Would you support Obama stepping down and refusing to run?

[quinnox]

A recent news article suggested that President Obama step down and allow Hillary to take his place for the good of the country and the Democratic party.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203611404577041950781477944.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I'm not sure if Hillary is the answer to be honest, but I would support him if he decided for the good of the party stepping down and allowing other Democrats to run for president. Imagine the excitement that would generate. It would draw attention to the Democrats instead of the Republican race which has been focused on intensively and will continue to be a focus for months to come, while the Democrats are largely ignored because of Obama being the presumed nominee.

And lets face it, Obama has proven to be a great disappointment to many Democrats who have all but given up on him or just feel a dull indifference and no enthusiasm for another presidential run in 2012. A fresh start and a wide open field would inject great excitement into the Democratic party which, lets face it, is moribund right now under President Obama's leadership.

[BlueIris]

1. Yes.

I feel very strongly that he does not want this job, is not committed to doing it in any way that is effective, and should step aside for someone who can be effective.

[emilyg]

....

[Hutzpa]

8. You need to stay away from whatever you've been introduced to.

nt.

[11 Bravo]

26. I need to get tinted contact lenses. I don't even want to share an eye color with anyone capable ...

of such stupidity.

[Yupster]

61. Yes - Hillary would do a much better job

The simple fact is that he was elected though he was unqualified for the job.

He just didn't have the experiences to have a decent chance to be a good president.

Even well qualified candidates often turn out to be bad presidents.

For instance, Herbert Hoover had about the best resume and may have been the best man to ever be elected, and he turned out to be a bad president.

[AtomicKitten]

78. If her campaign was any indication of how she'd run the country, we'd be in even worse deep shit.

She had every advantage - money, name recognition, party machinery backing - before she even took off her coat. And she pissed it away. Oh, and for the record, he had more legislative experience than she did. So, there's that.

[akbacchus_BC]

93. Not only that, the US is not a fucking Monarchy! Husband was President and wife

runs on his coattails. I was happy Obama won!

[AtomicKitten]

116. From start to finish

the O campaign was one of the best rides of my life.

[Politicalboi]

85. Are you serious

What makes Hillary so "qualified"? The wife of the President? Obama taught Constitutional law. She lied about sniper fire. This idea of Obama stepping aside to let someone else run is IMO ridiculous. I think Obama is the best we've had in a long time. Just because he didn't do EVERYTHING we all wanted him to do, doesn't mean it still can't happen after 2012. Remember Yes WE can, not Yes He Can. I think Obama should take her as VP in 2012.

Really sniper fire. LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHVEDq6RVXc&feature=fvsr

[CakeGrrl]

94. ...

:rofl:


:rofl:


:rofl:


:rofl:

[McCamy Taylor]

115. Three letters. L. B. J.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Dr. Dean, please save us...

It won't happen, though. Obama's not made of that stuff.

[mitchtv]

13. better Dean than Clinton

Dean won't do it, tho.

[Zorra]

23. Yeh. If Doc ran it would be a lock.

But ain't gonna happen.

[Tippy]

3. I would never support such a move and neither would the President....

[Poll_Blind]

4. This Obama critic would still take him over Clinton any day. Period. nt

PB

[napoleon_in_rags]

12. This Clinton fan reminds you that she said she wouldn't do this.

So even if it weren't crazy, its not going to happen.

[rurallib]

5. this looks like something goofy FUX would write - oh WSJ

same team.

[Fumesucker]

6. Heh.. That's the second pizza bait OP I've seen in the last couple of hours..

:evilgrin:

[fishwax]

7. lol -- yeah, he should follow the lead of Truman and LBJ, because that worked out well for democrats

and the country :rofl:

"When Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson accepted the reality that they could not effectively govern the nation if they sought re-election to the White House, both men took the moral high ground and decided against running for a new term as president. President Obama is facing a similar reality—and he must reach the same conclusion."

[Politicalboi]

86. It could have worked with LBJ

Had RFK not been assassinated. I think he would have kicked Nixon's ass for sure. But I don't support this kind of move for Obama. The Repukes would make this a sign of weakness, and they would clean our clocks with it 24/7.

[ProSense]

9. Let's see

"Would you support Obama stepping down and refusing to run? A recent news article suggested that President Obama step down and allow Hillary to take his place for the good of the country and the Democratic party."

...Obama should step down because a bunch of RW hacks pretending to be Democrats for the Fox Noise crowd are pushing Hillary in the hopes that those who can't get over the fact that Hillary lost will jump on their bandwagon.

[Liberal Veteran]

81. That sums it up fairly nicely.

:P

[sufrommich]

10. Both those "concerned" editorialists work for Fox News.

Gosh, I wonder who they're looking out for.

[RZM]

11. Won't happen and it's probably a very bad idea for the Dems

If he really didn't want to do the job for another 4 years, I guess I would respect his decision and wouldn't beg him stay. Don't think it would be a good move though. Putting the focus on the Dems isn't the greatest idea right now, actually. The more focus there is on the Republicans, the more they are criticized and the more their individual vulnerabilities are in the news.

This would be a colossal clusterfuck and would maybe give the Republicans the help they need to actually win in 2012. They could easily point to the Dems and say: 'look at this Chinese fire drill over there - clearly they don't have it together and aren't fit to lead us in these trying times . . . etc.'

[Tikki]

NO

Tikki

[JDPriestly]

14. Hillary and Obama are one and the same, united at the hip on all

the worst policies. Hillary is a war monger. There is an old video of her in a meeting with Code Pink (a real meeting, not a Code Pink prank) and Hillary shows herself to be quite a hawk when it comes to invading other countries like Iraq.

But if a more liberal replacement -- say Sherrod Brown or Marcy Kaptur or some other real liberal -- could be persuaded to run, then I would strongly support Obama's stepping down.

Obama is a nice guy. He is calm, but he chose his advisers very badly. Hillary would do no better. In fact, I see the influence of Bill and Hillary Clinton in Obama's selection of his economic aides. Horrors! They have not served him well.

Obama and his administration should have torn up Wall Street (sans clubs and pepper spray, just through investigations and prosecutions) and every individual hiding in the hedges therein. He failed to do that. The rest is history.

We will not recover from the disaster that Wall Street hath wrought upon us -- at least not in my lifetime. Am I sore about that? Yes, very, very sore about that.

As I said, Obama is a nice person, but in way over his head.

[RZM]

96. I'll admit

That during the 2008 primaries, I had a difficult time deigning any substantive policy differences between Hillary and Obama at all. I didn't think it mattered one bit who won the nomination. I ended up voting for Hillary, not because I liked her any more, but as a protest vote against the Obama boosters, who seemed to me to be massively deluded about who their candidate really was.

As a result, I'm not the least bit disappointed in Obama. He has turned out just as I expected. I gave him my vote in the general without any illusions, so I can't say I feel betrayed now. I do wish he'd do some things differently, but it's not like I expected him to.

[newblewtoo]

15. the unrec's are strong with this thread

While I am not sure I agree with this I will say I am a bit sorry I changed my support from Hillary in '08. I keep thinking about the Supreme Court and what a loss would mean for the future. I don't think President Obama should get now, I would like to see some positive actions to fight the Reich wing obstructionists who are dragging him down.

I have had a lot of disappointments in my life but I didn't just cut and run then nor do I think it is the way to go now.

[MineralMan]

31. That's as it should be. Those who are attempting to hijack the

2012 election should be unrecommended, in my opinion.

[HughBeaumont]

16. Yes, and DLC, Free-Trade-lovin' Hawk Hillary would be better HOW?

I know I shouldn't entertain this sort of thing, but it's galling that replacing a non-progressive with even LESS of a progressive is somehow going to stop the gushing blood.

America's problems, thanks to 31 years of uncapped, whiskey-throttle capitalism, stretch far beyond the Oval Office at this point. The system, from voting to legislation to decision making, is compromised from head to toe in favor of corporations and the wealthy. It's corrupted.

[SidDithers]

17. Dumb fucking post...nt

Sid

[Andy823]

21. +1,000,000,000 nt

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GentryDixon]

18. Why bring this crap here?

:puke: :puke:

p.s. I unrec this piece of tripe.

[jberryhill]

19. No

[AtomicKitten]

20. This professional trolling from Schoen and Caddell is a redux from their effort last year.

http://www.newshounds.us/2010/11/14/fox_news_democrats_schoen_and_caddell_urge_obama_not_to_run_in_2012.php

The only benefactors of the so-called "excitement" generated from this would be the GOP and PUMAs.

:thumbsdown:

[Old and In the Way]

22. More concern from the Republican media.

Maybe they should ask every Republican in Congress to resign, for the good of the country...I could get behind that.

[tabasco]

24. Thanks for your concern!

[MineralMan]

25. Nope. He's not going to do that, anyhow.

I know you'd love that, but it isn't going to happen, and he'll win easily in 2012. The Republicans have nobody of merit to offer. This is a very stupid idea, and one that the right would love dearly.

Re-elect President Obama!

[MrScorpio]

27. No

I'm interested in actually beating the republicans next election.

[get the red out]

28. I can't think if anything better

for the Republican Party.

[dtexdem]

29. Yes. But I don't want Hillary.

Hey, he could resign now and there would be an incumbent president.

[Inuca]

30. .....

:puke: That's all I have to say.

[Obamanaut]

32. Yes, and I would also support another 'screen name change amnesty'

here at DU, and return to the original.

[MineralMan]

33. So, everything you read is something that should be presented

here? Is that what you're saying? Sounds like you like this idea...why would that be?

[xchrom]

34. Hillary? What would be the point? Nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

35. no.

[uppityperson]

36. Yeah, let's also not vote! that'll teach them! Give repubs control of congress, etc etc etc

:sarcasm:

To answer the OP, no. How about we elect congressional members that are NOT repubs or dinos?

[bigwillq]

37. No

I know what he previously said about having one really good term, but I think he owes it to the voters to try to win again to finish up his agenda. The majority of people voted for him in 2008. He needs to respect the voters and run again. If they vote him out, so be it, but he should try to finish the job.

[Rosco T.]

38. Not just no, but HELL NO.. and that's the stupidest f*cking idea I've heard this year...

idiotic, idea.

[Chan790]

39. I'd support pulling an LBJ...but not for Hillary.

What I think is wrong in Obama is exactly what he has in common with Clinton, they're both too economically conservative.

Where are the tax-raising, anti-free-trade aggressive social-liberals? There are clearly a great deal of them in the Democratic Party and ever so few in leadership or even national office...there are marginally more in governor's offices.

[Skidmore]

40. Hell no. Period.

[FrenchieCat]

41. Carrying water for Fox news these days?

how cute! :thumbsdown:

[MilesColtrane]

42. ...beyond moronic.

[Scurrilous]

43. ROFL

:rofl:

[fadedrose]

44. Hasn't this been the plan all along?.......no no no no no no no

Her supporters have never given up, and rejoice in all his bad luck, not realizing that his bad luck is ours....just as long as they get her in, so what...

[CJCRANE]

45. Wall Street Journal is another Murdoch mouthpiece.

It has no credibility.

[JoePhilly]

46. If the WSJ wants Obama to step down then its a terrible idea.

And as for the "excitement it would create" ... that's a joke, right?

And as for the focus on the GOP candidates ... yea they are getting "focus" ... for being totally and completely INSANE.

I love the attempt to pretend this is a serious line of thought.

You might as well have said ... the GOP has no leader ... and maybe the Dems should follow their example.

Please tell me that nonsense is quoted from the article and not an endorsement of such ridiculous nonsense.

:rofl:

[madokie]

47. Thats puke thinking of the highest order

President Obama is and has been a good President whether you want to admit that our not.
A few days ago I read a list of what he's accomplished in his first three years and I was impressed as many others are also

[madinmaryland]

48. Un-recced for bring right wing speculation from the Murdoch Street Journal to a

democratic web site.

:thumbsdown:

[PufPuf23]

49. An ASAP Obama LBJ moment is critical (but not for HRC please).

My other posts that have stated this opinion have been deleted (even though I have been a Democratic Party supporter and member and voter when of age for nearly 50 years).

I cannot name a Democratic POTUS candidate other than Obama in 2012. The 2012 election reminds me of 1968 but with the USA having squandered morality and prosperity resulting in decline for 2 generations.

I predict that the none of the current GOP contenders will be the GOP candidate in Fall 2012.

POTUS Obama has been a failure, if not complicit, in domestic decline and global mass attrocities.

[lib2DaBone]

50. Hillary is not the answer.....

Bernie Sanders.. Alan Grayson.. Marcy Kaptur.. Elizabeth Warren....

[Autumn]

51. Oh hell yes I would support that

100%. I don't want Hillary to run though.:shrug:

[Number23]

53. 52 responses as I type this, only three very SPECIAL souls said yes to this question

When something is too stupid for DU, then you know it's really stupid...

[dionysus]

63. special, indeed...

:rofl:

[Number23]

105. Uh oh! Just saw reply #61 It's up to FOUR yesses now!

:eyes:

[DFab420]

54. Stupid. Fucking stupid ass stupid post. Huge issues right now in the country and the world and this

is the tripe posted here.

[trayfoot]

55. NO

[LWolf]

56. Support? I'd celebrate it, if the party would run a non neo-liberal.

Not if we're just going to get more of the same, though.

[roman7]

57. what a dumbass thing to post

i voted for president Obama and i will again but i guess thats because i stay with things that i believe in you know kinda like the president is doing even when hes being maligned by fair weather "friends".

[Number23]

68. Very nicely said!

:thumbsup:

[Solomon]

69. Indeed!

:thumbsup:

[DefenseLawyer]

58. What does "allow Hillary to take his place" mean exactly?

Since when does the lame duck President choose the Party's nominee? Not only is this a crack thing to even suggest, it is a little presumptuous to assume the Hillary Clinton would be our choice to run in 2012. She certainly wouldn't be my choice.

[Liberal Veteran]

71. Agreed. The only proper course would be a primary.

This isn't a kingdom where an heir is chosen and then crowned following an abdication of the throne.

I would leave the party if it presumed to expect me to vote for an heir apparent who was chosen in an undemocratic way.

[AtomicKitten]

75. It's the presumption of some apparently that she just be handed the crown.

[One of the 99]

59. No nt

[Sheepshank]

60. I wasn't going to reply to this piece of tripe...

but I wanted to get it on record that I clicked the UNREC button.

[akbacchus_BC]

91. Good you replied to this BS post, the OP needs to now it is a dumb ass

post, effing moron!

[dionysus]

62. .

:spray:

:rofl:

[Rex]

64. The WSJ is a Rupert Murdoch tool

so if you want to help the GOP, please keep posting bullshit from them...actually please don't the WSJ gets me all gassy.

[woo me with science]

65. If we ran a real Democrat, that person could win in a landslide. nt

[quinnox]

67. Agreed, just one time it would be nice to see someone who really

represents the traditions of the Democratic party run.

Today we have a choice between insane right wing and reasonable right wing.

[onenote]

106. yet that person never seems to be able to win the nomination

or even come remotely close

[WCGreen]

66. Not a chance....

[Liberal Veteran]

70. Sigh...really? Didn't we do this shit about 4 years ago?

I think we have better things to do with our time than beat on this dead horse some more or beg for a do-over of the bitterness and ugliness that soiled our last primary elections to the point that it poisoned some people forever.

In short, my response to your question is not "No." It is not "Hell no."

It is "Fuck no!"

[Douglas Carpenter]

72. I would support the entire capitalist class stepping aside & relinquishing their power over society

and allowing all their holdings to be converted into socially owned and democratically controlled cooperatives. But that's not going to happen and neither is President Obama stepping aside. But if you're going to dream the impossible - why not go all the way?

[AtomicKitten]

73. Karl Rove used dipshit Doug Schoen's horseshit on OWS to attack Elizabeth Warren.

Republicans Put Schoen To Good Use
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_11/republicans_put_schoen_to_good033420.php

[Major Hogwash]

74. Release the Kraken!!!

I saw that movie the other night -- Clash of the Titans -- and it made just about as much sense as this thread.

:rofl:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

76. No, and speak for yourself.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x818915

Even with low approval ratings and an uncertain path to reelection, President Obama is exceeding expectations in one area: His campaign is doing far better at attracting grass-roots financial support this year than his Republican rivals or his own historic effort in 2008, according to new contribution data.

The sheer scale of small donations, totaling $56 million for Obama and his party, has surprised many Democratic strategists and fundraisers, who feared that a sour economy would make it difficult for Obama to raise money from disenchanted and cash-strapped voters.

A Washington Post analysis shows that nearly half of his campaign contributions, and a quarter of the money he has raised for the Democratic Party, has come from donors giving less than $200. That’s much higher than it was in 2008 and far beyond what the best-funded Republicans have managed.

Hillary lost. GET OVER IT. And Pat Caddell? Check him out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Caddell

Real fairweather friend there.

[blkmusclmachine]

77. We need a REAL Democrat for 2012:

And not another "Third Way/New DEM" GOP wanna-be like Obama/Clinton.

[Skittles]

79. we are stuck with him

[ElboRuum]

80. Link source (WSJ) considered...

Um... hell no.

[gkhouston]

82. I don't see much point in swapping Clinton for Obama.

I could get behind a progressive candidate in a heartbeat.

[lonestarnot]

83. BULLSHIT AND FUCK NO!

[canetoad]

84. There's something disturbingly

Passive/aggressive about this OP and the secret word is 'support'.

What a weasel word it is. What exactly do you mean by 'support Obama stepping down'. You are either for it or against it, if he ever indicates that stepping down from the position of President is on his mind.

To my knowledge, Obama has not indicated anything of the sort. Why would you be starting a post about supporting the president in something that he has not publicly announced.

Not only do you have no real reason for suggesting a step down, you've taken it one step further and projected your own political wish onto the question by suggesting that HRC take up the challenge.

Unrec because this is a very dishonest post.

[BootinUp]

87. rofl. nt

[SidDithers]

88. Just read it again. It's still a dumb fucking post...nt

Sid

[akbacchus_BC]

92. Agree with you. I have no idea what these Dumbasses want the President

to do when a lot of Dems voted with the Rethugs against him.

Sad situation when Democrats voting with rethugs. Fuck that shit about Hilary Clinton being better. I see red when these fuckers come on here and bash President Obama every day, every fucking hour!

[Major Hogwash]

98. This stack o' crap is what passes for legitimate discussion at the DU these days.

Pathetic. Absurd. And totally without merit.

[akbacchus_BC]

101. And this kind of shit is being tolerated after a fundraiser! Scratching my

head and wondering why the fuck I bothered to donate over and over, when the continuous bashing of the President is being allowed on here.

Not to stifle free speech, but the OP is total BS

[flvegan]

89. "For the good of the party." All I needed to hear. n/t

[akbacchus_BC]

90. BS Post. UnFuckingRec. The amount of shit this President inherited

is unbelievable.

Herman Cain, is this you?

[CakeGrrl]

95. Well, 84% of Dems outside this bubble are fine with him.

Why do you need to fish for the same responses from the same people who never wanted Obama in the WH in the first place?

Never mind...


:rofl:

[akbacchus_BC]

99. The OP probably feels that all President Obama supporters are on

here, so the need to tell them he is useless. What a bullshit post!

Most of the President's supporters are campaigning for him to be re-elected.

This place has now become the breeding ground for parasites, like the OP!

[bigwillq]

102. You're free to leave "this place" at any time

:hi:

[akbacchus_BC]

107. Are you the owner of this site? When you are, then send me a directive!

[bigwillq]

108. Just making you aware of your options.

Thank you, drive through.

:hi:

[akbacchus_BC]

111. Like I said earlier, when you assume leadership of DU, you can show

me the door but in the meantime, have a nice night!

[bigwillq]

112. I will (have a nice night).

Thanks. You too! :hi:

[akbacchus_BC]

113. Thanks, same here! Bye emoticon

[Proud Liberal Dem]

97. You're expecting a reasonable answer to a question

generated by that asinine article by Schoen & Caddell? Really?

:popcorn:

[madamesilverspurs]

100. I was going to say "no", but changed my mind

to say "FUCK NO!"

I mean, really: Do you honestly think Republicans would be more reasonable with a FEMALE Democrat than with a BLACK Democrat? Seriously??? Do you really truly believe that?

Some things are just better left to the nucking futz.

[akbacchus_BC]

110. You are so right! Even if Hilary had won, they would have started

her downfall from day one, the rethugs hated her, but the black guy won and then it was a free for all. The teabaggies came to life to ensure that President Obama could never be successful, no matter how bipartisan he tried, they wanted him to fail. The rethugs would rather sink the American Dream so that the Obama Presidency could fail and they were aided and abetted with a lot of Democrats who voted against closing of Gitmo, single payer, etc.

But the villain is President Obama!

[onenote]

103. no

[Orangepeel]

104. I guess the WSJ called it an "article" so I can't really fault you for doing so...

but there used to be a difference between a "news article" and a "hack opinion piece"

To answer your question, if President Obama decided to drop out of the 2012 race, I guess I'd support his decision. I think that it would be a horrible idea and doesn't have a snowball's chance of actually happening, though.

On another note, the more attention focused on the republican race, the better, given the clowns who are running.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

109. Obama or Hillary? Two centrist triangulators? Some choice.

[McCamy Taylor]

114. Hell no. Power of the incumbent is huge. LBJ messed this country up when he did the same.

Bought us eight f***ing years of Nixon/Ford rule.

[CreekDog]

117. I'm open to all sorts of things...but listening to Pat Caddell isn't one of them

i think he's dishonest.

i will admit i haven't read his latest idea.

i will also admit that i won't read his latest idea, based on stuff he's done before, i don't consider him worth the attention nor a trustworthy opinion.

as for Hillary? though i like her in some ways (my strong feelings against her in her 2008 implosion were temporary). that said, i worry that she is nearly as centrist as Obama and perhaps more hawkish --though i do think she is less likely to compromise. but who knows.

overall i'm not convinced the ultimate result would be significantly different.