The Obama administration does thousands of things. The much maligned list is evidence of that. Sometimes it seems like progressives will sift and strain at everything Obama does or says in order to find something to get upset about. We die a thousands deaths and hurl a thousand insults as well over things that we fear (or predict) Obama will do.
I will make a prediction now. I predict that if there was a thread started tomorrow that said "Now Obama is gonna bomb Somalia" that linked to some half-reasoned article quoting an anonymous source within the Obama administration. That it would quickly get 150+ recs and be on the front page of DU and be loaded with replies of people rending their garments and asking "why, FSM, why did we ever vote for this guy?"
Also, like a vindictive lover, we remember and bring back all the previous slights instead of sticking to the issue at hand. There used to be other lists which were beloved here. A laundry list of Obama's failures and betrayals that long time DUers with low post counts would suddenly decide to post, and get DU to sing along like they were Mitch Miller leading us in the "12 Days of the Obama Administration"
On the twelfth day of the Obama administration my true love betrayed me
12 drones a bombing
11 divisions in Iraq
10 DLCers in the cabinent
nein Bush officials prosecuted
8 tax credits in the stimulus
7 days of DADT not ended
6 million dollar CEO bonuses
5 trillion to the banks
4 calling us idiots
3 months and still no single payer
2 moderates on the Court
and
1 prayer by "Pastor" Rick Warren.
Some people have decided (or been persuaded to believe) that Obama is one of the enemy. He's no longer loyal to the Jets. Well, once that happens there's pretty much nothing he can do to win us back.
Especially with a Republican controlled House. Obama has to work with the Congress that is, not the Congress we wish we had. If we cannot pressure our Republican Congresspeople (and I fully admit that I cannot, not in my district and not in my state), or better yet defeat them (which we did not in 2010) then what do we expect him to do?
I think it would be better if he would fight and lose, than to be so pragmatic. For example, he ought to propose, more government spending and a WPA like jobs program. However, that would never pass the House. So he chooses instead to offer trickle down Reaganomics. Much less effective as a stimulus and helps to make America even more unequal, but it has a good chance of passing and it will, admittedly, do SOME good. Which is better? To fight for three meals for a starving person and ultimately get nothing, or to actually win a slice of bread and a glass of water which will do some good?
My way, Obama and Democrats may win more elections (or may not as big money might fight even harder). Obama's way another 300,000 or so Americans get jobs. Aren't they much better off? Isn't helping them better than just thinking about elections?
Also, for some of the problems, I think DU makes things worse. As I said in this post, we ought to be educating the public about the value of liberal policies. Instead, we are hung up on people. We love to bash those Republican candidates, and also the sold out Democrats. Meanwhile, nobody is bringing a progressive message to the masses of voters.
"Look, I share a desire to move both Obama and the Democratic Party to the left. I really do, but I don't think a strategy of constantly castigating them for not being progressive enough is a way to accomplish that. I think that if people came to DU and got information, they might walk away thinking "wow, single payer really is better" or "wow, Reaganomics really does suck (if I may put forward my own not so humble attempts in this regard
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/... ). Instead they walk away thinking things like "wow, Obama and Democrats really do suck (thus why bother electing them)" or "wow, liberals really are arrogant and hateful". It seems to me we are our own worst enemy in moving the country in the right direction."
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/... 
