Obama doesn't like Bernie Sanders, Ruth Marcus explains

[MrWendel]

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/15/1485583/-Obama-doesn-t-like-Bernie-Sanders-Ruth-Marcus-explains



By Motorized

Yesterday, Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post explained the divide between President Obama and Bernie Sanders.

The day after Bernie won the NH primaries, Obama said that voters...

"instinctively know that issues are more complicated than rehearsed sound bites." They "understand the difference between realism and idealism." They possess "the maturity to know what can and cannot be compromised, and to admit the possibility that the other side just might have a point."

(More in link)

[Cheese Sandwich]

1. Hillary is hiding behind Obama instead of standing on her on merits.

Anytime someone criticizes Hillary she acts totally outraged and says why you attacking Obama.

Q: Hillary release your speech transcripts?

Hillary: Why are you disrespecting Obama!

Lame.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

100. Hillary is a follower

besides Barack does like Bernie. He campaigned for him and yes they probably disagree on some issues.

[whatchamacallit]

2. Which of course = "doesn't like"

What a steaming turd.

[cali]

3. Ironic as hell. Bernie is running a far more substantive

campaign than Obama's 2008 campaign.

[TTUBatfan2008]

4. Damn right...

And I seem to remember Hillary criticizing Obama for not enough substance. Obama was a hell of a speaker but his policies did not live up to the speeches.

[BlueJazz]

9. I can guarantee ya', if Bernie was president back in 2008, those #%$^# tax cuts for the rich..

...would have been long gone. He wouldn't have put up with that bullshit.

[loyalsister]

15. And the people who lost their unemployment would have been where?

Were you going to hire and house them?

[BlueJazz]

20. They wouldn't of lost it. Republicans are shitty bluffers.

[loyalsister]

29. You don't think they're that callous?

There were people in my life at the time who needed it, and were especially worried because they have children and it was close to xmas. Obama was in a predicament with an unacceptable risk of leaving people as collatoral damage to further his political goals.

[BlueJazz]

34. I think they would have caved, knowing the backlash would be swift and certain.

[loyalsister]

43. I would not have made that assumption

And I would only vote for someone who promises, or who I would expect to treat people as collatoral damage if the only alternative is a republican.

[BlueJazz]

71. I'll certainly confess that it's possible I'm in error.

[noiretextatique]

23. some of those people are still unemployed

with no benefits.

[loyalsister]

40. I know

Some are also just statistically "employed" with no benefits. We have 3% unemployment and 19% poverty in my area. Obviously, not enough people have benefitted from the recovery we hear about. Bernie may have fought differently or harder, but I don't think he would have baragained further suffering to keep a campaign promise.

[noiretextatique]

113. i agree. the point is: people are still suffering

i don't think "stay the course" is an appealing message. i think people are still hopeful for change.

[Jim Lane]

112. Exactly. But the rich still have their tax cuts.

I understand that Obama had to compromise with the GOP if he wanted to get unemployment benefits extended. The problem with the compromise is that what we got expired and what they got didn't expire (and is still with us).

[BeyondGeography]

36. Unlike Obama, Bernie's running on things he will never be able to deliver

The stump speech is educational, but it has nothing to do with what he would actually be able to achieve.

[cali]

39. What did Obama run on?

[BeyondGeography]

46. Killing bin Laden without Pakistan's approval if need be, getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan

O-care, repealing the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, reaching out to Iran and Cuba...achieveable things, unlike single payer and free tuition for all in the present environment. If Bernie were to actually win the WH, he would be in the unhappy position of having over-promised and under-delivered. It's a recipe for one-and-done. Incrementalism doesn't give anyone the bern but at least it's reality-based.

[cali]

63. Except Bernie has promised nothing.

He says in every speech than nothing can be done without changing the composition of Congress

[BeyondGeography]

73. He does, but he knows that will take 4-6 years minimum

So what does he achieve in his first term? His supporters can be forgiven for believing that he can/should deliver one or both of single payer and free tuition because those are the policies he mentions most. And when that doesn't happen because the revolution doesn't materialize, then what? He'll just have to deal like everyone else who has been in the chair.

[cali]

84. He uses the bully pulpit. He uses the executive branch as Obama has

He appoints people to the federal bench and the Supreme Court. He doesn't go to war with Iran.

[Cal33]

85. Bernie in the White House and Elizabeth in the Senate will be working hard together to have

enough Progressives in both Houses of Congress. They will make a great team. They will be
pointing it out, loud, clear and often, each time the Republicans block a bill that would have
benefited the American people, explaining exactly what the Republican Congress had just
done to make us lose the benefit, and bring us more suffering, and to remember them come
the next Election Day. Obama never said much on this score.

I don't expect much change the first 2 to 4 years, but after that even the slow learners will
begin to understand how Republicans are taking wealth away from the middle-class and the
poor, and giving it to the people who are already rich. Even many Republicans will begin to
see that the greed of the Corporate Power people has reached and gone beyond the point of
sheer insanity, and enough Republicans will be voted out of office.

[CoffeeCat]

76. I'd rather gamble on Bernie

...than deal with the certainty of what Clinton would offer our country. More war. More neocons like Robert Kagan entrenched in her foreign policy meetings. More corporate power. More corruption. More higher healthcare costs because she lacks the temerity to stand up to the insurance companies. More FBI investigations. More scandal. More crap about her emails. ENOUGH.

It's time for a real change.

Obama provided a good foundation from which we can build. Now, it's time to return our party to FDR-style politics and policies.

Besides, I don't trust HRC to implement a damn thing that she's run on in this campaign. She claimed to be a moderate before she had to re-tool her campaign--when Bernie started trouncing her in the polls. I don't believe one word she says. Like most of America, I find HRC untrustworthy.

Bernie is honest and a man of integrity.

[BeyondGeography]

86. I completely respect that view

I'm not voting until April 19 and I'm undecided for the first time since Bill Clinton ran (voted for Jerry Brown then...). I was for Obama from Day One because I trusted him far more than Hillary not to screw people in this country and to have an enlightened foreign policy. He spent too much time waiting for Republicans to be reasonable but I think part of that was about building trust with the muddled middle in this country and getting re-elected. I don't see Obama's equal in either candidate and will vote for whomever I think gives us the best chance to win in November.

[Live and Learn]

64. Obama was not able to get his agenda through so that means Bernie can't either? nt

[BeyondGeography]

91. He got a lot done; apart from trying to appease R's with tax cuts in the stimulus

he pretty much achieved what was achievable IMHO.

What do you think Bernie is going to accomplish from 2016-20 with a Republican Congress, or at least controlling the House?

[Live and Learn]

93. I think Bernie can get even more done with our help! Obama said he was going to ask for our help

but he never did. Bernie will.

[Kall]

102. Funny the things you remember

I remember no individual private insurance mandates and renegotiating NAFTA being things he campaigned on.

[BeyondGeography]

104. I find your memory funny, too

[Kall]

106. Maybe you find it funny

but it's perfectly accurate.

[Recursion]

118. Ending partisan divisiveness. Ironic, no? (nt)

[Jarqui]

75. I think that remains to be seen

After what I've seen so far, it's hard to count him out.

[brentspeak]

101. Obama ran on renegotiating NAFTA and punishing the bankers

Two things he quickly forgot to pursue once he got into office.

[Live and Learn]

59. + a gazillion. nt

[MrWendel]

5. I've read enough...

statements from Bernie supporters who think that Obama is a failure as a president and not a progressive that is easy to concluded that hes not liked. Then again Bernie seems to speak on both sides of his mouth when it comes to the president.

[TTUBatfan2008]

14. I like him from a personal standpoint...

Would love to hang out with him. Seems like a very nice guy. But his policies have primarily served corporate America instead of the people.

[MrWendel]

17. So to be clear...

hes sold his soul and principles to service wall street and corporate America?

[TTUBatfan2008]

18. If you want to put it that way...

...I guess. I don't believe serving corporate America damns a person to hell. So from that standpoint I'm not sure "sold his soul" is the right phrase. There are plenty of good people in the Democratic Party who are going along to get along with corporate money. It is the way the system is and there is probably nothing we can do about it.

[MrWendel]

28. So...

in putting it that way, if sounds like a confirmation. We can agree to disagree, but Barack Obama is no sell out.

[TTUBatfan2008]

35. What did you think...

When he hired people like Tim Geithner and Larry Summers to run the economy? What did you think when no prosecutions were brought against the bankers who crashed the economy and are now paying "settlements" to the government in admission of their guilt? The bottom line is his policies did not live up to his speeches.

[earthshine]

62. Time for some afternoon TPP! Yum.

Tried and failed to sell us out!

[JackRiddler]

98. No. Obama did not sell his soul.

He delivered the neoliberal bullshit that he promised in the first place.

He bailed out the banks, made deals with the criminals in which their corporations pay settlements and they not only are not punished but stay in charge.

Cut the worst trade deal in history and is currently pushing it hard, but of course any other D or R until now would have done the same. Must serve the corporate masters.

He didn't start a nuclear war with Iran or Russia, as McCain was itching to do. Hell, he managed to get deals with Iran and Cuba.

He opened up a bunch of new war fronts without too many U.S. soldiers involved, predictably doing it with drones.

He probably wasn't as devoted to the disastrous U.S. destabilizations of Ukraine, Libya and Syria as much as Clinton and the neocons were, but they seem to have run policy on those. Either he wanted these horrors or he was too weak to resist them. Pathetic either way.

And he appointed two SC justices who are not rabid Christian fanatics who want to illegalize abortion. One of them's even a liberal.

In other words, he lived up to the best-you-can-do expectations of the post-New Deal Democratic Party, which beneath the fancy rhetoric was all he had ever promised. So you can't say he was a liar or "sold his soul," since he was artfully pre-sold.

Things got less worse than they would have gotten under a Republican. Hooray!

[noiretextatique]

27. red scare

[kath]

24. HRC speaks from both sides of her mouth on virtually EVERY issue.

That is why, according to NH exit polls, of voters who value honesty and trustworthiness in a candidate, 92% voted for Bernie and only 4 or 6% (typing this from memory) voted for HRC.

People do not like her and do not trust her.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

95. Perfect response! ... you forgot to drop the mic! haha

Bernie & Elizabeth 2016!!!

[Admiral Loinpresser]

68. I have criticized President Obama, but

I don't think he's a failure. He's done a lot of good things and under terrible personal attacks and obstructionism. I greatly admire him and his family personally. They are much more than just an attractive family, you can tell those girls are being raised right.

I liked his second term a lot more than his first, which was when I was really mad at him because of Copenhagen and putting Social Security on the table. But I would be honored to have dinner with them. If the Clintons invited me to dinner, I would hide my daughters (sarcasm) and decline (truth).

[liberalnarb]

78. Bernie doesn't agree with the President on all issues.

But he of all people does not speak with both sides of his mouth.

[Stellar]

83. When Obama was here in Illinois...

he mentioned people questioned his being a progressive, and he said he definitely was and just trying to get things done because he said he wasn't getting any support from across the isle.

I think Bob Gates said that Obama did things his own way even though he tried to convince Gates to stay on with him. That Obama would always question his staff and listen to them but did things his way.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/20/former-sec-def-bob-gates-obama-thinks-hes-the-smartest-person-in-the-room/

[Fawke Em]

109. No one is saying Obama was a horrible president.

I love him. I voted for him over Clinton in 2008 (and still don't want her). I supported him in 2012, but he's not perfect. No human is.

The biggest beef(s) I have with Obama is that he hired a lot of corporatists who helped crash the economy and he spent far too long trying to get Republicans to "like" him by starting negotiations in the middle instead of asking for more.

Does that mean I or Bernie or any of his supporters think Obama is a failure? Nope. It means we need to take his goals FURTHER.

Obama asked us to "hold him to it" and that's what we're doing.

[Punkingal]

6. personally, I don't give a shit whether Obama likes him or not.

[kstewart33]

38. True, but an awful lot of voters do.

Lots of Obama fans who listen to what he has to say.

I'm wondering if Obama might set a presidential precedent and openly endorse Clinton. He knows the disaster that will happen if Bernie makes it to the general election and the Republicans go after him. Too much material in Bernie's biography.

[liberal_at_heart]

77. and lots of people who voted for Obama are disappointed in his presidency.

His education policy is the reason I switched from being a Democrat to being an Independent. 40% of Americans are Independents and are not party loyalists. Millennials are not party loyalists either. There will be plenty of voters who don't give a shit what Obama thinks of Bernie.

[kstewart33]

105. LAH, I respectfully disagree.

If Obamacare survives and is improved, it will be the hallmark of his legacy. And there have been other victories. GWB never got Bin Laden, Obama did.

Given the rabid Republican control of Congress and their immediate and controlling opposition to anything Obama has proposed, I'd give him an A+ for effort, and an A for results.

[Punkingal]

82. I disagree...Hillary is the one with problems for the GE.

I think Obama is an astute enough politician to realize that.

[Cassiopeia]

7. The voters overwhelming chose Sanders

So what does that say in conjunction with Obama's comments?

I think it says the voters understand exactly what's at stake and voted accordingly.

[Nonhlanhla]

96. The voters "chose" Sanders?

I did not realize the primaries were over. I must have slept through it.

That's the last time I visit the Catskill mountains.

[Cassiopeia]

99. Yes, they did in NH.

These comments were made the day after NH. There are many voters that have not been given an opportunity to voice their choice yet, but they will.

Some will get to do so next Saturday. More in the weeks and months coming up.

I imagine many will choose Sanders over Hillary. We're also likely to see many superdelegates change their initial choice as the primaries and caucuses deliver more results.

[beam me up scottie]

8. Who cares?

This is gossip and speculation trying to get Democrats to turn on each other.

[frylock]

10. Nice of her to speak on President Obama's behalf.

I'm sure he's very appreciative.

[Avalux]

11. Ok....and.....??

Thank you for your concern Ruth Marcus.

[Matariki]

12. If he said that the day after Sanders' historical win in NH

He might not have meant what you think he meant.

[kstewart33]

41. Last week, Jay Carney said that Obama supports Clinton.

Which makes sense since he chose Clinton to be his Secretary of State.

Carney served as Obama's press secretary for many years. I'd bet that Carney got his talking points from Obama's people.

[frylock]

111. Or Hillary's people.

[kstewart33]

116. Can't believe that Carney would be that unbelievably stupid.

Carney, Obama's long-time subordinate, does Hillary's bidding without first checking with the President of the United States, his former boss. If he did check with Obama, then there you have Obama's answer about who supports who.

[frylock]

117. I don't think many people would be shocked by that.

I also think Obama is a smart man with a lot of grace, so I wouldn't expect him to endorse anybody during the primary, and I doubt that he's suggested to some flunky like Carney to imply that he has.

[Schema Thing]

13. Don't fall for this. Obama was speaking specifically about the rancorous divide that he

... hasn't been able to bridge wrt the two parties.


He could have, and would have, said that exact same paragraph at any time in the last few years had he been speaking on this particular subject.

It was not a dig at Bernie. Except by pundits reverse engineering it.

[MrWendel]

19. If you...

watched his speech, part of it was speaking to people questioning his values and if he was "really" progressive.

[Schema Thing]

30. meh. It's reverse engineering to put Obama's words against Bernie Sanders words/ideals

" yet Obama’s speech can be interpreted as a rebuttal to Sanders, a rebuke of the Vermont senator’s unyielding approach to politics and an unstated endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s more-plodding pragmatism."


Uh, yeah, if you're dumb enough to think that you can reverse engineer the president's words on *one thing* to conform to whatever the heck you want about *another thing altogether*.

But the reality is that Bernie Sanders has as much history or more than even Obama wrt compromising. Obama knows that and has nothing bad to say about Bernie.

At least so far. I'd bet good money it will stay that way.

[MrWendel]

47. I'm smart enough...

to know when something has been glossed over. As for Sanders history, he has passed bills right? Hes passed anything with a Republicans support? Right? How many bills has he passed again in his long history?

[Admiral Loinpresser]

55. Yes and yes.

He has passed more amendments than Hillary has banker friends.

[MrWendel]

58. Again...

How many bills has he passed?

[Fawke Em]

110. The same number as Hillary. So there.

But Sanders improved vastly more bills with his amendment prowess than Clinton, so the short answer is "more than Hillary."

[Admiral Loinpresser]

114. Fortunately her flag-burning bill failed. n/t

[JRLeft]

70. Obama is a moderate democrat, a great president although TPP is a pay back to

his donors.

Hillary is a moderate republican.

[valerief]

16. Voters also instinctively know that pols can't serve two masters and use "complicated" and

"complex" as reasons for not serving the citizenry over the plutocrats.

[Enrique]

22. dumb headline by dKos

the actual article by Ruth Marcus is actually pretty good, and mostly consists of highlighting interesting commentary by Obama on Sanders.

[Bread and Circus]

25. Si, se puede?

[JI7]

26. where does it say anything about sanders ?

I don't think there is much of an issue between obama and sanders.

But a lot of Sanders supporters do hate Obama and it is turning people off.

[intheflow]

48. ^^ This. ^^

It says nothing about Sanders. It sayd Obama's words "...can be interpreted" to be about Sanders. But it could also be about the Republican race, or the divisiveness of the Democratic base.

[NurseJackie]

108. True ... and that's fine.

[asuhornets]

31. I understand if Obama..

does not like Bernie. Bernie recently said race relations would be better under him instead of Obama. Bernie also said he would be able to close the gap among voters and in the congress, but obviously Obama could not.

[Larkspur]

32. Obama is paying his bill to his Wall Street supporters

That's why he and Hillary will never prosecute banksters and fraudsters on Wall Street.

[tk2kewl]

33. My read: Yeah, it's way more sophisticated than those days

Still, he noted, invoking the United States’ rich history of political pocket-lining, ward-bossing and vote-buying, “the truth is that the kind of corruption that is blatant, of the sort that we saw in the past, is much less likely in today’s politics.” You wouldn’t know this from Sanders’s thundering.

We should only be concerned with "blatant" corruption?

[cali]

42. He is so wrong.

That was penny ante and much more localized, far less sophisticated than what is in place today.

[doxyluv13]

37. Simple reason why (if it's even true)

Sanders' campaign's success proves Obama's promise of "Change You Can Believe in" was empty.

[kstewart33]

44. A campaign has nothing to do with actually achieving change.

Bernie's record in actually achieving something about which he speaks is virtually nonexistent in his 25 years in Congress.

Primary sponsor of bills that passed? 3. Yes 3. And 2 bills each concerned the naming of a Vermont post office.

Obamacare is 'change you can believe in.' Comparison with Bernie's post office bills? Please.

[DemocraticSocialist8]

45. Until Obama comes out and says this himself...I'm going to take this with a grain of salt

The Washington Post has been running anti-Sanders articles for months now and this woman works for that paper. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure Obama favors Clinton over Sanders given she's his former SOS and part of the Establishment...however this is 2nd and 3rd hand information.

[mariawr]

52. Marcus and Capehart work for the same boss. nt

[liberal_at_heart]

80. Enough said. Thank you.

[Jefferson23]

49. That's ok and this campaign is not about Obama nor his legacy. He does not have to like Bernie,

they are different. Sanders gets how complicated the issues are and we get what
Obama means by "realism"...all that lobby money.

Sanders is ready to confront it head on.

[jillan]

50. Washington Post the home of Jonathan Capehart. That's okay - I'll wait to hear it from Obama himself

[Warren DeMontague]

51. He doesnt like you

I dont like you either

[bvar22]

53. Of course President Obama has problems with Bernie.

Obama himself has stated that his policies are "Moderate Republican Policies from the 80s" (think Reagan).

Bernie is running on a not so old Democratic Party Platform from the 60s,
the Party I joined in the 60s because I support THOSE policies. (Think FDR, JFK, and LBJ)

If I supported Republican Policies from the 80s, I would NOT have fought so hard against them.
Why should I support Moderate Republican Policies from the 80s NOW?

[Jester Messiah]

54. Ruth who?

And why should I give a tinker's damn what she thinks?

[Matariki]

56. Washington Post's stupid paywall

can be gotten around with your brower's 'private' or 'stealth' mode.

[nolabels]

79. Why would i want to?

The nice thing about walls is that they work both ways

The day is ours

[Depaysement]

57. Ruth Marcus is wrong as usual

Exactly where do you think Bernie got his timely North Korea response at the last debate?

B is playing both sides of the fence.

[Matariki]

60. Such ridiculous claims

"But the more interesting aspect of Obama’s speech was its implicit disagreement with Bernie Sanders, the previous day’s winner. Decorum dictates that an incumbent stay above the current political fray, yet Obama’s speech can be interpreted as a rebuttal to Sanders"

Implicit and Interpreted. No kidding.

The Washington Post and credible journalism are diametrically opposed.

[Live and Learn]

61. Voters instinctively know when a politician has sold out too. nt

[arcane1]

65. That's why Bernie hasn't been running on closing Guantanamo:

"issues are more complicated than rehearsed sound bites."

[nichomachus]

66. Obama is just following orders

The plutocrats he will be counting on to keep him wealthy post-White House are the same ones who have bought and paid for Hillary.

[PatrickforO]

67. What a paean to mediocrity.

"But the more interesting aspect of Obama’s speech was its implicit disagreement with Bernie Sanders, the previous day’s winner. Decorum dictates that an incumbent stay above the current political fray, yet Obama’s speech can be interpreted as a rebuttal to Sanders, a rebuke of the Vermont senator’s unyielding approach to politics and an unstated endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s more-plodding pragmatism."

Can be interpreted???

OK. Well, let me just interpret this article in my own way: It's yet another establishment piece that tells us, the stupid American people, to set our sights lower and once again settle for the status quo.

My answer?

NO.

[azurnoir]

69. she went all Giorgio Tsoukalos "could it be that"

and after admitting Obama was talking about Trump

[grasswire]

72. Bernie has the power to eclipse Obama.

He is what Obama said HE would be.

Bernie isn't bait and switch.

That's why Obama doesn't like him.

[Jarqui]

74. Obama said:

“There’s also the notion sometimes that our politics are broken because politicians are significantly more corrupt or beholden to big money than they used to be,” he said. “Folks aren’t entirely wrong when they feel as if the system too often is rigged and does not address their interests." ... “the truth is that the kind of corruption that is blatant, of the sort that we saw in the past, is much less likely in today’s politics.”

But like that article I posted yesterday, the politicians do the favor first and then get rewarded afterwards is one of the ways around this that they do - makes it harder to line up.

The simple answer from the President should have been: "The system is not rigged or corrupt" Nothing else would be needed. If the system wasn't rigged or corrupt, that's what he would say. But he couldn't say that. He waffled and meandered around it.

Like Bernie, I think Obama is a pretty honest guy. So he wouldn't lie. And therefore this is so and most already know it: "Folks aren’t entirely wrong when they feel as if the system too often is rigged and does not address their interests"

So no big debate required: Obama agrees at least in part with Bernie. To combined the two: "It's not entirely wrong to think Washington is rigged (sometimes)".

That should tell us all we really need to know in order to be motivated to take action.

[UglyGreed]

87. Now that photo-gate has failed

it's time for Obama-hates-Bernie-gate to begin........

[liberal_at_heart]

88. the kitchen sink failed, so they had to bring one in from the bathroom.

[UglyGreed]

89. That's right and they are getting dirtier by the minute

?w=750&h=422

[angstlessk]

90. Obama thinks cause he couldn't get it done no one can

but he only half tried to get the electorate and gave up too soon!

[LiberalAndProud]

92. Washington Post -> Jeff Bezos -> Amazon.com

You do the math.

I think they may be as reliable as Fox News in exercising their bias.

[noretreatnosurrender]

94. Ruth Marcus?

I've never been a fan of Ruth Marcus. I most certainly wasn't one when she defended the Bush administration torture program. Ruth Marcus has NO integrity.

[m-lekktor]

97. Obama will be gone soon. nt

[Fawke Em]

103. From the Washington Post.

It's full-on character assassination over at Jeff Bezos' Post. He must be set to make a large fortune if the TPP passes and it protecting his interest.

I guess we're going to have another round of "bad WaPo" on Twitter now. That's, what? Three times in one week.

Igits.

[jillan]

107. She is so full of it. Obama is a brilliant man &

Would not diss 1/2 of the people that voted for him. He is trying to secure his legacy not divide the democratic voters. FFS.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

115. He was utterly dismisive of the great Paul Wellstone, so I am not surprised --

he is not fond of Bernie.

"Obama's deference to these boundaries was hammered home to me when our discussion touched on the late Senator Paul Wellstone. Obama said the progressive champion was "magnificent." He also gently but dismissively labeled Wellstone as merely a "gadfly," in a tone laced with contempt for the senator who, for instance, almost single-handedly prevented passage of the bankruptcy bill for years over the objections of both parties. This clarified Obama's support for the Hamilton Project, an organization formed by Citigroup chair Robert Rubin and other Wall Street Democrats to fight back against growing populist outrage within the party. And I understood why Beltway publications and think tanks have heaped praise on Obama and want him to run for President. It's because he has shown a rare ability to mix charisma and deference to the establishment."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4161487

[Recursion]

119. I am loathe to disagree with Obama on voter behavior

But I don't think he's right about that, at least not anymore. This isn't the world of 2008, even.