Were your expectations of CHANGE after only one year realistic?

[FlaGatorJD]

It's great to be hopeful, but when hopes are unrealistic, it gives you the feeling nothing is going right. There is a whole lot of frustration and anger here at the moment and throughout the country. Our economy is in a shithole, people are out of jobs, and our glimmer of hope called health care reform appears to either be vanishing into thin air or morphing into something unrecognizable and in many views unpalatable.

While it seems that during the election we had all put aside our differences and coalesced behind President Obama and this dream of change AND we were all together in this monolithic force to drive out the infidels! AND WE WON! :bounce:

So where are we now? Arguably, we were successful at least on paper giving our party the power. So one year later, we should all be singing Kumbaya together, while all of the wars somehow miraculously stopped, we all are walking around worry-free with universal health care, the Department of Peace is encircled with prayer flags and all the world’s leaders are sitting inside cross-legged enjoying a veggie lunch, we’re not concerned about global warming anymore, because the entire country is on solar and wind-driven energy grid, and our new high-speed auto-trains are whisking our hydrogen-powered cars around, and corporate greed and political corruption just dried up like water in a desert, and the world’s greatest athlete Tiger Woods is still idolized and seen as the great family man, right? Well, as they say, not exactly.

Our peace-loving President accepted a Nobel Prize while trying to justify more killing. Universal health care is like a mirage that keeps appearing in the distance, then once again vanishing into thin air. Although President Obama attended Copenhagen with the right intentions, the results are laughable to many, (see www.350.org) and okay at best, he needed to be here doing whatever is necessary to fulfilling his promise of universal health care. The corporations and financial institutions have been bailed out, while middle and lower class Americans deal with foreclosures, unemployment, and bankruptcies.

This is not how it was supposed to be after we elected someone we HOPEd would bring CHANGE. :grr:

The anti-war folks are rightfully pissed off, me too but I’m a pragmatist in the matter, the people at 350.org are preparing their arks for the greatest flood of all, nothing in DC seems to indicate anything has CHANGEd, the dream of universal health care appears to be exactly that, corporate greed is alive and well and thriving during the Obama administration, the Democratically-lead Congress can’t get out of their own way, and our President appears to be sleep walking. :grr:

So what do we do now? The Palin-like pseudo-Dems are doing what they do, throwing their hands up and quitting on the party. Some are not quitting, but just threatening “not to vote” next time. That’ll show us. And then there are a few of us who are just pissed off enough to say we’re mad as hell, we’re not going to take it anymore, and if enough of us raise our voices together, someone will listen.

Although this year doesn’t end the way we all would have liked it to end, there is some silver lining in these clouds. It's not as bad as it once was not too long ago. Think back to the day after the 2004 election. Remember that really shitty feeling you had that we fucked up again, and how could Americans be that stupid? If you were like me, you were actually checking the expat sites throughout the world looking for an alternative. :banghead:

Well, arguably American aren’t that stupid and we actually succeeded in electing a group that claims to believe in the ideals which are best for the American people, and who were going to stamp out corruption and corporate control, stop the wars, and bring some level of sanity back to our government. Now, after less than a year, we’re upset that it hasn’t been accomplished quite yet, and we’re not seeing a lot of progress in that direction.

So if you’re ready to jump ship, maybe you can get a ride on the arks those folks at 350.org are building, or possibly you’re ready to share some tea with a bunch of nuts at that new party, but I’m sticking with the party and the President we elected just last year. Although I plan to loudly bitch about the lack of progress, and the vacuum of leadership I see at the top, I’m willing to support them against the whiners and naysayers.

The mid-term elections are right around the corner, and if we intend to continue our momentum, or at least minimize our losses, we’ve got a lot of work to do. So if you’re ready to bail, or you’re just not feeling the love for the Dems, bitch a little, or a lot, mope as much as you want, then consider the alternative and get your ass back in the game.

[notadmblnd]

1. I don't think they were

I expected this president to have a set of balls. Someone that would be more vocal to the opposition. Someone that would stand up to the corporations and the greedy feeding frenzy they have been on the past several years. Someone that would push harder to re-regulate the industry and not hire the dirty bastards that made it possible for all the money to be stolen from the US taxpayer. I have to say, I am disappointed thus far and things are not looking good for the future of people of the US.

[FlaGatorJD]

11. I guess my expectations may not have been urealistic,

as they pertain to the President, but possibly my expectations of how much prgress he could make were.
I too expected him to have some balls. So far, not so much. I wanted him to shove universal health care
down the throats of Republicans and any of the insurance-bought Dems. That might have ben unrealstic.

I did expect him to show more leadership and I truly hope he gains his "sea legs" soon and starts
leading the country in a way I believe he's capable.

[lamp_shade]

2. I certainly never dreamed we'd get this far with health care, so I'm delightedly surprised.

[yourout]

3. What change?

Things don't look much different to me.

The Rich are still getting richer but now get their help from representatives with a (D).

I had realistic expectations including not passing Republican bills and the current health care discussion in the Senate sure looks like one.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. I never expected much,

so, yes, my expectations (sadly) have been fulfilled.

[dkf]

5. I thought we were going to get good change, not Republican type change.

Jokes on me.

[LWolf]

6. I never expected positive change from Obama.

I have to say that I didn't expect the negative changes to be this extreme, or advanced, after one year.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Nope. I didn't expect much change from a centrist politician spouting slogans.

And, sadly, I got just what I expected. More slogans and double-talk.

[Vinnie From Indy]

8. A fair and good question

I probably could plead guilty to projecting a bit onto Obama what I truly believe and hope for. It certainly explains my deep frustration and anger at the laundry list of things that have and have not been accomplished in Obama's first year.

I will add that I think your premise is a bit confining. I think that Obama has shown that he is not a progressive politician and he is not out to fundemntally change the system regardless of his speeches. Progressives are simply out of the loop in the opinion of the Obama Admin. They have no fear of political retribution from progressives in America. What we are witnessing currently in regard to the HCR legislation is just how far and how deep corporate power extends into the Democratic Party and our government as a whole.

[branders seine]

9. my expectations were not unrealistic.

"one year" has nothing to do with it.

Obama has done much. Very little of it represents any kind of change or even attempted change. I just don't like most of it.

[laughingliberal]

10. I am not a pseudo-Dem

"The Palin-like pseudo-Dems are doing what they do, throwing their hands up and quitting on the party. Some are not quitting, but just threatening “not to vote” next time. That’ll show us. And then there are a few of us who are just pissed off enough to say we’re mad as hell, we’re not going to take it anymore, and if enough of us raise our voices together, someone will listen. "

And this is a long screed that boils down to that 'wanting a pony,' belittlement. I have voted in every election since I was 18 years old and that was a very long time ago. Me and my family before me put our lives on the line fighting for principles this party once stood for. Is it time for me to take a hard look at whether the party still stands for those principles rather than making pretty speeches about them and caving to the corporate interests? Hell, yes, we need to be asking ourselves that. And then we can decide, if the party has left the principles stated in their 2008 party platform, what we should do about it. Some of us have been blinded by our lifelong loyalty to the party and are coming a little late to the realization that they are selling us out. We may need a moment here to regroup and your ridicule is uncalled for and not likely to persuade those who need a little time, here.

corrected spelling

[FlaGatorJD]

13. I apologize if you take it as ridicule . .

It was not intended that way.

[laughingliberal]

15. Sorry for jumping so fast. Some of us are a little sensitive, right now.

There will be time for regrouping and strategy when the dust clears. But, right now, this life long authentic Democrat can't quit crying.

[FlaGatorJD]

17. I totally understand . .

and I have not been this upset since the loss in 2004, and I expected so much better.
I guess that's why I'm so damn mad.

[laughingliberal]

18. yeah..hugs...nt

[mmonk]

12. I thought his promise on defending the constitution from the executive

branch was reasonable. There are a few I will post later. I believe he said he wasn't for mandates as well.

[omega minimo]

14. Were your expectations of CHANGE after not impeaching Bush/Cheney realistic?

[FlaGatorJD]

19. I was all for impeaching Bush and Cheney.

I still believe that as info is disclosed they should be held accountable.
I am not happy about Obama's stance on this, but I try to appreciate his "high road" approach.

[Myrina]

16. I feel like I came home early from work and

... found my husband in bed with 2 male prostitutes. :(

Obama wasn't my candidate in the beginning - I wasn't psyched about any of them - but by the convention I was on board and volunteering.
I cried tears of joy on election night and again on Inauguration Day. I thought we the people could finally breathe again.

But.
Gitmo isn't closed.
We still have the same # of troops in Iraq that we did last December.
More troops are moving into Afghanistan.
TARP has proven to be a joke - banks and Wall Street got help, everyone else got the finger.
Now this royal reaming called "health care reform".


:(

[BlueDemKev]

20. Very Well Said

Very well said. Although I am a bit disappointed that more couldn't be accomplished this year, it's not realistic to think everything could possibly be hunky-dory after less than eleven months. Remember how lost we felt back during Clinton's first two years in office? But looking back, we accomplished a lot in 1993-94 insofar as moving America in a more progressive direction. Unfortunately, our discouragement during that time led to our losing Congress in 1994 and Clinton's agenda was stopped dead in its tracks. Let's NOT let that happen again in 2010.

Today, Democrats in Congress have nearly accomplished a century-old goal....reforming our nation's health care system, and yes, this is a big step towards universal health care (why else would conservatives be so dead-set against the Senate bill?). Hillary Clinton once said that voting is a lot like driving....choose "R" to go backwards, and "D" to move forward!!

Let's keep moving FORWARD. Let's protect our majorities in Congress!!!

[applegrove]

21. With the Repukes being across the board obstructionist.... refusing to

allow any win for Obama even though he won the election hands down...I'm not surprised. Why would the GOP have suddenly become caring. They are only out for the rich people (lowering taxes)and deem the poor people and the middle class only good enough to have religion backing them....not a robust federal government backing the people like we had in the mid 20th century.

[gravity]

22. I still can't believe we are on the verge of a healthcare reform bill

This is the biggest change coming from the Democrats in decades.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. It is not about what's in the "completed" column. It is about the direction in which we're headed

[AllentownJake]

24. It is so funny, and it is the thing most of the people who kiss their Barack picture

before they go to bed at night don't understand.

People aren't mad at what he hasn't done yet. It is what he has decided to do.

[HuckleB]

25. K & R.

[bvar22]

26. I had no idea we would get this much change in less than a year!

*WARS fully funded and EXPANDING. Bill sent to our children…...Mission Accomplished !

*Trillion Dollars given to friends and campaign contributors on Wall Street. No Strings Attached...Mission Accomplished!

*Military Spending INCREASED....Mission Accomplished!

*Trillion+ Dollars given to the Health Insurance Industry. Easily Avoidable, symbolic only strings attached....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Force all Americans to buy invisible products from For Profit Corporations who produce nothing tangible and create no wealth.....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Kill the possibility for a REAL "Public Option" or REAL Universal Health Care for at least another generation, and begin the “Entitlement Reform” defunding of Medicare (-$500 Billion)....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Block ANY REAL re-regulation of BIG BANKS and Credit Cards....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the Bush War Criminals and Torturers from JUSTICE....Mission Accomplished.

*Throw the GBLTs under the bus and expand "faith based" initiatives....Mission Accomplished!

*Reinforce the worst Police State provisions of the Patriot Act....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the very richest. Tell the Working Class that they CAN WILL compete with 3rd World Slave Labor for their jobs.....Mission Accomplished!

*EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) killed in the crib....Mission Accomplished!

*More Anti-LABOR "Free Trade"....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Jobless Recovery....Mission Accomplished

*The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party SHUT OUT of the Obama Administration…...Mission Accomplished!

*Accelerate the destruction of Public Education...Mission Accomplished!

*Bury next generation under such a debt burden that they will never be able to afford any social or economic programs that will benefit their Working Class....Mission Accomplished.

AND...
Social Security and Medicare are NEXT on the hit list! ("Entitlement Reform")

I'm LOVING this "CHANGE" shit!
Lets ROLL!

[old mark]

27. Rec. We must find Democratic candidates who reflect REAL Democratic

values, support them and actually VOTE FOR THEM!
The moderates will never GIVE us anything - we must go out and make it happen on our own. Support every decent Democrat who is running for every office, and actually vote. We won't win them all, probably not even very many, but we will win some gains and we must be in this for the long term.

We need real Democrats in congress and in the white House, not the closet republicans we have now.
We must fight them and we must not quit even when we lose.

mark