Do you think Obama is a strong Democratic President?

[Cali_Democrat]

[ibegurpard]

1. I think he's a strong President

Democratic?
Not as I used to understand it

[styersc]

2. I so wanted to vote yes in this poll.

I'm so sorry he did not let me.

[TTUBatfan2008]

3. Is the Pope Jewish?

[awoke_in_2003]

23. only his hairdresser knows...

sorry, that old commercial tagline just popped into my head :)

[boxman15]

4. On most issues, yes.

There are some where he's too wishy-washy, in my opinion (gay marriage, for example), but for the most part he fights for Democratic ideals. He's realistic about things, though. If he had an approach like so many here on DU wish he did, nothing would ever get done, especially in a divided government. You can scream about liberal and Democratic ideals all day, but if you refuse to negotiate under our system, nothing gets done. No progress, which is what we're all about right?, would be made.

I'd rather take what we can get and move forward, laying the foundation for future progress, than refusing to budge. Then, there would truly be no difference felt between a Democratic and Republican president. Nothing would change.

Edited for spelling.

[Armstead]

5. Like was said about Clinton -- Best Republican President we ever had.

[ZombieHorde]

6. I voted "No," but I don't think he is weak either. In between. nt

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[William769]

8. Hell no!

[bigwillq]

9. No (nt)

[tularetom]

10. There's no part of that statement I can agree with

a. I don't think he's particularly strong and

b. He sure as hell ain't Democratic

[bhikkhu]

11. Absolutely. On the economy, he is on par with Clinton and Carter

...the last two Democratic presidents, who also put fiscal responsibility first, toward the long-term health of the economy and the government.

Contrasted to the last five or six repugs, each of whom blew out the budget and the deficit.

[Bake]

19. Fiscal responsibility? There's nothing responsible about this deal!

This is the absolute WORST time to cut spending, unless you WANT to put the economy back in recession ... or worse!

Econ 101: Two huge elements of GDP are C and G - consumer spending and government spending. Consumer spending hasn't rebounded yet, so if you cut a trillion here and there from G, what happens to GDP?

IT GOES DOWN. THAT MEANS RECESSION.

There's NOTHING fiscally responsible about this deal.

Bake

[bhikkhu]

31. The spending cuts don't begin until 2013

...at which point the Bush tax cuts will also have expired - a big part of the package itself. I wish more people would read the white house summary!

[Bake]

38. I wouldn't hold my breath on those Bush/Obama tax cuts.

The Bush/Obama tax cuts also include lower rates at the bottom of the scale. Obama is not going to let the bottom rate go up just to raise rates on the wealthiest, and no bill will get out of Congress raising just the top rate.

Bake

[quiller4]

41. If you read the measure we have a full 2 years before any of the spending cuts kick in

and others are set further in the future. Cuts NOW ewould be problematic. Cuts 2 years down the road -- not so much.

[MrsCorleone]

12. Absolutely! Strongest Liberal Dem that most of us will ever see in our lifetimes.

Too bad lots of liberals would rather tear him down than give him the tools (more Dems) to really get this country moving forward.

[w4rma]

25. You wish. (nt)

[MrsCorleone]

30. I know.

But, sssshhhhhhhhhhhh!

Don't tell the 'baggers.

[lib_wit_it]

13. A strong D president does not continually concede R talking points rather than use the bully pulpit

to help the public understand the logic behind progressive ideas and ideals and to expose the BS on which the RW propaganda is based.

[Mimosa]

14. I've a long perspective

No way the president is a 'strong Democratic President'. He acts as a moderate Republican. Excepting a couple of issues (mainly equal rights for gays and women) President Obama's economic and foreign policies remind me of those of Richard Nixon or Bush 41. This isn't a great place to go into details, but anybody who's studied the presidencies of Bush 41 and Nixon will know what I mean.

Obama is not a liberal.

[doc03]

15. I would say he is the weakest most ineffective President

of either party in my entire lifetime.

[Skittles]

16. FUCK no

he is laughable

[williesgirl]

17. Fuck no. He needs someone to give him a set of balls for Xmas.

[MissDeeds]

18. No

And I don't think he's a strong candidate for 2012.

[libmom74]

22. Me either and I am beginning

to wonder if that is not by design. He did say he would work toward the things he wished to accomplish even if it meant only serving one term, unfortunately I assumed the things he wanted to accomplish were in line with democratic principles (as well as his campaign rhetoric) not fulfilling all the Repukes wet dreams.

[Proles]

20. He's not strong on

progressive, liberal, democratic ideals. But he is strong on centrist, conservative ones.

[woolldog]

21. He's the weakest President I've ever seen.

A complete wimp; he makes me embarrassed to be a democrat.

[Cosmocat]

24. People here need to wake the fuck up and get their heads

out of their arses ...

SERIOUSLY ...

Caught a circle jerk on CNN, the host, the R AND the D were grooving to ...

This president and failure of leadership ...

The Rs, to a man/woman and child are going to scream this. The same people who for 8 years relentlessly screamed about how great a leader the worst president in our lives was, because he was THEIR president ...

And, half our fricken party is in line with this meme ...

This ends with a republican president, senate and greater margin in the house ...

But, sure, the same president who maticulously had Osama Bin Laden tracked down and assisinated, while he was chuckling it up at the annual media corrospondent dinner is weak. The same president who was rolling eggs in the white house lawn with kids when special ops were putting bullets in the mellons of somolian pirates under his orders ...

I don't agree with him on everything. I was greatly disappointed that he did not draw a line on the Bush tax cuts.

But, people have lost their gosh darn minds if they don't think this president is strong.

People may not have the stomach to deal with it, but the man is plenty strong ...

[Number23]

33. +1 Go get'em!

:yourock:

[doc03]

34. GWB may have been a terrible president but he got

virtually everything he wanted. The Republicans have played Obama like a cheap violin.

[Cosmocat]

37. No, they haven't ... And, there is this thing called CONGRESS

That is the kind of hyperbolic BS that does not in any way extend to reality, and again, feeds the right wing in trying to take this president down and have the momentum to take the senate and take out more house democrats.

I repeat - I was disappointed when he did not draw a line in the sand on the Bush tax cuts. He is NOT perfect.

But, he is 1000 times more "strong" sadly, than far too many here give him credit for. It just is hyperbolic nonsense.

AND, he is NOT a fricken dictator.

Bush had the same pitbull scumbag congress fighting FOR him for 8 years with the same weak kneed democrats being scared of their own shadows in congress that we now see in reverse ...

You can count on one hand the number of Ds in the House or Senate who will step up to provide cover for him on a flank. EVERY stinking member of republican congress took Bush's back, and is attacking this president.

[great white snark]

42. +1 He is a Prseident not a liberal activist.

He has to work with what he has including some whiney supporters.

[Vanje]

26. Weak

But he rocks a white cottton shirt like no president EVER has!



So, its pretty much a trade off.

[Vanje]

28. Then again , Maybe he is not weak.

Maybe he is a neo-con.

[workinclasszero]

27. Really?

He offered SS and Medicare on a platter to the Tea bag fascists.

He didn't end Afghanistan even though we got OBL the reason for being there in the first place.

We are still in Iraq, a war we 'won' months or years ago. He started another war with Libya. He didn't end the Bush tax cuts for the rich.

Huge American companies still pay no taxes and he talks of shared sacrifice..LOL

Desperately needed jobs are still routinely shipped overseas everyday and the American companies are rewarded with tax breaks.

He gave up on single payer in a heartbeat. He spend half as much as needed to kick-start the economy so it failed.

Now he and the tea bag rethugs will take a meataxe to the pathetic economy we live in and send us into the Great Depression 2 most likely.

Do these sound like the actions of a strong democratic president to you?? :-(

[MouseFitzgerald]

29. He would have to be a democrat...

in order to be either a strong or weak democratic president.

[Citizen Worker]

32. Not no, but hell no and I will not vote for him a second time.

[MrSlayer]

35. It's really hard to say,

What exactly do you mean? Is he a Strong Jackson Democrat? Wilson? FDR? LBJ? Carter? Clinton? Basically, the Democratic Party is now what the Republican Party was when they were mostly sane. So your question is not easy to answer without determining which sort of Democrat you are talking about. Is he a strong 1930's-1940's style Democrat? No. Is he a strong 2000+ style Democrat? Yeah, he very likely is.

[Raine]

36. Hell NO, I don't even think he's a Democrat. nt

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Wow....looks like 2/3 of DU is against the President. Does not bode well. nt

[grahamhgreen]

40. No, but he'd make a kick-ass Rebuplicon!

[okieinpain]

43. only 137 votes for a weak president obama, I'm surprised. n/t.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

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[Rowdyboy]

45. Certainly not as strong as he could have been,,,it was a once in a generation chance

and he blew it.

[MessiahRp]

46. No fucking way.

He always ends up giving the GOP 110% of what they want and in the end the monied interests win. A strong Democrat would NEVER, I mean NEVER put SS and Medicare cuts on the table.

Rp

[ccharles000]

47. yes