Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Hope and change?

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I don't agree with anyone about everything - and certainly not with politicians, who need to think a little bit about the popularity of their decisions. But Barack Obama seems to be doing his best to make his supporters unhappy.

And Jeebus, he's supposed to be a constitutional scholar, too!

If it's not this, it's continuing to treat the Republicans with kid gloves. After all this, does he still think they'll like him if he just lies down and let them walk all over him one more time?

I'm beginning to think that Barack Obama just doesn't like being president. What else would explain his continually disappointing his own supporters like this? It's like he wants us to stay home on election day.

Of course, I won't. Have you seen the loons the Republicans are running for the presidency? Even George W. Bush would be better than those people! And do you think I care that little for my country that I won't even vote?

But Barack Obama continues to disappoint. I don't understand it. He's had three years in office now. Isn't it time that he learned something about being president, or at least about politics? Or is he deliberately trying to lose his own supporters?

Edit: OK, I'm still unhappy with Barack Obama for not vetoing that defense bill, but I've got to make one big correction here. It appears that Obama has decided to start making some recess appointments after all.

Not long after I posted this, it was announced that President Obama would make a recess appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Furthermore, it also looks like he'll be making three more recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.

Has Barack Obama finally decided that appeasing Republicans is not getting him anywhere? We can only hope. But either way, my original post here needed correcting. My apologies.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, but there is more in this defense bill than just the detention issue. As Obama says, he will not use this detention provision on ANY American citizens.
But, unfortunately, some president in the future sure might use it - George Bush would have had no problem using it! Not good.
In the end, Obama has an absolutely corrupt and worthless Congress doing all it can to work against him at every turn. Not an enviable position to be in and I still believe that he is doing the best he can with what he has to work with.

Chimeradave said...

So angry about this I can hardly form coherent sentences.

Bill Garthright said...

OK, guys, I had to make a correction to my original post. Obama has decided to start making recess appointments after all, which is certainly good news.

Anonymous, I agree with you about both points. Even though Obama vows not to use this provision, it's still been written into law because he didn't veto it. However, I do think he's in a very difficult position and is truly trying to do the best he can.

John, I'm disappointed, but I was angrier before Obama decided to start making recess appointments. Now, maybe - just maybe - he's starting to understand his political opponents.

I still think that he's been treating his own supporters worse than he has his political enemies. I know that he's been trying to bring the country together, but that has not worked, or even come close to working.

And causing your own side to become disheartened and discouraged is no way to win anything.

Chimeradave said...

I'm sorry, do the recess appointments somehow reactivate the Bill of Rights?

Bill Garthright said...

Well, no, John. But this law doesn't deactivate the Bill of Rights, either. Constitutional amendments trump ordinary laws.

And it is Supreme Court Justices who'll be interpreting the Bill of Rights. Barack Obama seems to have done a pretty good job, so far, of appointing rational justices to the Supreme Court - rather than people like Thomas and Scalia.

Plus, as my first commenter noted, there was a lot in that defense bill. It wasn't just this particular item, far from it. I would have preferred that Obama veto the bill, because of that one provision, but reasonable people could disagree.

What I like about the recess appointments is that Obama finally seems like he might be fighting back against the GOP. That doesn't make him perfect. That doesn't mean that I disagree with him any less when it comes to other matters. But it is hopeful.

And when it comes to politics, we're never going to get everything we want. But we won't get anything we want if we take our marbles and go home.

It might be reasonable to be disappointed in Obama, especially since our expectations were so high. But anger will help no one.