is falling, i think this is because he is being too calm and wants to be too bipartisan.i think he should start by repelling the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ which only hurts certain poeple…and thereby fulfill one his campaign promises.this will get some more support for him.
secondly there are bills which have to be passed, such as the health reform and immigration….to name a few, the democrats and Obama need to go ahead and pass these bills rather than wait for bipartisan support which we don’t see anywhere near,these are some important issues that need to be addressed immediatly with republican support or not bcos that is what he was elected for

Nice to hear Ellen Belcher on the NPR air, hailing from my hometown, Yellow Srpings OH.

I cannot help but crack up at people on the left “progressives” who thought they were supporting a lefty candidate in Obama. Anyone paying close attention to what he wrote, did and how he voted knew he was a cautious partisan, averse to risk. The truth is now coming out. He said himself in one of his books that he was a blank screen that others projected their desires on.

That said, I find him to be pragmatic and non-idealistic, just wants solutions to the problems, not hung up on how to do it. He has done his homework on health care in a way that I never thought him capable. Now if he would just grow some cojones and stop being so risk-averse.

When all the politicians in Washington sign a contract to drop out of their current insurance and go solely into the government plan they are pushing, then I will begin to believe that it might be a good idea. Great leaders lead by example. If Obama is a great president, he will be the first to sign on. Lead by example!

Ellen you make some valid points. However the issue is the power of the presidency which was increased ten fold under Bush’s tenure. Maybe I was naive but for some reason I seem too remember Obama making a lot of speeches about making changes. Well this was one area that really needed a change. If Obama used this power to put through some really good health care reform and a decent single payer system I would not be criticizing him.

If he told the wall street crooks and the banks that they if they are going to take government money (read tax payers) that they would have to change how they do bushiness that would show me he’s really moving towards doing something.

I never said he was not brilliant. He is, which is why he won. You can’t be the first African American president and be anything less. This is not the problem. Being smart is not the problem Clinton was brilliant too and his legacy is not very good. In fact it’s plain as day that his economic team helped to create this mess we are in now. So being brilliant and articulate is a wonderful thing, something I want all my presidents to be. I guess after 8 years of Bush anyone who can speak in well thought out sentences seems like a genus.

He has done his homework on health care in a way that I never thought him capable. Now if he would just grow some cojones and stop being so risk-averse. Ditto!

David,
That is exactly what would happen if we did the only sane thing and went to a single payer system… everyone, including those in Congress, would be on the exact same health plan.
If your going to stand behind your rhetoric, then start advocating for a single payer system!

At 39:30 a caller expresses his hope that Obama institute an “enlightened dictatorship” to achieve his goals.

The panel seems to agree, as the only response is an approving chuckle.

Is this where we’re headed?

“An enlightened dictatorship”? This forum? I agree there is a kind of elbow in the ribs to Obama here: “Get on with it! Get on with it! Forget your innate cautiousness. Lose your solid sense of balance.”
I do sort of chuckle at that, because I resonate with the impatience. And I sort of chuckle because I think (I hope) most people expressing that impatience know the Titanic may have Obama at the helm, but there are what 300 million of us with interests and inputs, needs and objectives — all heave-ho’ing this way and that.
I hear an undercurrent of anxiety that I too resonate with when I see people reduced to dealing drugs, climbing the walls in various ways that echo with the siege of the Bastille. Some of us are really up against the edge.

Pat Bateman you should remember that the Bush administration in 2002 considered sending U.S. troops into a Buffalo, N.Y., suburb to arrest a group of terror suspects in what would have been a nearly unprecedented use of military power. Not too mention a clear violation of the Constitution. Of course there is a difference between considering and doing it.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1912781,00.html

lets not throw the baby out with the bath water ….

A few random thoughts from an Obama voter with excellent state-backed insurance, the kind these folks are afraid of:

1) Health care is no longer the key issue. It’s jobs. And here Obama blew it completely. He needed to make a specific paradigm shift, in the definition of prosperity. He needed to go back to that early Republican formulation (Hoover and Ike) of a chicken in every pot. In the work world, there are no longer Dems and Reps, just underemployed, unemployed and scared employed. Health care turned out to be the symptom, where everyone us venting their fear. Mandatory end of life? At 55, as my friends and I watch both our jobs and our retirements disappear, the only question is, “fast or slow?”. I really appreciated the reminder that FDR took his economic advice from people who worked with everyday people, and the dynamic froze out his Secretary of the Treasury. Let’s have more of that approach.

I have German ancestry and wrote my college thesis on Weimar Germany. Wow, does this era look familiar! From now on our elected officials have to operate on the assumption that there is a goon squad out there, really a group of terrorists/coup mongers/thugs, who need to be anticipated and reined in. We write of the civility of earlier eras in our history as if somehow people had “better manners,” but in fact, people were trained in either formal debate or Roberts Rules of Order. They studied reasoning in school. These random-topic open meetings undoubtedly existed, but people came in with a sense of legitimate authority, and a list of achievable goals.

In times like these, populist demogogues like Huey Long built a valuable bridge to the system, because they insisted that it stand up to meet people’s needs. I am so happy Berniw Sanders is now one of my senators. He is our gift to the nation!

Weimar failed because on BOTH the left and the right, all that desire to reestablish that legitimacy had been junked. Avergae Germans didn’t junk it for fun — they junked it because it didn’t work for them in their lives. The democracy failed because of fear of thugs, but also because of fear that the government had no real plan to help their families as times grew worse. And as people chose sides — Communist or Fascist –the threat became each other. Athorities based in the center could no longer attract allies, and “might makes right” took over. Obama’s economic team, by sticking with that sad myth that prosperity means growing our banks and shrinking our jobs, has hurt the nation far more than it has hurt him. But he chose them, and for that he cannot be forgiven.

“lets not throw the baby out with the bath water ….”

R.M., which baby? What bathwater?

the daily show said it best about the crazies,

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/240653/mon-august-10-2009-douglas-brinkley

JP, The fact that congress will not opt into this health plan tells me something.

“The issue is the power of the presidency which was increased ten fold under Bush’s tenure.” Maybe he’s not doing it because your central thesis is completely off base. But like you said, you’re naive.

Ditto on your pathetic crooks and bankers comment. Banks, good and bad, were forced to take the cash. Many have paid it back so Obama couldn’t decide what their salaries would be.

Obama and Clinton have a certain brillance, but it’s not intellectual; it’s a shine that comes from a waxing press corps.

Obama reads good teleprompter but he can’t adlib and he’s not getting much done.

These slimeballs don’t even know what they’re protesting against as no finished bill yet exists, and certainly not a single one of these pea-brains has read even a line of the proposed House bill.

That is precisely why they have to make up moronic lies… there’s nothing tangible from the world of reality for them to take issue with.

These “protests” are 100 percent due to unamerican idiots who can’t live with with our country’s legitimate election results, and as someone said above, that makes them no different from the Islamic fascists who would deny Iranians their legitimate election results.

Not having read it doesn’t prevent Congresspeople from voting for it apparently.

Just because Democrats didn’t have a backbone the last 8 years doesn’t mean everyone else is going to let them get away with wonton corruption and abuse now. I find it silly that Democrats can’t engage in a debate and want to put down the voices of protest. You expect those opposed to just sit back and let the government ruin all of our lives in some ill-fated power grab. Hey, I’ve already got a mommy, I don’t need mother America deciding when I’m born, how I live and when I die. You bet we’re mad and just because it hurts when you think doesn’t mean we’re going to let bureaucrats doing our thinking for us.

Comparisons to Iran are great, Obama is your high priest of conformity and you’re a good soldier of the Distopia Revolutionary Guard here to enact his edicts of willful subjugation. We, the Neda’s, will not back down.

What a joke!
What debate would that be? You pea-brained morons are arguing sheer stupidities.
I love it when someone asks one of you retards to name these rights you’re supposedly losing, and your brains fry from the exertion, coming up empty-handed.

You’re “mad” for the exact reason I stated above: you’re “unamerican idiots who can’t live with with our country’s legitimate election results.”

Blame the pebble-head you creamed about for eight years and were responsible for putting in office for the corporate power grab. Bush committed our country to a path of corporate welfare ensuring they would get hundreds of billions of tax-payer dollars. Bush fattened every large corporation imaginable to record profits while he mismaneged this country… from oil to defense to financial to energy, on and on….

You slimeballs are as unamerican as you can get.