A few thoughts from TPM Reader BS …
I’m pretty darn lefty, but Obama does not disappoint me; he’s more honest than most politicians, and is doing pretty much what he campaigned on — albeit on a bit of an unexpected learning curve, given that most of us saw him only after his campaign had accumulated much skill. But he’s a good person whose values are not warped, who
doesn’t give up, who doesn’t believe in the power of speech but of action … all things more important than his exact political alignment.On the other hand, in my opinion, based on observations of the last year, we are suffering from a plague of incompetent, irresponsible Democratic voters. Obama is partly responsible for this, on account of his early, slogan-based campaigning, but as time progresses his share of the blame is lessening. So who are these irresponsible voters?
We have those who listened to Obama tell us that he supported private insurance, and that he was going to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, and these listeners got all warm and fuzzy inside while listening to this — but now that Obama actually is doing these things, but as president rather than charming candidate, they miss their fix. “Where
is the ‘Change’?” they ask. I think you can buy this ‘Change’ on a streetcorner, now that Obama isn’t pushing it anymore.Next we have those who believe that political change is speech-driven, and that if only Barack Obama would publicly champion, for instance, a magical public option that causes beanstalks to reach the heavens, then we soon would have such beanstalks growing in every homeowning American’s yard, with allotments for renters. You can recognize voters of this type from their odd belief that John F Kennedy delivered his
inaugural address from Tranquility Base on the moon, flanked by Buzz Aldrin, with Robert F Kennedy circling overhead in a command module, and Lyndon Johnson on the radio in Houston. These voters (including at least one notable insider) are a Democratic equivalent of Republicans who believe Ronald Reagan brought down the Berlin Wall.And then we have those — such as a certain scolding congressman who uses “just” or “nothing but” in one out of every two sentences — who are not, like I, enraptured by the prospect that we finally will make the uninsurable insurable, at _some_ price. These voters demonstrate, once again, as in 1993, that the uninsurable don’t matter if insuring
them will cost money, and if it won’t sufficiently impoverish robber barons. They want to make sure everyone can afford to put food on their plate, without first ensuring they they are well enough to eat. WWJD?Naturally, this list is not exhaustive, and there is much overlap.
Writing about this is tiring. I’m getting worn out by it all, month after month, with only some few, such as Alan Grayson, talking about life and death rather than dollars and cents. It drives me to tears sometimes.
In all this, Obama keeps working his way up the learning curve, and continues to make questionable personnel choices, and to give no comprehensible explanation of his plans in Afghanistan — he is the person for whom I voted. If I were president, maybe the policies would be different, but my vote is my responsibility and not Barack Obama’s.
Voters ought to try harder at this ‘democracy’ thing.
