Dammit, Mr. President, PLEASE stand up.

[urgk]

President Obama doesn't need advisers, he needs a corner man. Somebody to tell him to square his shoulders, get out there and to knock the sonofabitch out. I read about the tax cuts this morning and just got angry. I'm furious. I don't like Rahm, but he could have just left some of that "fuck you" in a bowl in the Oval Office for the President to grab a handful and munch on right before a press conference.

President Obama needs to own that podium. He needs to make it look like he's not behind the Presidential seal, he is the Presidential seal.

I got up this morning and just couldn't take any more giving in. So, I sent this to whitehouse.gov.

-----

Mr. President,
The American people thrive on strength in their leaders, even when those leaders are wrong. Or hypocritical. Or misinformed.

The lesson of this past election wasn't that if you do the right thing it will cost you political points. It was that if you do the right thing, by God, you'd better stand up and tell people in no uncertain terms, that what you're doing is Just, Patriotic and Necessary.

There is a reason that if you Google "Democrats" and "no backbone" you get over 700,000 hits.

You do what's right, Mr. President, not what's politically expedient, and get up to the podium and give us fire, give us Kennedy, give us passion and reason and determination, and the whole nation will hear you. Give us a reason to get out to the polls. Give us cause to try our United best. Give us the confidence that, where we come from, the bad guys don't walk away with $700 billion while families decide between food, medicine and heating the house.

Dammit, Mr. President, you're losing your base. You're losing the info wars. You're losing my confidence. With every capitulation, with every bowed look and beaten visage, you're losing to the end of our political spectrum that has nothing...nothing but nerve. Republican fervor doesn't bear up to facts. Their cause isn't justified by history. Their theories don't stand up to numbers. But they win.

Mr. President, please, I'm literally begging you, stand up. Fill up the podium and the camera. Hold your head up high. Take Dr. King and Malcolm X and Abraham Lincoln and Paul Wellstone to the pulpit and tell us, don't ask us what needs to be done. Tell us what you're doing to fix it. Tell us that we don't need to have your back -- that you are the President of the greatest nation on Earth and that you, one man, backed by justice, standing on what our forefathers built, backed by reason, backed by heart, backed by the groundswell of voices rising up out of Main Street -- that you have ours.

Mr. President, Hope doesn't bow its head. Courage doesn't let its voice go shaky. Righteousness doesn't beg for the favor of the greedy or the corrupt.

We need you to stand up.

[msongs]

1. no love is worth crawling on the earth...n repubs will never love him nt

[urgk]

4. You are so right. He's trying to date the popular girl who'll throw him away.

It took me several agonizing years to learn to avoid that pitfall.

[bigdarryl]

2. he's willing to throw the base under the bus to kiss the republicans ASS

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Outstanding. n/t

[polichick]

5. Well done! Maybe a corner man AND a psychologist...

The prez needs to get some insight into why he doesn't mind conflict with "friends" like Hillary and liberals, but collapses in the face of those who truly hate him. The damage that's being done unnecessarily reminds me of going to war unnecessarily. The psychological problems of presidents destroy us all.

[urgk]

6. Maybe Axelrod should find the best sports psychologist out there...

and get the President to feel like he can win. Otherwise, nobody will believe that he can.

[polichick]

7. I think it goes deeper than that. In his mind, he IS winning...

I don't even think he's aware of how he accomodates and collapses when bullied - my guess is he's using a strategy that once worked for him and needs a psychologist to help him understand it.

[urgk]

11. If he thinks he's winning, it doesn't show.

Bush thought he was winning and it showed. I mean, that man would walk around with his hair on fire, telling you he was fine and that you must have something wrong with your eyes.

If President Obama - 1. Does what's right, and 2. Says, in essence, "damn straight, I'm doing what's right, look at those cynical a-holes trying everything they can to stop me, to stop progress, to stop you, the American public from getting jobs, driving on safe roads, from enjoying the blessings of a balanced budget" he'll win over the doubters, despite the media bias.

As it is, he's looking cowed. His post-election press conference made him look defeated. He should have apologized for not pushing harder, called Republicans out for blocking jobs bills and for supporting wall street, looked the American people in the eye and said "I'm doing what's best for you, best for the economy, best for the middle class, and they're doing what's best for the people who screwed things up to begin with."

[kstewart33]

8. Very well said.

If he doesn't get out of the White House and start leading this country, he'll lose in 2012.

[ProSense]

9. It would help if everyone didn't chase every media spin.

Seriously, the President can't control the media.

People act like they're completely oblivious to the media tactics when it comes to the President.

They seem to understand the media's RW bent when it comes to everyone else, from Keith Olberman to Pelosi.

Yet every ridiculous piece of reporting about the President is taken as a Commandment.

[urgk]

10. I understand the media bias. Believe me.

I see it from the more subtle bias of the Today Show to the overwhelming bias of FOX. But, I also understand that, if the President wants even the possibility of support, he has to portray himself as assured. Let the rightwingers call him "arrogant" and "over-confident"...they'll criticize him no matter what.

But Michael Moore was right - Americans want to back a winner, they flock to confidence, assurance, the air of control. Look what it does for the ones with nothing to stand on in the way of reason or factual/historic analysis - Bush, Cheney, Gohmert, Bachmann, Boehner, McConnell, Joe Wilson, Rand Paul, McCain - not a one of them has any substance, but they have the air of absolute conviction that draws people to them.

[urgk]

12. To your greater point, I need to stop assuming HuffPo is accurate.

I just re-read your comment and realized that you were implying the HuffPo story could also be a "ridiculous piece of reporting." You are absolutely right. Sometimes I forget that all outlets are fallible.

I just read this:

"Axelrod emails:

There is not one bit of news here. I simply re-stated what POTUS and Robert have been saying. Our two strong principles are that we need to extend the tax cuts for the middle class, but we can't afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy.

And White House comm director Dan Pfeiffer adds:

The story is overwritten. Nothing has changed from what the President said last week. We believe we need to extend the middle class tax cuts, we cannot afford to borrow 700 billion to pay for extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and we are open to compromise and are looking forward to talking to the Congressional leadership next week to discuss how to move forward. Full Stop, period, end of sentence."

Again, you're exactly right. And, to extend your thought, I should be more careful.

[donheld]

13. I keep hoping it'll happen

on something, anything...