Why has it been that every since Obama ...

[butterfly77]

has been President and before, people have been taking this bullshit line with every incident that happens he may not be up to the job,he is too inexperienced. I have never heard this said about a President ever that I can remember.

Is there something special in his circumstance that we are suppose to think he can't do the job or solve problems.Is it because the republicons have been stalling and playing games so that he can't get the people he needs in specific departments,what is it?

What was so different,unique and/or special about this President. Is there suppose to be something so different about him that separates him from the rest of Presidents'...


I will tell you what the difference is the Republicans and the media have been feeding this garbage all along and now every damn pundit thinks that have the right to tell him how to do his job!

[jaxx]

1. You are so right.

Every tom dick and harry has just the way he ought to be acting. I'm frankly sick of them and their crap.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. That idiot silver spoon G DUHbya was so experienced

According to the pundits.

[butterfly77]

27. If we compare how many times

Bush had press conferences or answered questions for the press they don't compare..Remember during hurricane Katrina when Bush went and got his daddy and Clinton to explain his response.

Bush couldn't wait to leave he tried to walk off camera he was so damn scared for some reason I can't find that video..

[On the Road]

3. Unless There is Some Magical Soution

no one has thought of yet, no matter what Obama did, oil would still be spewing into the Gulf. He's assembled a scientific team, held BP's feet to the fire, and axed the head of MMS.

I don't know what other actions would have had any appreciably different result.

[gateley]

5. I just watch the National Geographic show on the Gulf Spill covering the first

36 hours. It's amazing how much was put into motion immediately, and the logistics required to attempt rescue/containment. Yet the general public seems to think that absolutely nothing was done, Obama wasn't in the loop, BP was running the shots. I think any President, given the reports of what was happening, would have to believe every possible effort was being made. What more could he do?

[volvoblue]

15. Sad how that impression was fostered by the media pack hounds

that the public is again misled.
We wonder why people are so ill informed.

But, Obama, I believe, is livid with the press over their handling of this. I think he froze them out this weekend.

[gateley]

18. They (media) are as usual focusing on the criticisms and not the issue itself.

Just judging.

And welcome to DU, volvoblue! :hi:

[Diamonique]

4. Um... well... yes there is that one thing.

"Is there suppose to be something so different about him that separates him from the rest of Presidents'..."

[gateley]

6. That's always at the head of the list, IMO. nt

[Chulanowa]

7. Yes, indeed, is there?

Something so different that means he needs to be held to a much higher standard, that his failings must be spotlighted more intensely, and his accomplishments appended with "...for a (insert special quality here)"?

Hmmmm.

[rury]

9. Yep, no point in dancing around the issue here

when you're black your competency is ALWAYS an issue with "some people."
It makes me sad and angry, but it's still a fact of life that in the midst of difficulty failure is a foregone conclusion in many quarters when the individual facing the challenge is black.
Many pundits and others never questioned whether President Obama's predeccessors were "up to the job" when they were tripping all over their shoelaces.
And yet, President Obama is a very capable leader.
We always have to be twice as good for half the recognition.

[EffieBlack]

19. This is a phenomenon that just about every black professional has experienced firsthand

especially any black worker who is the "first" in their circle.

It's so common and expected that it's almost surprising that anyone else is surprised to see this happening to President Obama.

[denimgirly]

8. A pattern i've noticed is that when Repubs/MSM protest something the President tends to listen...

This is why i think the republicans and the "liberal" media tend to keep bringing up new shit against the president...it is because time and again Obama tends to want to appease them. We have all seen this several times including the most recent appeasement of off-shore drilling. So of course the repubs will continue to tell Obama what to do because it has been seen that Obama will often then not listen to what they have to say and take it seriously. I hate this quality! I wish he'd listen more to the left but the problem is the left doesnt tend to shout loud enough or get as much publicity.

I just hope this BP thing will finally make Obama realize that listening to repubs is not good and he will listen to his progressive base finally.

[volvoblue]

14. I disagree

You mistake dignity and manners for weakness.
the fact is that Obama manages to pounce when he is ready.
Like the press was in high feeding frenzy on Thurs. and Fri. Now they have suddenly dropped the whole katrina bs.
why.
obama has been very scarce this weekend. he even went to a nearby friend within the roped off area so, he could have get togethers and yet, the press is barred from getting anywhere nearby.
he has frozen them out. zero access.

[Bitwit1234]

10. I think if republicans knew how to govern there wouldn't

be such a mess thrust on Obama to clean up.

[treestar]

11. Yeah, what is it?

I'm having a hard time guessing! :sarcasm:

[volvoblue]

12. Butterfly is right but, let's expand a bit.

bush was totally incompetent.
They hoped that Obama, not in the senate for very long, would be so inexperienced that he would flounder around and they could pounce and do the whole drama thing and clean up Bush's image at the same time.
An inexperienced President who was facing this unprecidented myrad of crisis to clean up. So many that he would have to back burner many of his agenda at first except for the most important like health care.
Adding to the drama would be the rabid teabaggers and republcians. and as icing there is the grumbling left who are upset because obama cannot get to all they hope for because he first has to clean up after Bush.
Oh, the drama and the president, so inexperienced, would be in high trouble.

then, surprise. The man is very competent.

yes. The teabagger and republicans are still hysterical and the left is still upset because they have to wait. But, Obama is tackling the entrenched and long term messes as well as the many, many crisis.

No fun for the gossipy, shallow press. they need to be entertained.

So they overlook his competency and ability and pretend and promote the idea he is failing and incapable.

[Jennicut]

13. Three things. Obama was a Senator only a few years, the media has an obsession with

Governors being the best type of Presidents (which is not always true), and Obama is held to incredibly high standards. One wonders why...

[Dr Morbius]

22. That's not the media. It's the public.

The political trend of voter preference for Governors predates the existence of electronic media. Governors perform in executive roles. In some states, that executive role is not adequate training, really, for the hard decisions a President must make. But in other states, most notably California, the role of Governor is pretty difficult, and it's absolutely fair to consider a candidate with such executive experience to be more qualified than say, a Senator.

Note the public also has gone for war heroes after wars, especially Generals, starting with Washington himself and including Jackson, Harrison, Taylor, Grant and Eisenhower. Generals, one would suppose, have to make hard decisions, and obviously have to display leadership. The people have always shown a preference for candidates with some kind of executive role on their resume, since the beginning of the nation.

You are quite correct, though, that Governors don't always or even necessarily make the best Presidents. Generals, however, have done pretty well. William Harrison and Zachary Taylor each died too early in office to evaluate them, but Washington, Jackson (horrible man, pretty good President), Grant and Eisenhower all had fairly successful Presidencies. The other war heroes to be elected, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Jack Kennedy, did pretty well for themselves, too.

History, I believe, will show Barack Obama to be not just a good President but one of the best. I don't always agree with him, and I am sure if we met we'd argue, but he gets things done. He understands his job and is firmly committed to doing it. He's honest with himself, or at least he appears to be.

[Ned Bro]

16. K&R

[kestrel91316]

17. It's because he's black. He can't possibly have a clue what he's doing,

in the minds of your average RWer.

[CakeGrrl]

20. Unfortunately, I've seen some stuff around here that alludes to the same

It isn't only RWers.

I've seen people doing the armchair advisor thing as if he's some errant newbie who can't possibly understand, for example, that making overtures to "bipartisanship" won't make Republicans like him or want to work with him.

THEY, the poster, can see it clearly, but they've taken to cyberspace to coach the clueless President.

And WTF is up with questioning whether he'll run in 2012? Why wouldn't he? What is it about THIS President that he would step down to let someone else have a go at it?

As for DADT, I find it very odd that excuses are made for Clinton, under whose watch it went into place, while Obama gets the brunt of the anger and hatred because he's not undoing it fast enough.

:wtf:

Patience is very short when it comes to Obama. I suspect this to be a root cause of some of it, and of course it will be denied up, down and sideways, but I have my opinion.

[Bluebear]

23. never mind

it would do no good. /ignore so I don't have to see one more of your inane posts about DADT.

[CakeGrrl]

24. Buh-bye

I remember some of the crap posted when Prop 8 passed in CA.

And through the magic of pure baseless retroactive speculation, someone recently helped lessen the blame on Clinton by saying that had that issue landed on Obama's desk, he would have handled it even worse. WTF is that? Never mind - rhetorical. Easier to ignore someone who doesn't think 100% of the negativity toward Obama is rooted in the purest, truest motivations. And that's not limited to one issue.

[suzie]

25. +1

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

29. Yup.

[Number23]

31. lol Funny that you think that mindsight is confined solely to rw'ers

Probably 1/5 of the posts on DU since Obama took office could have been lifted from any conservative site. In fact, I bet that a bunch of posts here have INSPIRED insane right wing criticism of this President.

[Radical Activist]

21. Republicans will say it no matter what he does.

And Greens and socialists will say Obama is conservative no matter what he does. It's just how the world goes.

[zipplewrath]

26. Not sure your premise is correct

I'm not sure how many presidents you "remember", but Kennedy got hammered with that for a long time, and not just here in the US. Kruscheve thought he could run rough shod over him because of his lack of experience. Even Dean Rusk, after he was out of office, ascribed the problems surrounding the Bay of Pigs to Kennedy's lack of executive experience.

Carter got a little of it too, although not nearly as much. And Clinton's administration, although not him personally so much, got hammered frequently for their lack of experience, usually talking about it in terms of their "youth".

Anytime you have a president of the "next" generation coming into office you'll see some of this. Kennedy was the first president of the "greatest" generation. Clinton was the first "boomer". Obama is the first Gen-Ex president, some of this is to be expected. You'll get vastly less of this if it is a sitting VP that moves into the oval office.

[butterfly77]

32. Not the same...

and you know it. He gets criticized for minor things that have to do with nothing. Some were angry because they thought they could tell him where to get his dog from. I could give you a list on at least 100 nonsense things he has been criticized for,one more ridiculous than the next.

Questions have been asked of him that have never been asked of any other President. I also have discovered many of the so called Dems who can't stand the fact that a black man is President but claim they are for Democratic or Progressive issues but,when I see them on fox they say everything against them because they hate the President because he is black,.

A lot of people can't get over it they try to pretend it is one issue or the other but,they can't even see how obvious it is to most, It is obvious to some of them but they don't give a damn they will do whatever it takes to bring this President down just because he is black. There are many who aren't going to forget this whoever the next President is ..

[zipplewrath]

34. Well, you're changing your premise

Your original assertion was that he was overly criticized for a lack of experience. Now you are suggesting he is just overly criticized and for inconesquential things.

In another thread I commented that false outrage is something that all presidents have to endure, and things like where one gets their dog, or whether the first lady has sleeves on her dress definitely fall into that category. I even suggested that a quick check of snopes will tend to reveal more right wing myths than left wing. They have an unusual penchant for self righteous outrage, especially based upon myth. But again, much of that is fairly common for presidents, especially democratic presidents.

You are also now asserting that he gets a certain brand of criticism because he is the first AA president. I think that has been fairly well documented. The birther stuff alone I think demonstrates that. Also, much of the Tea Bagger outrage is difficult to explain any other way. They holler that they "want their country back" despite the fact that much of what they complain about was common practice under Bush. Bush passed TARP, and passed a huge Medicare Part D program that was completely unfunded. Obama gave most of the a tax cut, without giving a larger one to the top 1%, and yet they want to proclaim that he is the "socialist". Some of that can be explained as just the fact that he is a democrat. But some of the more extreme reaction is hard to mistake for anything but a complaint that he just doesn't "look like US". In other words "want their country back" from whom?

[NJmaverick]

28. K & R!

[LeftyAndProud60]

30. Obama is the most disrespected POTUS in recent memory. I would say Clinton, but

Clinton was to blame for some of his issues. If he was going to cheat, he should have been a lot more discreet.

[Lilyeye]

33. I know exactly what you mean.

I had one moron at my job keep going on and on about the mistakes President Obama has made and how he was never ready for the job. Then she says "because of Obama, we won't see a black President for a very very long time." So then I asked her "I guess you're expecting an Asian or Latino President next, since Bush ruined it for a white President in the near future."

[AllentownJake]

35. Well he is fucking up

Just not along the lines they say he is.