First, take a look at this recent CBS/NYT poll:
and
So, confidence and approval very high, but tempered by somewhat reasonable acknowledgement that deeply entrenched problems may take a while to fix.
However, there is a certain, uh, segment of the country that likes to play a little game. The game should be familiar by now, and it goes like this: Grossly overstate the worshipful attitude of "the left" towards Obama. Refer to him endlessly as "our messiah." Pretend like we all expect him to part the seas and turn the water to wine on his first day in office.
Then, of course, once he's in office and politics and the world happen, begin to crow about how disheartened and shattered we all must be, to have been so cruelly used by this con man/empty suit/socialist/etc.
So! To save time, let's have at it!
I'll start: I think Obama is reasonably liberal on some things, smart, hard working, and abso-fucking-lutely guaranteed to be a massive improvement over the lazy, incurious dumbfuck that we are showing the door at long last.
I don't think he's going to usher in a liberal paradise, I don't think he's going to beat our swords into plowshares, I don't think the economy is going to start booming in a year, or two years, but I think things should be looking up by the third year of his term.
I think he's going to use actual science to inform his decisions, instead of pure ideology, I think he's going to roll back the worse excesses of Bush's GWOT, I think he's going to be much better on starting us down the path to a coherent, sustainable energy policy.
I think he has and is going to appoint smart, competent people to help him do these things, instead of stupid, ideologically pure hacks.
I will fucking not be dismayed when he acts like a politician, or compromises on something important to me, or lies. Because I fully expect that.
In short, I don't expect miracles, but Bush has set the bar so low it's almost impossible not to expect serious improvement in many aspects of governance.
Some folks seem to be missing this basic point. Bush was a disaster, the worst president in modern times, a hack and a figurehead who could not have cared less about making government do its job. All the Bush admin cared about was securing power for the Republican Party, for all eternity if possible. Because banana republics are not noted for their efficacy, that program predictably brought the country low.
I think most Americans (as suggested by the polls) sort of get this at some level. This cohort of starry eyed hippies that allegedly got the guy elected (well, them and the liberal media)?
Bullshit. We are a pragmatic peoples. We came to hate Bush because his government was really bad at executing. We get the sense that Obama will be much better. End of story.
Quote:
A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that President-elect Barack Obama is the recipient of the highest levels of optimism and expectations of any modern president.
Seventy-nine percent of Americans say they are optimistic about the next four years, according to the poll. Only 16 percent say they are pessimistic.
Seventy-nine percent of Americans say they are optimistic about the next four years, according to the poll. Only 16 percent say they are pessimistic.
and
Quote:
But Americans don't expect things to change overnight. Most think it will take two years or more, for the economy to turn around. They suspect progress on another pocketbook issue, health care, will take a lot longer. Most think that is at least four years off.
Although the economy overtook foreign policy concerns in 2008, another important Obama campaign promise was to end the Iraq war. And most Americans (61 percent) think the new Administration will make progress toward ending the war within two years.
If Mr. Obama does make progress ending the war, that would please the 73 percent of Americans who want to see troops decreased or removed from Iraq altogether.
Although the economy overtook foreign policy concerns in 2008, another important Obama campaign promise was to end the Iraq war. And most Americans (61 percent) think the new Administration will make progress toward ending the war within two years.
If Mr. Obama does make progress ending the war, that would please the 73 percent of Americans who want to see troops decreased or removed from Iraq altogether.
So, confidence and approval very high, but tempered by somewhat reasonable acknowledgement that deeply entrenched problems may take a while to fix.
However, there is a certain, uh, segment of the country that likes to play a little game. The game should be familiar by now, and it goes like this: Grossly overstate the worshipful attitude of "the left" towards Obama. Refer to him endlessly as "our messiah." Pretend like we all expect him to part the seas and turn the water to wine on his first day in office.
Then, of course, once he's in office and politics and the world happen, begin to crow about how disheartened and shattered we all must be, to have been so cruelly used by this con man/empty suit/socialist/etc.
So! To save time, let's have at it!
I'll start: I think Obama is reasonably liberal on some things, smart, hard working, and abso-fucking-lutely guaranteed to be a massive improvement over the lazy, incurious dumbfuck that we are showing the door at long last.
I don't think he's going to usher in a liberal paradise, I don't think he's going to beat our swords into plowshares, I don't think the economy is going to start booming in a year, or two years, but I think things should be looking up by the third year of his term.
I think he's going to use actual science to inform his decisions, instead of pure ideology, I think he's going to roll back the worse excesses of Bush's GWOT, I think he's going to be much better on starting us down the path to a coherent, sustainable energy policy.
I think he has and is going to appoint smart, competent people to help him do these things, instead of stupid, ideologically pure hacks.
I will fucking not be dismayed when he acts like a politician, or compromises on something important to me, or lies. Because I fully expect that.
In short, I don't expect miracles, but Bush has set the bar so low it's almost impossible not to expect serious improvement in many aspects of governance.
Some folks seem to be missing this basic point. Bush was a disaster, the worst president in modern times, a hack and a figurehead who could not have cared less about making government do its job. All the Bush admin cared about was securing power for the Republican Party, for all eternity if possible. Because banana republics are not noted for their efficacy, that program predictably brought the country low.
I think most Americans (as suggested by the polls) sort of get this at some level. This cohort of starry eyed hippies that allegedly got the guy elected (well, them and the liberal media)?
Bullshit. We are a pragmatic peoples. We came to hate Bush because his government was really bad at executing. We get the sense that Obama will be much better. End of story.
They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.
They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.
\
