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Obama not liberal enough?
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Anonymous
| What do you think? His staff seems so mainstream, I am afraid that we will not see real change with these people he is appointing. |
Anonymous
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I expected this to happen -- which is why I would now like to see all the hysterical posters who worried about Marxism and socialism chill out and take a deep breath and write back in about how sorry they were that they overreacted so.
Personally I wish he was further to the left but I could see who his advisors were and I could see how very cautious a person he is and I fully expected he would do this. Still, I'll take it over the prospect of Sarah Palin as president anyday! |
Anonymous
| I think it is too early to tell, lets wait until he is actually "in office". Bush' initial cabinet seems a lot more centrist and see where we ended up. |
Anonymous
| Good point. |
Anonymous
| As Obama himself replied to this charge of appointing experienced centrists to the Cabinet and other posts, the vision of change comes from him. Not from his appointees. Let's wait and see what happens. |
Anonymous
| The man has a stellar reputation for working both sides of the aisle. His appointments don't surprise me one bit. |
Anonymous
Thank God. Wait, that's not politically correct. Thank you Obama. |
Anonymous
|
I have the same worry about Obama. He's a pragmatist, as evidenced by his retreat from gun control during the campaign. He's also stayed completely away from some no-win issues like improving the nation's food supply (not exclusively a liberal issue, but avoiding it means avoiding flack from the food industry).
I'm betting he will move further to the center as time goes on, disappointing us liberals. This country is essentially conservative, and he has to work with the political realities. I will never forgive Clinton for the "don't ask don't tell" garbage. To me that characterized his entire reign -- lip service to liberals, but no real change. Hillary is cut from the same cloth, which is why I didn't support her. I hope Obama has more spine, and will stand up to those who insist he must compromise his values for political expediency. He could be a great president if he uses his formidable coalition-building skills to push through his agenda, or he could fizzle, as Clinton did. I do think it was a smart move of Obama to put HRC in as Sec of State. As her boss, he can stop her from causing trouble for him. |
Anonymous
| I predict we will continue to see self-serving politics as usual. After all, Obama is a politician, nothing more, nothing less. |
Anonymous
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9:20 is right on the mark....Obama is a visionary which is spectacular, however it is not the president that causes change, it is the house and the senate...THAT is where change will occur. Obama can certainly speak to what he would like to see, but Obama will not wave a wand and presto, the environmental policies are automatically in play, or the like.
I truly wish to see "change" under his leadership - but I dont think it will occur. |
Anonymous
Disagree completely. Look what carnage Bush has wrought in eight short years. Were I a member of an endangered species, I'd have noticed a lot of changes, all brought on by Bush and his cronies. Oh, and if I were an Iraqi, well, where do I begin? How about poor women in developing countries needing contraception? Sorry, no longer available, thanks to Bush. That's change I don't believe in. There will be changes from the moment Obama finishes the oath of office. All those executive orders Bush signed -- reversed in a few swipes of a pen. And that's only the beginning. Obama will make mistakes, and he will be criticized for them. But he has a Democratic-controlled Congress to work with (for two years, at least), and that will make all the difference. Bush couldn't have inflicted all the damage he and Cheney have without the support of a Republican-led Congress. He had a much harder time when the Democrats took over. |
Anonymous
| PP - just as you noted "the republican led congress"...Iraq is Bush and Bush is Iraq, I agree with you on this as the President is the Commander in Chief, but as you stated yourself, the Republican led Congress allowed most of the last eight years to happen. Congress is not Bush, Congress is an electorate, elected by the people. It is fantastic that the people have elected a change and I hope that Obama reverses many of Bushes items, but I believe the American people are too naive if they believe that will happen. Obama will have to answer to many and find a balance. ...Utopia is not immediate or likely. |
Anonymous
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It's naive to think that Obama will change everything, but it's also naive to adopt the pessimistic position that nothing's gonna change. Of course many things will change, and right away.
The serious question is whether Obama can affect permanent change by re-directing the government away from the no-regulation, pro-business stance the Bush administration has taken that can't simply be reversed by the next president or by a change in Congressional leadership. That will take bi-partisan cooperation, and it will be a miracle if he's able to achieve it. However our burned-out economy ought to wake up a few people (even Republicans!) to the dangers of an unregulated free market. That invisible hand has a lot to account for. But permanent change is possible. Social Security seems like it's here to stay, despite the Republican's best efforts to dismantle it. Sometimes those lefty social programs work, and people, who vote, like them. Also, Obama will have the opportunity to appoint at least two liberal Supreme Court justices, and that will affect the country for decades. |