Quote:
Originally Posted by da_ticklah
Ballsy was when Obama went to the GOP retreat and said fire away with your Questions for an hour or so. Some interview on FOX that they have already clipped soundbites out of is more of the same.
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Is it ballsy to do that, or was it an attempt to save credibility on both counts? I'm not sure you get to be called ballsy when you are simply cleaning up the mess that your past mistakes have caused, ignoring his promise to quit back room double dealing and partisanship, and shutting out Fox News(love them or hate them, it's watched by a huge number of voters, who, along with all the talking down to, took the slap to their faces personally).
I'm glad he finally did, I wish he was more interested in bipartisan dialogue. His weird need to shut people out(even other democrats) and do it his way on health care reform has backed him and the entire democratic party into a corner. This was probably the first time in office that he lived up to my election era expectations, even though he disregarded everything and talked down to everyone.
It's upsetting to see the pressing need for health care reform, to see that both parties want it, the American people want it, the health care industry wants it, even the insurance companies want it. And we can't get it unless we all agree to massive government expansion/spending, partisan back room deals and corruption, and essentially capitulation, all at the potential expense of our economic future at a time when it's already in jeopardy. The time was now, and we dropped the ball.
It's also upsetting to see democrats employ the same tactics they hated Bush for, giving a political seal of approval to continue shady business like that on the Hill the same way forever.
It's upsetting to see the public more politically polarized than ever in my life.
This is shaping up to be a trainwreck of a "ballsy" presidency, after "ballsy" Bush I am concerned how well America can handle it. I fear most for the partisan overreaction that is coming when democrats pay the price at the polls for abusing their power. Let's hope the door Obama is swinging open to republican opportunists isn't wide enough to include people like Palin. And let's further hope that the next Republican president doesn't want to shut out the democrats like this, and undo what little good may come of the bastardized health care bill(assuming one ever gets through).
It's becoming a partisan arms race, and clearly no-one is going to win.
Go team!
edited to add:
I saw, maybe a week ago, like a 30 minute long anti-Obama op-ed piece on Australian news, I'm curious if the rest of the world is also beginning to look unfavorably at him? Maybe this is all a reaction to that, turning a corner, he is trying to live up to his campaign promises?