krebscycle

If you are disappointed that President Obama always speaks civilly and keeps reaching out to the ill-mannered, ignorant, and often badly intentioned racist Republicans, grow the fuck up and put a sock in it. President Obama repeatedly explained that this would be his strategy from the day he ran for US Senate. He discussed this strategy in his books, in articles, in speeches and even in a fucking blog post on the DailyKos in 2005. You are entitled to disagree with this strategy if you want, but when you express disappointment that a man is doing exactly what he said he would do, you sound like entitled whiners.  The President is a grown man who has clearly expressed an opinion that you do not share. He does not owe you obedience or deference. He’s not weak or naive or stupid for not changing his mind because you complained. If you wanted Dennis Kucinich or  Bernie Sanders or Hillary “Flag Amendment” Clinton to be President and think they would have acted out your West Wing Fantasy better, then you did a crappy job convincing the voters. So suck it up and figure out how to persuade other people to agree with you instead of bitching like a teenager who wants a ride to the mall now or you’ll never clean your room again. And if you even think of telling me that you interpreted “change” to mean “give President Bartlett speeches on command”, just don’t. If you insist on refusing to understand the difference between reality and TV nobody else is to blame. Get therapy, read a book, don’t embarrass yourself.

On the other hand, if you think the President’s strategy is wrong, I’m less inclined to yell at you because I agreed with you at one time. When I read Obama’s DailyKos post, I thought he was  wrong, maybe even naive. But even though I am not the most brilliant political analyst in the world, something eventually occurred to me: Barack Obama’s method works and the method I supported did not work. Even though it sickens me to see him smile while the skunk cage full of GOP Congressmen scream and gibber and urinate on themselves, the fact is that President Obama has accomplished more significant things than any Democratic President since LBJ – and he didn’t even need to sacrifice 3 million Vietnamese to do it. While science is totally out of fashion, my scientific training forces me to conclude that even if I don’t understand why it works or how he can stand it without smacking someone, the President’s method does work.  Reality is what it is.

I could never do what the President has done, not just because I lack political skills, but because I would have smacked John Boehner’s ugly Dewar’s pickled face  and drop kicked Evan Bayh 5 years ago. Even today, when Boehner gloats about his “victory” on air traffic controllers (a “victory” based entirely on the chickenshit Senate Democrats unwillingness to show a shred of loyalty or solidarity), it’s enraging, and I don’t ever have to be in the same room as that greasy punk (thank you Lord).  But the President is sticking with it, showing grace under pressure and unflinching strength and determination in the face of insults that would have made the Buddha smack someone with a baseball bat  long ago. Barack Obama and his family’s  courage and self-control is one of the great political performances of our time and it’s contemptible to see so many people who never had to put up with any obstacle more serious than delayed air-flight sneer at it and call him weak and naive. You people should save your talents for call in sports radio.

Here’s a short summary of the obstacles the President faces: The GOP is an authoritarian hate filled, united partisan political block under unified command more than any political organization ever before in US history. The Republicans have unbelievable amounts of money at their disposal, own most of the media, benefit from 8 years of Bush infiltrating the bureaucracy and judiciary with operatives who let nothing stand in their way, and are supported by the biggest corporations in the world. Furthermore they benefit from the deep racism that is the hidden engine of US politics. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, is long term neglected and abused and most Democratic Congressmen are crippled little creeps afraid of doing anything that would take them and their relatives and friends off the gravy train. In the face of this, staying in office is a miracle, accomplishing anything at all is nearly impossible and what the President has accomplished is awe inspiring.

So please, if you want to close Gitmo, organize protests against Congress’s stonewall to closure. If you want to increase Social Security support, elect congresspeople who will stand up for it instead of worrying about whether their husbands are getting enough bribes. If you want to stop the war in Afghanistan – I’ll be there protesting with you. But take your whiny consumer-at-the-mall temper tantrum about President Obama and shove it.Your disappointment is not just a confession of immaturity and self-absorbed narcissism, it’s politically harmful. You are actively providing cover for both evil-doer Republicans and their Democratic Party accomplices. Stop it.

[2025 update: This post is still mostly correct, but Congressional Democrats are vastly improved since the early Obama administration.]