Obama was a great campaigner, Now I yearn for him to be a great President.

[G_j]

and stand up and decide to de-escalate in Afghanistan.

That would make him a great President in my eyes.

[tabatha]

1. He is a good president

and is doing good as best he can in a very hostile and corrupt US.

[rug]

2. Best He Can is not as good as Yes We Can.

[Skittles]

4. it ws Yes We Can Get Me Elected

[bikingaz]

11. for our sake, he must succeed.

otherwise it's gonna be rough for a long time

[roamer65]

3. John Kennedy wanted to de-escalate Vietnam.

Look what they did to him. I think Iraq and Afghanistan are going to end up playing out to their natural conclusion.

The breakup of the United States...just like the Soviet Union, but far more violent.

[G_j]

16. That's pretty rough to determine

Vietnam comes to mind. What is a natural conclusion?
He has to make concrete decisions, we have been there for eight years.
There will be no happy ending.

[eleny]

5. I watched an Ellsberg interview on the web earlier today

He believes that Obama will go down the same road LBJ did in Vietnam to save his Party from defeat next year. If that happens I don't know what I'll do.

I lived through that era and won't be able to swallow the idea of using the blood of our soldiers as an IV drip into the veins of the Democratic Party to keep it alive for yet another election season.

Any liberal who didn't see what happened back then and who now thinks they can accept such a decision is either a fool or a monster.

[AllentownJake]

6. The anti-war movement is about to start up again

Most people forget that the anti-war movement started during a democratic administration.

Hey Hey LBJ how many kids did you kill today. Those people are still around, and generally are still leaders in all the peace groups.

[G_j]

9. Presidents come and go

people fighting against the military/industrial, ...war is a racket, ...empire,
struggle on...


And often work hard to help Democratic candidates get elected, because their social views are more advanced and humanitarian.
Presumably, this would make Democrats more open to peace and a non military approach to world situations, than Republicans.
the struggle goes on.

[G_j]

7. I lived through that also

and am right there with you.

[eleny]

10. Did you see Karzai interviewed on CNN today?

He was talking about the Afghanistan army. Then I watched the Ellsberg interview on the web where he asked, "What Afghanistan army?". He asked where do the salaries of these foreign armies go - to Switzerland? He thinks McCrystal wants to fight the Vietnam War again to show that the military can get it right this time.

It's enough to make you weep at the thought of how much we're lied to. What's next, a 21st century version of the Tonkin Gulf incident?

[G_j]

12. There is no possible way to hold "run-off" elections in the climate of violence.

this is a problem we cannot cure. We have a major responsibility, but military escalation is not it!

[tblue]

8. I read his book and I could not find anything in it that

showed him as particularly courageous, defiant, or bold. He wanted people to organize and work toward bettering their situation. He surprised hmsrlf by making a great speech. But he was preaching to his choir, and was not speaking truth to power He made no demands, put no stake in the ground. There were numerous rifts within his family and he wanted people to get along. He didn't get involved, just kind of observed. I think he is a good and brilliant man, but it's yet to be seen what kind of president he will ulimately be.

[G_j]

13. I actually never read it,

I think I should. That is interesting, he can be a pretty bold speaker in terms of his enthusiasm.
I wonder if he truly wants to be a great leader, or the most highly talented facilitator.
I can only say, the times call for strength for the good. He quoted MLK Jr. when he used "the fierce urgency of now"

As President, I hope he really understands what that means, now matter how hard it is.

[KoKo]

17. It sounded good...and there was a great "machine" at his back which had high hopes for him.

It's hard to know what will come out of this. He seems bright...he has wound his way through the halls of power. He must have much going for him. But, folks like that also can become useful tools. In many ways Bill Clinton was cut of the same cloth. "Man of the People" and an incredible speech maker.

We see...what it is all these years later. But, rising the crowd after years of Bushies seems to be what we Dems are now in the business of doing. We get the great orators to be President...but in the House and Senate we seem to be lacking in "something...something" that can move the crowds. Now that Ted Kennedy is gone and Robert Byrd is so aged....there's not much there. But, then...one wonders why and I've tried to find an answer...but never can come up with anything that isn't shot down by the next behavior that defies logic about our party.

[KoKo]

14. Suspect he's gonna' "Muddle Through."

Don't know what to think of him at this point except..."Muddle Through, President."

[Orwellian_Ghost]

15. What's the

dollar value of a 'starry eyed idealist'?



http://www.harpers.org/archive/2006/11/0081275">Barack Obama Inc.: The birth of a Washington machine

[bobbolink]

18. Interesting how you've been unrec'd....did what I could to change that.

And the post I read just before yours was saying much the same thing, and the poster was effectively called a freeper and his tombstone anticipated.

Gotta love the DU version of Free Speech and dissent.

:grr:

[G_j]

19. I'm still the same person

With the same values I've always had.
So I kept my post very simple. Obama could stand out as a leader if he went against the military grain in Afghanistan.
Of course, there are a million other things he could do to be a truly great leader, they all count when you have taken on that responsibility.
Afghanistan is a conflagration of history.

[elocs]

20. If healthcare reform turns out to be more fluff than substance

and more of a boon to big insurance companies and big pharma instead of helping Americans in need, and Afghanistan turns out to be a continuing quagmire from which Obama cannot bring himself to disengage and continues to send more and more troops there, then I can see his presidency going up in flames, never seeing the promise that it could have been.

If.....