I'm going to say something many don't want to hear and would prefer I don't say

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

It has to do with Obama's approval ratings.

I'll give you a chance to leave the room.


















******************************************************************************************************************************
OK, here it is. President Obama's poll numbers are artificially high due to still-stunned-in-their-tracks Progressives.

If someone polled me today about President Obama , I would STILL give him high ratings. He's my guy. I voted for him. I had hope. I am MISS DEMOCRAT to my friends and acquaintances and I defend my President and display pride as much as I possibly can. Despite what I feel inside. But now I'm extremely disappointed due to any number of things, I don't think I have to enumerate them here. Some HUGE (to me) some Enormous, some big, some smaller.

Someday in the future, I will probably decide I am just tired of putting on the make-up and pretending how happy I am. I will just go natural and express my real feelings. Of disappointment and yes, DISAPPROVAL. There's so much I literally don't approve of and that I thought I was sweeping away with my Democratic Presidential vote. Despite my happy face and my loyalty, I disapprove and someday that fake approval mask will drop. And somehow,as though by magic, it will drop from many faces simultaneously. And the approval numbers will go to the cellar. And the pundits will marvel about what happened? And make their usual empty, stupid analyses. As though one single thing did it.

I wish they could alter that one big "right path, wrong path" poll question to ask:


Did you truly believe we were on the right path only to discover later that a horrible fork had been taken?

[CJCRANE]

1. Is this like the Bradley effect or the reverse Bradley effect?

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. ROFL

They are artificially high because people still don't know that they REALLY don't approve!

:rofl:

They come up with a new one every day, don't they. This one is at least creative, if insane.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

18. "They come up with a new one every day, don't they"

who is "they"?

[CreekDog]

79. They is you

:shrug:

[Mojambo]

2. That's a pretty interesting theory, and I think there's some merit to it. n/t

[babylonsister]

3. Your displeasure has been fairly easy to see.

No one is entirely pleased, myself included. BUT! I can not think of one person who, at this stage in the game, who would be doing a better job given all the critics out there and the massive ditches he's had to try to dig us out of, coupled with the massive mountains he's trying to climb while he can.

I just visited my family. Even my dad, a dedicated Hillary fan, told me for the first time EVER, he thinks Obama is doing a good job. Dad's girlfriend loves him. For starters, she is just blown away at how he can express himself to us and others after the past 8 years of dimness.

I think many people not so invested in day to day happenings, are finding more faith.

[Divine Discontent]

24. If you would, what about Pres. Obama are you not pleased with? eom

[babylonsister]

41. I'm hoping this stimulus package kicks in, I want him to

push DADT/DOMA but he is, isn't he. This/these wars can't get over soon enough for me.

I think our prez is doing just about everything he can do. I'm not buying any comparisons to Bush, though I've read them.

[Divine Discontent]

56. I realize pres' can only do so much in their constraints w/congress

and wanting them to end DADT/DOMA with legislation. If this warfare is still going on I will not vote for the major party candidates for president - the spilling of blood is something that cannot continue and I understand he says Iraq is coming to and end soon enough, but Afghanistan looks like it could go on for years at hundreds of billions. What seems questionable is the White House's defense of B*sh policies, hiding of photos, signing statements, holding of every person forever whoever is at Guantanamo, and the appointing of some shady people to Administration posts. Those things I don't like one bit and that's where many get disgusted.

Thanks for giving your brief synopsis of what you would like to see.

[DrToast]

4. I think you're overestimating how many people are like you. n/t

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. I think that 17-23% of the electorate match my views

Most of them self-selected Democrats, some Independents. Enough to be troublesome. Enough to be horrifed at the overweighting given to the Republican wannabe Conservadems flooding the Party.

[Uzybone]

27. numbers pulled directly from thin air

what nonsense

[Jennicut]

28. Its more like 5 to 10%..of Dems, not the entire electorate. Many Dems are not even on DU

or Huff Post or Daily Kos, etc. Many people do not frequent boards everyday to discuss politics.
If anything, Obama is bleeding some independents because of their "concern" over the deficit and because the mushy middle is always easily manipulated. Per Gallup he is down a bit among them and in Ohio, for instance, he is losing some support...where many swing voters are located.
Clinton lost support among many progressives and beat Dole soundly in 1996. He had only 84% of the Dems and Obama is polling in the 90's. Counter in the Perot voters of 1996 that were Dems...it was only 5%. Thus, a 3rd party vote may not make a huge difference. Especially against the sorry lot of Rethugs out there right now. Now, I realize this is 2009 but Obama has an overall larger approval rating then Clinton did in first few months in office. Many things can happen between now and 2012 however.

[Odin2005]

67. Completely make up numbers with no basis in reality.

The Left-wing version of the Pukes that think they would win more elections if they became even more right-wing.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

71. +1 there too.

We don't like to admit it, but like Newton's Law of Motion, DU is FR's equal and opposite reaction.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

70. +1

DU-types are a miniscule portion of even the Democratic Party, much less the overall electorate. Kucinich would've gotten the nomination if people like the OP - whom does actually seem fairly representative of the average DU poster - were anywhere near a significant number of people.

[ZombieHorde]

5. "Did you truly believe we were on the right path only to discover later that a horrible fork had..."

We are on the right path, but the path is windy and we won't always be moving forward.

The liberal agenda farts on some of the elite so our progress will be slow, very slow.

[dionysus]

6. you've been trumpeting your dissaproval from the rooftops for quite some time...is this supposed to

be breaking news or something?
:shrug:

[emulatorloo]

7. I don't think the approval is fake at this point. Most people just aren't purists.

I sympathize with you, and I am not crazy about everything that has gone on. On the other hand I recognized during the campaign that he was slightly left of center,

So I knew that not everything would make me happy,

However, since I am not a purist, all in all I am mostly happy.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

53. Most people just aren't paying attention

Most of the people I know are still at the "cute children, accomplished wife, oh, look, he can put a sentence together" star-struck stage. They aren't even looking at his policies.

[earth mom]

88. Yep, it's more about celebrity than anything else.

People need to grow up.

[HughMoran]

8. Nobody knows where I hide my "horrible" fork

So, you ain't takin' it - k?

[BlooInBloo]

9. *Yawn*

[Number23]

34. lol Couldn't have said it better myself!

You are soo rude. But it always seems to be towards those who are so very deserving of it. :)

By the way, please come hang out with us in AAIG! http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=258 Your "take no crap" approach has certainly won you a few admirers in our little group. ;)

[BlooInBloo]

37. But... but... but... I'm not blek!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v4CFjrjBxc

:P

I don't stray out of gd/gdp much, but when I do, I'll be sure to stop by. I just KNEW there was someone who liked me SOMEWHERE! :rofl:

[vaberella]

57. But you wish you were... ^_^ n.t

[BlooInBloo]

59. (snarfle)

[Number23]

60. Doesn't everyone??

Well, until the cops show up, that is. Or until they go for that job interview. :)

[vaberella]

99. Ain't that the truth!!

:rofl:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

11. My only point is - when the approval ratings drop as they will inevitably will

that a large portion of the percentage drop will be from Progressives within the Democratic Party the day they decide they have been pushed to the side enough by the Rahm Emmanuels and the DLC portion of the Party. Progressives are taken for granted while the Democratic Party sucks up to Blue Dogs, Dinos and Republicans and forsakes most of the historic Democratic ideals of the party.

[creeksneakers2]

31. The "progressives" were only on board for a day anyway

Most of them jumped ship over the Emmanuel appointment, back there in the first days. There's no pleasing the far left.

The real test is boiling down to how far Obama will go to insist on the public healthcare option. If Obama caves, he'll lose most of his base.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

32. I think "progressives" are yesterday's bread and butter Democrats

who were shifted to the port side when all the DLC'ers entered on the starboard.

[Odin2005]

69. Like I said, idealized image of a past Democratic Party that never existed.

Yesterday's bread and butter Dems were the blue-collar unions folks that became disaffected when the ideological purist clowns got their candidate through in 1972.

[PretzelWarrior]

62. you mean the ideals that caused us to lose elections in 68. 72, 1980, 84, 88?

yeah. I remember those. Notice I said the U.S. is a "left of center" country--not an extreme leftist country.

[PVnRT]

63. To you, "extreme leftist" is anyone who disagrees with you

In fact, that's pretty much how it is for all of the cheerleaders on this forum. Sad, that's all you guys know how to do - try to marginalize others as "extremists."

[Odin2005]

68. The self-styled "progressive" ideological purists never liked Obama anyway.

You guys bashed him while declaring Kucinich as the One True Lord and Savior. And you are thinking of an idealized past uber-progressive Democratic Party that never existed.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

80. I have to chuckle hearing myself described as an ideological purist

who never liked Obama anyway - totally false. I was an enthusiastic supporter of Obama although I admit my trajectory was Kucinich, Edwards and then Obama. I definitely have a populist bent, but I was 100% certain that Obama was exactly the right candidate for the time. I did see him as the literal antithesis of W. And yes, he is and will always be better than anyone the Republicans could conceivably round up.

Before the election and our great Democratic victory, which EVERYONE participated in and rejoiced over,I would say 99% of the posters on this board wrote daily and often about miscarriages of Justice, Rule of Law, accountability, torture, transparency, conduct of the War, economic meltdowns, stimulus, corporate influence, election fraud, corporate looting, media bias, etc.

All the same issues are being discussed and often from the same viewpoints. The only thing that has changed is that instead of Bush and the Republicans being dissected and discussed, it is our own President and Congress. I don't have the same facility that some do in dramatically altering some strongly held views just because it is my guy in office.

I am NOT an idealistic purist. If anything, I am currently veering down the opposite road of idealism which is cynicism. A lot of you guys just got there way ahead of me.

[Moochy]

81. I see you are adopting the blue dog airquotes around progressive

Can we start air-quoting "democratic" when referencing your positions?

[Odin2005]

95. I use the quote marks because of their "we are the true, pure progressives" attitude.

Way too often it seems that "Progressive" is used to mean "people who agree with me".

[paulk]

12. I don't think it will be progressives who will bring down his

approval ratings because they're unhappy with his conservative lean.

If unemployment hits double digits and stays there (which increasingly looks a likely scenario), Obama's numbers will fall and fall hard. That's just what happens to sitting Presidents.

[DrToast]

14. It's already happening

His numbers have fallen because the economy and it will continue.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

15. That is because of pundits saying "This is now Obama's economy"

which is ludicrous and stupid. I honestly think people will stick with him through a Recession or Depression IF THEY THINK HE IS STICKING WITH THEM!

That's why a sellout on healthcare to the industry will double boomerang on him. The people need something! They need PROOF he is on their side.

[paulk]

40. it was Obama's stimulus package

that was supposed to keep unemployment below 8%.

Since the Democrats now control, by large margins, both houses of Congress - failure will be attributed to them and Obama if things don't improve by 2010, IMO.

[Jennicut]

30. It was a 61% average in June, was 62% in May...I am guessing 60% for July?

Its dropping among some conservative leaning indies though.

[paulk]

42. Gallup tracking has him dropping from 69% to 58% through

June 15th

http://www.gallup.com/poll/121028/Obama-Job-Approval-Slips-58-First-Time.aspx

[Jennicut]

45. Right. Hence the 61% average. And a correction, it was 65% in May and 62% in March.

So May was the best month, June the worst. Today it is 56% percent but a few days ago it was 61%. Seems like this poll can fluctuate quite a bit. I think he will stay above 55% for an average for the next few months.

[earth mom]

90. Obama's numbers are falling because of the economy AND lackluster global warming initiatives.

Obama got Gores endorsement and millions of votes because of it.

And now Obama is playing ki$$ a$$ with the devils from the coal industry.

Nice bait and switch-NOT! :grr:

[lunatica]

13. We're on the right path if you're a Centrist and you want to restore the good old days

But if you're a progressive and had high hopes you will be disappointed for the simple fact that most people are closer to the Center than Progressives are. If you thought the last 8 years were the closest thing to Nirvana then we're not on the right path.

Don't forget that the best of plans and goals go haywire and that sometimes Presidents are forced to be great men, and that most great men are so because they were forced to be. Few people wake up in the morning thinking they're going to be great. And most of the ones who do think they're great are really only serving themselves.

Presidents really need to fall flat on their asses sometimes. Right now Obama is trying to get everyone to work together. At some point he will realize that it was the wrong tactic and he will understand that HE is the one who has been mistaken. He's got the bully pulpit and he may learn it's value in a year or so. Or maybe much sooner. It depends on how fast he learns from his mistakes, which so far he hasn't made if you consider that he's governing from the Center and for the Center. The Centrists would say he's doing a great job.

[wroberts189]

19. 75% of Americans want single payer or a public option ..if that is centrist then...

What is a progressive?

A majority of Americans support unions, medicare, SS, ..PEACE.

So called "far left" positions.

I cannot find the poll but they did one once during the primaries where most people had positions closer to Kucinich then anyone else.

Americans like to call themselves centrist as everyone thinks they are one including myself. But in the Beltway centrist now means Lieberman and the DLC or the bluedogs and the conservadems.

"Centrist" is a word that gets badly abused. Who thinks of themselves as the extreme right or left .. or off center? Nobody does.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

20. Thank you. Thank you. nt

[Jennicut]

29. Obama is center left. The center is the DLC. But people's views can be all over the place.

You can have liberal progressive views on some things and more moderate views on others. People's views on health care are finally leaning left, thankfully.

[wroberts189]

36. It's because of the way the media paints things. In the end there is a right way and a wrong way..

And most of the time the so called "far left" is correct ..case in point IRAQ.


Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Samuel Johnson


I would add another:

Calling yourself a centrist or moderate when you are a far right loony in congress is also the last refuge of a scoundrel

[Jennicut]

38. True. Many in Congress think they are reasonable Centrists but are far out crazy

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

72. Yes, but they also don't want it to come at the cost of further deficits.

That's what makes the attitude centrist, and it's what many like yourself conveniently forget.

[bvar22]

21. You are mistaken.

When polled on the issues the MAJORITY of Americans (Democrat & Republican) agree with Dennis Kucinich.

In recent polls (2005!) by the Pew Research Group, the Opinion Research Corporation, the Wall Street Journal, and CBS News, the American majority has made clear how it feels. Look at how the majority feels about some of the issues that you'd think would be gospel to a real Democratic Party:

1. 65 percent (of ALL Americans, Democrats AND Republicans) say the government should guarantee health insurance for everyone -- even if it means raising taxes.

2. 86 percent favor raising the minimum wage (including 79 percent of selfdescribed "social conservatives").

3. 60 percent favor repealing either all of Bush's tax cuts or at least those cuts that went to the rich.

4. 66 percent would reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

5. 77 percent believe the country should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment.

6. 87 percent think big oil corporations are gouging consumers, and 80 percent (including 76 percent of Republicans) would support a windfall profits tax on the oil giants if the revenues went for more research on alternative fuels.

7. 69 percent agree that corporate offshoring of jobs is bad for the U.S. economy (78 percent of "disaffected" voters think this), and only 22% believe offshoring is good because "it keeps costs down."

http://alternet.org/story/29788/

8. Over 63% oppose the War on the Iraqi People.

9. 92% of ALL Americans support TRANSPARENT, VERIFIABLE elections!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x446445

[inna]

22. WOW. thank you so much for this, bookmarking for reference. nt

[mkultra]

26. evidence that shows that the center has moved left instead of right

as some alarmists hear love to shill.

[Number23]

35. Excellent, EXCELLENT point

[TreasonousBastard]

39. So howcum the Kooch keeps ending up on the bottom...

in every Presidential race he's been in?

Sure. everyone wants wold peace, free healthcare, and all that good shit, but the devil is in the details and most people get persnickety when they see how it would work. If it would work at all.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

73. Because he's less interested in making a difference than he is in making a name for himself.

Seriously, in all his years in Congress, can you even name a major victory that he's been a part of? No, because Kucinich is happier to introduce bills that he damn well knows have no chance at getting passed in order to put on a show.

Sanders actually is a socialist, is further to the left than Kucinich, but he actually gets shit done. Why? Because Sanders isn't about Sanders the way that Kucinich is only really about Kucinich.

[Odin2005]

74. That's why I love Sanders.

Sanders actually tries to get stuff done, even if that means smoothing out differences with those he disagrees with. The Kooch is a grandstanding idiot who was anti-choice before he became the darling of the so-called "progressives".

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

77. You know how they had those "tests" that you could take to see which candidate best suits you?

Like this one: http://www.speakout.com/VoteMatch/pres2008.asp?quiz=2008

Yeah, my score always matches me with Kucinich. But I'd sooner vote for Ralph Nader (I wouldn't even spit on that guy) than I would Kucinich, simply because he damages the name of liberals and progressives by catering to people that don't know better while making absolutely no effort to get things done. At most people know Nader is a loon and doesn't really represent much of anyone.

[Odin2005]

93. Exactly.

Add in his belief in UFOs and other strange things he is like the derogatory caricature of us liberals I'd rather avoid.

[Douglas Carpenter]

78. most people support many "left-wing" policies by not left-wing imagery

Someone like Bernie Sanders is able to win even rural conservative-Republican counties of Vermont by carrying the message directly to them. He bypasses the media filter and presents practical policies to them in a way that sounds pragmatic and down-to-earth.

Furthermore, the media class is largely made up of people who are probably socially liberal in the same way that the average Wall Street stock broker is probably socially liberal - but on economic polices and usually on foreign policy matters - they are more like old style Republicans.

Unfortunately to be identified as "left-wing" is frequently the kiss of death for candidates even among people who may issue by issue agree with the policies. I remember how in 1972 Time Magazine gave its cover story on George McGovern who they at that point labeled "The Prairie Populist." Unfortunately, a month or two later the small town World War II hero and former Methodist minister was being labeled by the same media as the candidate of Amnesty, Acid and Abortion.

In addition to all of this, the vast majority of ordinary Democrats and center/left independents are not policy wonks. They will passively assume that President Obama is carrying on the issues that they support. Many do not realize the difference between single-payer-universal health care and what is being proposed by the Administration. I'm sure many, probably most believe that the Administration is reducing military spending and decreasing military interventionism. This is of course not born out by the facts. It's just a general impression.

Still we should remember that FDR was not consistently progressive or even consistently pro-Labor. Still the Unions and other progressive elements recognized the advantage of identifying with FDR and the New Deal and tying themselves and their agenda to that movement at every opportunity. And this approach did pay off. This approach of tying ones issues to a broadly supported, big tent movement created a lasting bond between progressive causes and the Democratic policy and did help further a great deal of change and progressive legislation.

[OwnedByFerrets]

50. What good ole days? You mean 30 yrs ago when we still had

manufacturing jobs in the country? That is certainly NOT where we are headed. If we were really lucky, we might get back to 1998 america, but I really doubt it. We are too far gone over the cliff.

[Gman2]

16. Speak your Friggin mind. No need for dittoheads here.

[bvar22]

23. If polled today, I would answer STRONG approval.

Personally, I am deeply disappointed, especially in the areas of Transparency, Civil & Human Rights, Rule of Law, lack of support for LABOR, and the complete lack of representation of the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party in the Obama Administration.

I will continue to answer strongly approve, but like you it really means I disapprove of the alternative.


"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

25. Exactly.

You really do understand and get the point I was trying to make, and made it better than I did.

[bvar22]

33. You were clear....

...and many agree with you.
Only those with a partisan agenda would twist you words or attack you for expressing your truth which is shared by many, especially the Independents who voted for "change".

[TreasonousBastard]

43. I betcha Obama's poll numbers have absolutely nothing...

to do with his performance so far.

Just like Truman's low numbers and Ike's high numbers didn't. Or Reagan's, or Carter's, or Clinton's or any of the rest of them.

A lot of it has to do with how well people are doing personally-- how they see their own futures, their kids futures, and how their lives are going according to their own standards. Most of the rest of it has to do with the perception of the President and whether or not people feel comfortable with him and how he's doing for them personally.

None of it has to do with policy matters, foreign affairs, or any of the other bullshit that policy wonks, pundits, and activists like to think is important to people.

It doesn't make any difference why things get better or worse-- once people notice things getting demonstrably better or worse, they will credit or blame him for it.

[Jennicut]

44. Bush's went down because of his poor performance on Katrina, the war in Iraq, etc.

So sometimes poll #'s mean something. Of course, Bush had the worst performance of any modern President.

[TreasonousBastard]

51. And Johnson's tanked because if Viet Nam, so you're right...

but these are spectacular problems and affect the public a lot more than dry statistics or policy papers do.

So far, Obama gives great speech, but he's safe for a while because everyone but the wingnuts on both sides knows he's still working on inherited problems. If things don't get better, or (gasp!) they get worse, he's gonna get slammed when people start thinking there's no light at the end of the tunnel.

The far left, the purity police, self styled "progressives"... They won't be happy no matter what happens-- no compromise is to small to object to, and the world will end with the big ones.

[Jennicut]

52. Poppy Bush reacted poorly to a bad economy, Carter tried but could not overcome the oil crisis

As long as Obama acts sympathetic and in touch (unlike Poppy, who was out of touch and clueless) he should be okay for a little longer. It does need to turn around before 2012 though, but that is a long way off.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

83. I would agree, except...

The thing to remember about the Iraq War was that information was somewhat difficult to come by, and often conflicted with Bush's own spinmasters' reports. As such, I think a lot of people didn't really know what to think about it.

I think Katrina opened the floodgates because it was a domestic, very tangible example of what we all had been saying about Bush for years - that he was incompetent and that his administration was totally corrupt. There was no spinning Katrina, and it gave credibility to Bush's naysayers. Suddenly, every other criticism of Bush was finally taken more at face value. Plus, it was a major, non-terror related problem that unveiled a lot of other domestic problems that were ignored, both by the public and the media, because they were still so scared after 9/11.

So while I think you're right that Katrina was the turning point in his public opinion, I don't think people really felt that good about him before it either. It's just that the lesser informed among us finally had a reason to listen to their gut about the guy.

[stevenleser]

46. I think it is telling that a bill to overturn DADT was introduced today

I think that at the end of his first four years, people like you who wrote these kinds of things will be embarrassed when they look back and saw that he did get to most of the things we were hoping he would do.

[vaberella]

58. +1. n/t

[zulchzulu]

47. The Great Civics-Challenged Uninformed and Freepers will not like Obama

Those that understand how government works and takes time to get legislation passed through the series of steps needed will probably enjoy what Obama is attempting to due in the face of career complainers and naysayers, pointlessly confused armchair quarterbacks, those still unhealed from the Primary Season, those who believe a President has authoritarian powers and the legion of sore losers that the Republican party media channels and leadership have spawned.

It's been less than six months since Obama was sworn in. His Stimulus package, which was designed to work over at least an 18-20 month period, is working and more jobs and contracts (which take time to have submitted, vetted and implemented) will be more evident by the fall.

Some people think a President has the powers of a King. They are sorely mistaken and utterly miss the point of how democracy works.

Let them whine. Moan. Shake their fist. Scrawl misspelled tinfoil hat conspiracy theories on Walmart box cardboard. Who fucking cares. Cluelessness is not a good trait to display in public.

[Odin2005]

75. Given the number of Chavez-bots on DU it's obvious that many want a "populist" dictator.

It's disturbing, like the Huey Long supporters in the 30s.

[Moochy]

82. Yeah it's scary huh?

:scared:

what an idiotic "observation"

[OwnedByFerrets]

48. Glad to be your 10th

[geek tragedy]

49. What a narcissistic post.

You are one person.

[FrenchieCat]

54. I'm fine with this President until I come here to DU......

That's when I realize that the Magic Negro so many had "Hoped" for isn't so Magic after all......
and all of the folks who called me an Obama "Fan" are the exact ones who used to swear I treated him like he was a Messiah or something. Funny how it is those who accused me of thinking the man was Magic are the ones expecting Magic from him.

Since I always knew he wasn't Magic, I'm doing fine...but thank you.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

76. Why do you keep pulling out the phrase "Magic Negro" when you disagree with someone?

I have never used that phrase and I find it offensive. I believe the origin of that term is Rush Limbaugh and I can only surmise that you must be trying to project a Rush Limbaugh pejorative onto any poster you disagree with and almost imply it's a term they have used.

You do the same thing here to another poster in a current thread who is really going out of their way to try to have a reasonable discussion with you about areas where Obama has been successful and areas where he has not been successful.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8517995&mesg_id=8518210

You appear to be a supporter of Obama's with no reservations or disappoints about anything that has happened so far. That's fine, that is your right to be so happy and enthusiastic. It's my right to be open about the fact that I feel somewhat let down by some of the decisions coming down, particularly in some of the appointments made and in Rule of Law/Justice restoration. The jury is still out on Healthcare reform as that is evolving daily.

[FrenchieCat]

86. Possibly because you mentioned Magic in your OP....

when you stated......"I will probably decide I am just tired of putting on the make-up and pretending how happy I am. I will just go natural and express my real feelings. Of disappointment and yes, DISAPPROVAL. There's so much I literally don't approve of and that I thought I was sweeping away with my Democratic Presidential vote. Despite my happy face and my loyalty, I disapprove and someday that fake approval mask will drop. And somehow,as though by magic, it will drop from many faces simultaneously."

In otherwords, at this point, you are not happy that what you wanted to happen has not happened.....
Hence the phrase, the Magic Negro, as there is no balanced context utilitized in your OP ...you know, pesky stuff like a rightward corporate media giving more attention to GOP ideas than should be allowed, a congress who is afraid of taking any real big risks, and a population less informed that should be due to the lack of objectivity by the corporate media.

In otherwords, it's all about this President with you, and what you wanted him to do in his first six month; a rant of your personal abject disappointment in the fact that he has no magic wand to wave and make all of your wishes come true.

My point is it sounds that if you would be happy with him, he indeed would be a Magic Negro able to overcome every obstacle and limitation placed in his way.

Perhaps it is because I'm of color that I don't have a problem with the fact that I do believe that much more is expected of Obama than of mere mortals, as though some voters believe that they took a leap of faith with this man, got him into office despite his race, are unfairly not counting any of his positive accomplishments, but only what he hasn't accomplished or what he has accomplished differently than what those folks had in mind.

Hell, even if the man thinks of scratching his own ass, a debate ensues as to whether he did it right or not, hell, even before he actually does it.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

97. Except my reference to magic had nothing to do with the President himself

My phrase "and somehow, as though by magic, it will drop from many faces simultaneously" is more of a description of a "tipping point" or critical mass.

You also didn't address why it was an appropriate response in the other thread I mentioned, where it was just as much of a non -sequitur.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

55. Nah.

I think his approval ratings are high because he's doing a hell of a job, and most people aren't crazy teabagging racists or loony conspiracy theory ankle biters.

[PretzelWarrior]

61. just like Hillary voters will defect to McCain. ANNNGGHH!!!! wrong answer.

I'm sorry to tell you but what his poll numbers do between now and about March to May 2012 don't matter to me. What he does that he knows and WE know are going to set our country on a better foundation for the future is much more important than polling data for a particular month.

Even 2010 midterm elections don't favor Republicans in Senate races. So what is your point? That you're impatient? That you are the type of person who starts cursing your computer when it takes longer than a nanosecond for a webpage from across the world to load? yeah. thought so.

[karynnj]

64. This is likely the case with all aproval ratings

You only get two choices in many polls. This is intentional and the people doing the polling are intentionally creating that metric. As you say, at some point your response will change - that likely will happen when you become unhappy enough that you pick "no" over "yes".

Do you think 100% of Bush's (or Clinton's for that matter) "yes" responders were 100% happy with him?

[Arkana]

65. So what is this? A threat?

[Odin2005]

66. You greatly exaggerate the number of Kucinich-types in the party

Politics is about keeping the support of the moderates in the middle of the bell curve, there are a lot more votes there than in the Left's 95th percentile.

[earth mom]

91. The numbers are skewed so that Corporate America can continue their rape & pillage.

The majority of people in this country are to the far left. NO doubt about it.

It's just the media and the corporate bastards who push the lie that everyone's in the middle.

Skewing the numbers benefits them and that's all that matters. :puke:

[Odin2005]

98. "Right" and "Left" are relative, not absolute terms, so your post makes no sense.

The center is defined as the middle of the bell curve.

A thread I made that might interest you: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8388877

This is the political alignment of the US since 1984:

Another chart for orientation purposes:


Theoconservative = Chimpy, Newt, and Psycho Sarah
Neoconservative = McCain, Cheney, Romney
Communitarian = Bill Clinton, Howard Dean
Progressive = Obama, Gore, Ted Kennedy
Radical = Nader, Kucinich, Sanders

And this is how the political mood has evolved since 1929 and will evolve into the 2020s.

The Great Depression and WW2.


The McCarthyist backlash and Eisenhower Paleoconservatism.


The 60s and 70s, The Great Society and The New Left.


The Culture Wars and the Religious Right.


The current crisis.


So by the late 2020s we will be the center.

[BlooInBloo]

84. Watching the recs melt away is funny.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

94. It is, especially since it essentially verifies the title of this thread!

I would have expected no less.

[BlooInBloo]

96. There are, of course, a variety of reasons people might prefer you not talk....

I suspect you've only considered the self-serving possibilities.

[Occam Bandage]

85. If your political leanings were representative of the party or the country,

Kucinich would have won in a walk.

[mwb970]

87. I trust him.

I decided during the campaign that this guy has the intelligence, judgment, and values necessary to lead our country in the right direction. Now he's in the presidency, and I like most of what he has done. I admit I don't "get" some of the decisions or policies, but I believe that the president has much more information (as well as expert advice) than I do, and I trust him to make the right calls to the best of his ability, which is considerable.

I don't want to press the Unrecommend button on him until I know all of the facts, not just the ones I can see from my house.

[JayMusgrove]

89. I disapprove of

Obama's disapproval ratings... it's TOO SOON to disapprove of him, his policies and thus

No one can honestly disapprove of this man's governing yet, only a few policies here and there, (DADT, refusal to act, etc.) that we may "DISAGREE" with him on so far.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

92. I actually disapprove of polls in general

because they are usually contructed in such a way as to deliver pre-determined results.

Even the approve/disapprove metric. I think there are people who "mostly approve" but they're pushed into an either/or decision.

If polling is to be valid it should be a lot more informative:

Do you have a generally good impression of Pres O?

Do you approve of his foreign policy so far?

Do you approve of the way he has heandled healthcare so far?

Do you approve of his handling of the economy so far?

Do you approve of his handling of GLBT issues so far?

Do you approve of the appointments in his administration so far?

Do you approve of his environmental policies so far?

Do you approve of his conduct of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan so far?

Do you approve of the way he has handled the detainees at Gitmo so far?

Do you approve of the way he is handling the residual issues of torture so far?

Do you approve of the way he is handling national security issues like warrantless wiretapping so far?

Do you believe that he is providing the levels of transparency he promoted during the campaign so far?

Is the stimulus working as you expected it to so far?


Etc. THEN you might have an idea of where President Obama is succeeding and where he is failing to meet expectations and not just deliver some almost devoid of value result - He's up! He's down! He's up again! He's down again!