Obama Is Dealing With 8 Years of Pent-Up Public Outrage, Not 2 Months of His Presidency

[stopbush]

The Obama administration may feel besieged by an American public that wants answers yesterday. They may well wonder what the country expects them to resolve in a short two months in office, and they'd be right to think that - were it not for the fact that it has become clear post-election that a vast majority in the country has been fed up with DC since 2001.

Does anyone really believe that this anger started building only after the last election? Hell no! The country knows that the two bush elections were stolen elections, that our government was lying to us and working against the interests of the nation, and that the media was a willing enabler in legitimizing the stolen elections and the criminal bush administration for 8 long years. It appears that the majority of people in this country felt just like we DUers felt for 8 years - fucked over by the system and unable to break through the media screen to get our true feelings out.

The media is trying to portray this outrage as something that has developed since Obama took office, but the truth is that Americans are happy that Obama is taking the steps he is taking to address real issues. What they're not happy about is finding that what went on during the bush years is even worse than they could have ever imagined, and that the shit just keeps on coming even after bushco has left the building.

And much of this anger is directed at the media who - unfortunately - still write the stories, still shill for the right wing and STILL don't get what the American people want.

My advice to Team Obama: realize that you inherited the anger along with the problems, and that this anger is not going to abate quickly. If Team Obama REALLY wants to get the public on their side, they will investigate bushco for war crimes ASAP. Believe me, the public would support it overwhelmingly.

[spanone]

1. you've got that right....

[jwirr]

2. Hopefully he understands this. I might even help if he tells us he is

also angry.

[Last Stand]

29. He has. And I don't think many people are blaming him for their outrage.

Except the Limbots and RW zealots who will blame him for everything.

Obama's said time and again that it took 8 years to get year and it ain't gonna get fixed overnight.

[rcrush]

3. Another point...

Is that everyone expects him to be Jesus and save us. When almost everyone in DC has been part of one corruption or another you cant expect that NONE of them are in the administration right now working against Obama. Bush broke the world and who knows if Obama can even fix it.

[KayLaw]

5. Also

It's only been two months.

[polichick]

4. Your title assertion is so true - but I don't think President Obama is fooled by it...

...just look at all those people waiting hours and hours just to see him on Leno's show.

[taxjustice51]

6. Indeed

I cannot agree more !!!
The public is SICK of the fat cats getting all the perks.
In Pennsylvania fat cats are getting massive sales tax refunds from bailed out banks.
It SUCKS !!!!
I hope Obama guts these a__holes !

[Taverner]

7. YES! Reason, funny that...

[hfojvt]

8. I still think much of this outrage is coming from the right

Rush, Beck, Hannity and O'Reilly are stirring the shite and the M$M is making it bigger than it is. Just like it shrank the anti-war movement. It's public opinion - Taylor made. Both times I was out in public today - at church and at the grocery store, I did not detect all that much outrage.

[DCKit]

22. The M$M is trying to spin U.S. off in another (any other) direction.

The 24/7 drumbeat criticizing Obama and the players from the banks and Wall St. is the only distraction they've got for the real stories: the continued deregulation and complete lack of oversight of almost every kind of business (to the point of quashing investigations into the dealings of political contributors), the politicization of every alphabet agency, Iraq/Afghanistan, bully diplomacy and elimination of the rule of law under BushCo. (Feel free to add you own).

Had the previous administration even tried to fulfill their obligation of office, we'd be living in a far different world right now. Individually, much of what they did could be contributed to willful ignorance: together, these acts compromise a conspiracy against the people, the country, the Constitution and our legal system - all for money and power.

[LakeSamish706]

9. I also think that there is frustration that someone is not bringing the Bush....

Administration up on charges fast enough as well. The truth is, they may never face charges for their wrong doings.

[soothsayer]

13. I think the failure to bring charges is as criminal as the charges

[Butch350]

34. Do you really think now is the time for Witch Hunting...

With the economy the way it is? Troops overseas fighting a battle. Now is not the time for, "I told you so's".

[lynnertic]

10. we're only 2 months into the Obama presidency, actually. n/t

[lunatica]

21. The OP's point is that we're also 8 years into Bush's Presidency and therefore

mad as hell. But it isn't just mad. Americans are also scared because they've finally seen how our country and it's foundation are crumbling. I don't know of anyone who isn't fearful about their economic future, unless they simply don't have a clue. Fear tends to be expressed with anger.

[lynnertic]

23. Thanks, and accept my apology for nitpicking.

My problem is that I am ahead of schedule. After losing almost everything in the dot-com bust I've been pissed off and scared senseless since, until sometime last year when I decided to quit "reactionary anger/generalized fear" to focus on positive change I could bring to my community.

I volunteer in a couple of places and find it very rewarding, because I'm kept busy and positive and plugged in to a larger community even when my work schedule is light.

Hey I dig your name. Great minds think alike.

[lunatica]

24. I've done the same thing about consciously separating myself from my anger

After the 2004 elections I realized I couldn't live with that much rage anymore. It was so extreme that I had to stop watching the msm. I had to 'take a deep breath' and get my emotions under control, so I understand why so many people seem to overreact to what Obama isn't doing.

But what you say about going out into the community makes sense. I've seen many people who are the worst off are doing the same thing. The community has much to gain from such volunteers and is gaining much right now because of it. You benefit many with your activities.

I'm still holding down two part time jobs while taking care of my mother who has dementia. I hope I can at least continue at this level. If not then I'll have to deal with it as it comes. Rage only gets in the way of survival, especially creative survival like yours

[KittyWampus]

11. Obama chose Wallstreet cronies who engineered and enabled this financial meltdown

to deal with solving the problems.

[soothsayer]

14. Yes, seems clear who is running the show (and it ain't who we elect)

[chill_wind]

18. And **continues those choices.** The latest being Citigroup's CE heading to Treasury.

Seriously. :wtf:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=114&topic_id=61159&mesg_id=61208

[soothsayer]

12. Yes, and fear that he's just another NWO puppet

[EFerrari]

15. That's the best political rationale for prosecution, right there.

:thumbsup:

[GeorgeGist]

16. It goes back to Old World solutions

to the New World's existence.

The cognitive dissonance is appalling.

[JackRiddler]

17. The two main things are the wars and, above all, the banking piracy

If he wants to end the outbreak of eight years' worth of outrage, all he has to do is GTFO of Afghanistan and Iraq and, more importantly, stop assisting the millennial robbery operation by the pirate banks against the American people -- and start taking what they have stolen BACK. If he instead wishes to continue the wars and allow the plunder, he earns the outrage. Tough shit. Obama has choices, so he should make the right ones. If he doesn't, your sprinkling sugar on the rewarmed Bush-era bullshit makes no difference. He owns it now.

ON EDIT: These are the public outrage drivers. Unfortunately, justice (and reparations) for the Bush regime crimes is secondary, but morally just as significant.

[Number23]

19. You just blew my FREAKING mind

I agreed with every single word that you posted until LITERALLY your last sentence. I do believe that there is alot of support for an investigation against Bush. I believe that as assuredly as I believe that there is also alot of support AGAINST an investigation.

Alot of people are angry and want him investigated; alot of people are apathetic and want to move on. I have no doubt that if Obama were to try to start an investigation, many here would be surprised at how much pushback he'd get from average Americans. Doing the right thing is not always popular.

Very nicely done. I'd rec this more than once if I could...

[a kennedy]

20. K & R for the morning crew......

:patriot: :thumbsup:

[earth mom]

25. Obama is too busy playing politics & trying to look good to care about what the people really want.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this because it's what ALL politicians do.

We can all forget about hope or change or that * & Cheney & Co will ever being tried for anything.

The only way to get some hope, change and justice is to take to the streets like the French do.

And I don't see that happening any time soon. :argh:

[kentuck]

26. Very true

K & R

[nichomachus]

27. The first task was to defuse the anger

and instead everything they're doing is just feeding it.

Symbolism goes a long way. As a lot of people have noted, AIG bonuses aren't worth a pisshole in the snow, compared to the money being tossed around. But people react to symbols very potently.

I think a lot of people were expecting to see a big change after Obama took office -- and it didn't even have to be a real big change, but it had to be symbolic of change. A vegetable garden on the White House lawn doesn't cut it.

There needed to be a clear signal that the new boss was not the same as the old boss. Instead, we're seeing more of the same . . . staying in Iraq (until), lift the ban on gays in the military (some day -- just be patient), retool the financial system (well, be patient, meanwhile we'll just hand out more and more and more money to the ultrawealthy while they laugh in our faces).

People haven't seen that symbol yet that will defuse their anger.

From where I sit, Obama has been a 100 percent success. I voted him for two reasons. !. I thought he could win and 2. he wasn't Bush or McCain. So, on those two scores, he was 100 percent.

I really didn't expect much more. So, I'm just kind of watching this play out . . . and so far I'm not seeing a lot of "change," but then I wasn't taken in by that slogan.

[empyreanisles]

28. Right. Obama has done absolutely nothing during his first 60 days. Got it. (n/t)

[nichomachus]

31. Your snotty comment would be right -- had I actually said that

But never let facts get in the way of good snark.

I didn't say he didn't do anything -- but he didn't do anything potent enough to overcome the symbolism of the AIG bonuses. People were expecting something dramatic. They haven't gotten it. That's the problem.



So, giggle all you want, but the clock is running out. This "just be patient" meme is wearing very thin.

[empyreanisles]

32. They DO get it. But instead of grandstanding they keep their eyes on ball.

This AIG BS is just a big distraction and Obama KNOWS that. Every notice how this shit always happened during the campaign. People would go apeshit because Obama wasn't reacting prematurely doing this and that. Then, when the time was right, he would come out with exactly the right response.

Obama pulls the trigger when the time is right and not a moment sooner.

[nichomachus]

33. I never said AIG was THE problem

In fact, I said it wasn't. I hope he does, in fact, come out with the right response before it's too late. All I said was that the clock is running out -- both in terms of the economy and in terms of people's misdirected anger. If he waits too long before his hail mary pass, it may be too late. Once the public mood turns against you, you're done. Perception is a reality. Right now, Obama has great poll marks. That could change in a week's time.

The AIG bonuses represent a teeny-weeny part of the money we're talking about, but it's something that captures the attention of people who don't know a credit default swap from a hole in the ground. People always focus on something they can relate to -- and they can relate to people getting massive bonuses, while they're getting nothing.

All I'm saying is that Obama needs to do something that takes the public attention away from the bonuses. Politics is part theater, like or not. If you don't realize that as a politician, you're screwed. That's how Bush survived so long while screwing the country. His people were masters of political theater.

Going back to my original point, a lot of people were expecting something new and different -- and they're seeing more of the same. Yes, I can point to a lot of things Obama has done, but they are not things that resonate with the great mass of people.

Of course, having a gang of turncoat Dems in the Congress, cutting you off at the knees doesn't help.

[empyreanisles]

35. I think Obama's even temperament works against him sometimes

When scandals like this flare up, his first impulse is to just ignore the superfluous banter and focus on the work at hand.

In the short term, this can come off as disingenuous and clinical. But when the rage cools down, the virtue of steady diligence becomes apparent.

[AlbertCat]

37. This "just be patient" meme is wearing very thin.

It is for you people who expected Obama to...what?....bring every troop home from overseas on Jan. 21st? Sweep up everyone on the streets who looks like a financial CEO and arrest them without charges? Ignore and not honor contracts made during the last administration? Click his heels 3 times and everyone gets ice cream?

Then there are the realists living in a real world.

Jesus, I've had enough of fairy tales. No more political melodrama crap like the Bushies! We're finally operating in the real world and you want instantaneous magic akin to Bush Administration promises. You're crying for some "symbol" of change....not real change that takes time. Great! That's just what we need!

After 8 years of increasingly speeding towards a cliff, and you expect Obama to have the train stopped in 2 months.

Like I said... if thousands of innocent Americans haven't been murdered in one day by Sept 12, then Obama is doing way better than the Bushies.

[deaniac21]

38. No kidding! Obama isn't out on a limb trying to do crazy stuff

like the Bush administration. We are finally getting some fiscal responsibility with a plan that will reduce the deficit by half instead of the wild and crazy spending Bush was doing and all people do is complain.

[steelmania75]

30. You're right. The people weren't allowed to show their anger at Bush/Cheney during their time

[deaniac21]

36. That's the ticket! It's Bush's fault! We need to shout this from

the rooftops!