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As anyone who reads this blog knows, I sit rather left of the political center. But I'm not a registered Democrat; though I usually end up voting for the Democratic candidate in an election, I have voted for Republicans before, and for third party candidates when they appear to me to be the better choice.
So in a sense I'm one of those independents that Obama courted so well in the last presidential election. I was indeed excited about his win. A year later, and there's no excitement left. Yes, in all likelihood, I'd still vote for Obama over any of the current crop of potential Republican candidates, but not with any fervor and not with any excitement, and I'd be unlikely to contribute to his campaign or work for it. I would still vote, because I'm passionate about believing that it's the duty of every citizen to actually vote... but y'know what, I can understand that a lot of people who consider themselves independent voters would be tempted to sit at home and not vote.
Thus far, the Obama/Democratic revolution has been a year of disappointment and disillusion.
We're still in Iraq. We've escalated in Afghanistan. Guantanamo is still open. We've continued the Bush policy of bailing out financial institutions. There is no health care reform, and the bills that are in House and Senate have been horribly emasculated. There's no serious plan to create new jobs. There's no foreclosure prevention fund to keep people in their houses. The tax system is still as unfair as ever. The loopholes allowing excessive CEO compensation still haven't been closed.
Obama said that “We can’t settle for anything less than fundamental change." It seems we've settled for business as usual.
In a moment of crisis in Haiti, we've demonstrated that the ghost of Katrina and New Orleans isn't just a Republican one: we're slow to respond in crisis that demands speed; when we do respond, we send in more armed troops than relief supplies, and we have a humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders, complaining that the American military has taken over the airport and won't let their supply airplanes land.
Obama has shown himself to be (in my opinion) a weak leader, one who would much rather compromise and give in rather than hold to his stated convictions and beliefs. All the hope and promises seem to have been abandoned. He seems to lack the strength of his convictions; he seems to lack the will to push his agendas. He is far, far more centrist than I want him to be, and far more centrist than the promises he made on the campaign trail. Either Obama is a president who is unable to live up to his professed ideals, or he lied about them. At this point, I don't know which is true.
Grow a spine, Mr. President. Or admit that all your talk before the election was just hot air you expelled to get elected. One or the other.
And Congress. If I'm disappointed in Obama, I'm appalled by this bunch of jokers. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have demonstrated to the American public that they are utterly and completely incompetent, and the Democratic majority has proven that they have the maturity of six year old children -- in fact, that statement is likely an insult to six year old children everywhere. Look, people, During the first Bush term, the Repubs didn't have a supermajority in the Senate and nowhere near the vast majority the Dems currently have in the House, and yet the Republicans managed to ram through much of their legislative agenda. They seemed to be able to use their much slimmer majorities and to be effective with it -- and they didn't worry about bipartisanship and cooperation. They just went ahead and did it.
Why can't you do the same? Why do you look like a pack of quarreling, whining, petulant children? Stop it and grow up, or you'll be facing far worse than "only" 59 seats in the Senate and a huge majority in the House in 2010. You'll have squandered the opportunity you were given to make some true, fundamental changes.
Hope and Change. That's the promise we were given. A year later, for me, the hope has faded and I see little change. I might still vote for a Democrat next election, but I'll have to do so holding my nose at the same time.
So in a sense I'm one of those independents that Obama courted so well in the last presidential election. I was indeed excited about his win. A year later, and there's no excitement left. Yes, in all likelihood, I'd still vote for Obama over any of the current crop of potential Republican candidates, but not with any fervor and not with any excitement, and I'd be unlikely to contribute to his campaign or work for it. I would still vote, because I'm passionate about believing that it's the duty of every citizen to actually vote... but y'know what, I can understand that a lot of people who consider themselves independent voters would be tempted to sit at home and not vote.
Thus far, the Obama/Democratic revolution has been a year of disappointment and disillusion.
We're still in Iraq. We've escalated in Afghanistan. Guantanamo is still open. We've continued the Bush policy of bailing out financial institutions. There is no health care reform, and the bills that are in House and Senate have been horribly emasculated. There's no serious plan to create new jobs. There's no foreclosure prevention fund to keep people in their houses. The tax system is still as unfair as ever. The loopholes allowing excessive CEO compensation still haven't been closed.
Obama said that “We can’t settle for anything less than fundamental change." It seems we've settled for business as usual.
In a moment of crisis in Haiti, we've demonstrated that the ghost of Katrina and New Orleans isn't just a Republican one: we're slow to respond in crisis that demands speed; when we do respond, we send in more armed troops than relief supplies, and we have a humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders, complaining that the American military has taken over the airport and won't let their supply airplanes land.
Obama has shown himself to be (in my opinion) a weak leader, one who would much rather compromise and give in rather than hold to his stated convictions and beliefs. All the hope and promises seem to have been abandoned. He seems to lack the strength of his convictions; he seems to lack the will to push his agendas. He is far, far more centrist than I want him to be, and far more centrist than the promises he made on the campaign trail. Either Obama is a president who is unable to live up to his professed ideals, or he lied about them. At this point, I don't know which is true.
Grow a spine, Mr. President. Or admit that all your talk before the election was just hot air you expelled to get elected. One or the other.
And Congress. If I'm disappointed in Obama, I'm appalled by this bunch of jokers. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have demonstrated to the American public that they are utterly and completely incompetent, and the Democratic majority has proven that they have the maturity of six year old children -- in fact, that statement is likely an insult to six year old children everywhere. Look, people, During the first Bush term, the Repubs didn't have a supermajority in the Senate and nowhere near the vast majority the Dems currently have in the House, and yet the Republicans managed to ram through much of their legislative agenda. They seemed to be able to use their much slimmer majorities and to be effective with it -- and they didn't worry about bipartisanship and cooperation. They just went ahead and did it.
Why can't you do the same? Why do you look like a pack of quarreling, whining, petulant children? Stop it and grow up, or you'll be facing far worse than "only" 59 seats in the Senate and a huge majority in the House in 2010. You'll have squandered the opportunity you were given to make some true, fundamental changes.
Hope and Change. That's the promise we were given. A year later, for me, the hope has faded and I see little change. I might still vote for a Democrat next election, but I'll have to do so holding my nose at the same time.