The President is Missing

That's really where Obama is screwing himself. He may consider himself a champion of compromise (or something like that), but this isn't the way politics works. Did he really think he'd be praised by his opposition for this?

Ugh. My kingdom for the end of approval polls.

Would you prefer viable or worthy? I only ask because it seems that the party commitees are only concerned with the former, and that does trouble me.

Well, I am interested in both, actually.

Remember george bush's oft repeated statement about reaching across the aisle?

Would you say that the DNC (or RNC for that matter) agrees?

I do. That must be why he's so fondly remembered.

No, he usually talks good, more good talk is not going to change any minds. Now if he shows that he stands for something he might have a shot, but it probably needs to be something that the America people care about for a change. So far the Obama priorities have rarely been America's. He thinks that he is the smart one and that the majority of Americans are wrong, and that he just needs to teach us what is right.....it is very difficult to win an election in America today with that attitude given that the smart people were so very wrong about what direction America should take over the last 20 years. We are in no mood to be preached too or to be dimissed by an elitist.

This reminds me of what happened with my senior class election in High School. We had about 4 popular people who wanted to be class president, but most of the student population was turned off on student government and on the four because of their seriousness and their elitism. There was a ground swell of activity the last two days before election to write in a popular class clown type ( think an 18 YO Donald Trump).....and he won. He did not do **** all year, never took anything about the position seriously and he cant be found at class reunion time because he does not care enough to make contact with anyone, but the class made their point very well. I was pretty upset at the time, but I was one of the few.

They disagree on specific issues, but ultimately neither holds back the forward progress of events detrimental to the poor and middle classes.

They all want our 28 cents!

They are doing an excellent job of getting it, too.

Amen

Kresinach or however you spell his name.

Me too!

edgar...

I think one's level of disappointment in him right now depends on the specificity of the expectations one had of him. I think that any human would have had to struggle to match campaign rhetoric with what proves to be actually possible in the land of lobbyists, spin, Wall Street corruption and ambition known as DC.

But don't get me wrong...
This whole "budget deal to avert government shutdown" has been a painful thing for me to watch. It's not the first time that I too have been disappointed in the seeming timidity Obama displays when faced with GOP demands. My hope with this "deal" is that he is maneuvering to make a stand on higher stakes like reclaiming the moral high ground on taxing the rich, and pressing that fight.

I'm trying to be very honest and careful when I weigh the pros and cons of this man as President, and in the balance he still looks a hell of a lot better to me than anyone else. I think his core beliefs are still there and still weighted in favor of the middle class. His attempt, for instance, to reform healthcare was the only real game-changing move against the status-quo of eternal deficits that I can remember.

I still expect him to be willing to fight for for what's right but I don't expect him to fall on his sword in some self-righteous show of purity. That's what I think someone like Kucinich would do - very emotionally satisfying, but not much else.

He isent falling on his sword. But he is pushing the so called middle class and the poor off the cliff so the rich can continue to run the country. Tax the son of bitches who want war for gain!

The details of the budget deal, released today, show that the Dems got a far better deal than people are giving them credit for - a lot of the 'cuts' were one-time in nature or not pertinent to the day-to-day lives of Americans.

Cycloptichorn

That's good to hear, cyclops.

I am not pushing Kucinich, because he tried a few times and failed to light any fires. Understand, I am not picking only on Obama, but on many other Democrats, beginning with the Clinton administration. Democrats are slowing the push to fundamentalism at times, but steadily giving in over all. I am for stopping the slide, whatever it takes. Not with hot headed actions, but by studying the situation and backing men of strategy, of which I have none to offer.

Cutting Social Security – a Litmus Test for Leadership?
By NCPSSM | April 12, 2011

One of our members asked us the other day…”Since when did cutting benefits for seniors living at or near the poverty level become the test of leadership in Washington?” Good question. The truth is, this campaign to cut America’s safety net has been generations in the making and has far more to do with political ideology than our current economic mess. As Paul Ryan says:

“This isn’t a budget. This is a cause.”
But will it be President Obama’s cause too? Media reports say the President will now endorse the recommendations made by Fiscal Commission Co-Chairmen, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson in a speech tomorrow. The Commission Chairmen’s recommendations (issued when it was the clear they couldn’t get the votes for a full Commission report) proposes deep benefit cuts in programs, like Social Security and Medicare. Under this proposal, middle class Americans and seniors will pay the price of Washington’s newfound zeal for deficit reduction. We talked to the Associated Press about our concerns:

“But now that Obama plans to propose his own changes in health care entitlements or Social Security, some of his own supporters are wary. They argue that the president ceded too much ground when he cut a tax deal with Republicans last December and in yielding spending cuts last week.

“I want to have confidence, but I’ve got to see something,” said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman and president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy group. “They can’t continue to give in.”

Many liberals say Obama has not been a strong bargainer.

“Their weakness in getting the most out of negotiations is their strategic belief that they don’t want to be seen as fighting, they want to appear above the fray and beyond partisanship,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the labor-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “They also believe that they shouldn’t get out there on a position where they may not succeed. These are characteristics that make for a weak negotiator.”
It’s important that everyone understands what the Bowles/Simpson plan proposes for millions of American Seniors. Here is our analysis of the Commission’s Social Security and Medicare provisions.

It’s clear that too many in Washington see Social Security and Medicare primarily as numbers on a balance sheet because “that’s where they money is.” Cut benefits, raise the retirement age, reduce or eliminate the COLA, means test…these are the tools these budget cutters will use to repair the economic damage caused by years of borrow and spend policies that have absolutely nothing to do with Social Security. Contrary to all this rhetoric…balancing the budget on the backs of seniors is not fiscal responsibility and it’s certainly not political leadership.

We will be watching the President closely tomorrow to see if he agrees.