# Anyone feeling buyers remorse about Obama yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 6, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201 "2010-06-06T21:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/181 "2010-06-07T19:05:45Z")
> [@Algorithm](#): > > Do you think those you chide for “worshiping” Obama are representative of Obama supporters? Of course not. It was denied that anyone’s devotion to Obama was so over the top as to be legitimately ridiculed as worship. Counter-examples are easily available, and have been supplied. Sure, the Usual Suspects will deny it, but that hardly has anything to do with reality. A few more pages where they try to change the subject, and we will be done until the next time. ETA: I am beginning to cherish hopes that Obama will be able to do for the country what Slick Willie did - return Congress to the grown-ups. The mention of the pols distancing themselves from the President, and his deflating approval numbers, give me much to hope for. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/182 "2010-06-07T19:20:01Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It was denied that anyone’s devotion to Obama was so over the top as to be legitimately ridiculed as worship. Counter-examples are easily available, and have been supplied. Sure, the Usual Suspects will deny it, but that hardly has anything to do with reality. It was denied that there were ANY examples? By ANYone? Of course you can find such examples. Not surprising in the least. Next week, they’ll be off worshiping a piece of toast with the Virgin Mary burnt into it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/183 "2010-06-07T19:21:02Z")
> [@](#): > > I am beginning to cherish hopes that Obama will be able to do for the country what Slick Willie did - return Congress to the grown-ups. The mention of the pols distancing themselves from the President, and his deflating approval numbers, give me much to hope for. Is he going to have all the Republican Congressmen tossed out by executive order, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/184 "2010-06-07T19:28:48Z")
> [@Evil\_One](#): > > There are those in the world who would gladly do us harm and it doesn’t bother me a bit if they fear us. It strikes me that the idea that people who “_would gladly do us harm_” necessarily (or even with high correlation) “_fear us_” is a common, though IMHO incorrect, misconception (that is, military hawks’ fantasy). While Machiavelli did indeed say that it is better to be feared than loved, [he also says](http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince17.htm): “_Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred…_” It’s not an either/or situation, and I believe the facts on the ground say that Obama’s policies (attempt to) combine both. Whereas that’s obviously not the case for his predecessor. For an analysis concerning the current situation, [Salon.com](http://Salon.com) has a piece up today about the [1-year anniversary of Obama’s Cairo speech](http://www.salon.com/news/middle_east/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/06/07/cairo_speech_year_open2010). As to “buyers remorse” – not even a whit of it. That’s not to say I’m happy with all of the Obama administration’s policies; rather, it’s simply that I think he’s doing very well with the situation(s) in which he finds himself. And he’s clearly doing better with it than what was the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/185 "2010-06-07T19:37:19Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > ETA: I am beginning to cherish hopes that Obama will be able to do for the country what Slick Willie did - return Congress to the grown-ups. _snerk_ You really are the funniest comedian on this message board, you know. The only thing that keeps it from being perfect is that you actually believe the jokes you post are serious analysis. Yes, the kindergartners in the Republican Caucus (of either house) are assuredly the grown-ups. Because the grown-up thing when a country is falling apart after 8 years of a disastrously out-of-touch, delusional government hegemony by right-wingers is to hunker down and scream “NO!” at every attempt to bring things back under control. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/186 "2010-06-07T19:44:50Z")
The grownups? Seriously… the _grownups_? You mean the people who’ve been having a temper tantrum for the past 20 months, screaming about impending communism? (Which is, of course, essentially, the ‘grownup’ version of howling “MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!”) ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/187 "2010-06-07T20:43:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > ETA: I am beginning to cherish hopes that Obama will be able to do for the country what Slick Willie did - return Congress to the grown-ups. I’m not sure whether it’s hilarious or very, very sad that you think the people whose only tactics seems to be disingenuous denial, blatant misrepresentation of actual legislation, and screaming “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” to any idea whatsoever from the other side, are “grown-ups.” ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/188 "2010-06-07T20:57:51Z")
> [@Evil\_One](#): > > That’s true. The more politically aware you are, the more you see that things are not black and white. I made the point that there are people who are ideologically incapable of seeing any wrong with Obama. To pretend these people don’t exist is to join them. I like how you said you saw nuance, and then went directly into “us vs. them.” ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/189 "2010-06-07T20:59:09Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I’m not sure whether it’s hilarious or very, very sad that you think the people whose only tactics seems to be disingenuous denial, blatant misrepresentation of actual legislation, and screaming “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” to any idea whatsoever from the other side, are “grown-ups.” A-fucking-men! I don’t know why at this point, but it still never ceases to amaze me. If anyone had told me that the day would come when I would think of Richard M. Nixon with fond nostalgia for a time when Republican politicians were true statesmen and genuine patriots, believably motivated by a desire to do right, however misguided their methods, I would have had you committed. (By which I don’t mean to say that Watergate was an example of a misguided effort to do right… that was his personal failing.) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/190 "2010-06-07T21:00:50Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > beginning to feel that he is in over his head, doesn’t know what he’s doing, and is relying mostly on his unflappable demeanor to try to carry the day. You left out “and an increasingly lengthy list of legislative accomplishments” after “unflappable demeanor.” Once again, wingnut detractors of Obama may not like the direction he’s taking the country, but he made no secret about that direction. He’s doing the things he said he’d try to do when he was running for the nomination and the Presidency. The thing that amuses me about the “in over his head” claim is that there’s no ‘there’ there. His handling of what issues or situations have demonstrated that he’s not up to the job, as opposed to merely having policy goals different from yours? And what other politician that could have gotten a major-party nomination would have handled that situation differently, and how? True, Obama hasn’t ripped off his shirt, revealing a big “S” underneath, and dived a mile deep into the Gulf of Mexico to singlehandedly plug the BP oil leak. But wouldn’t you have to be an Obama-worshipper to expect that to begin with? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/191 "2010-06-07T21:04:33Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > [Over here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=561707). It was, from the beginning, a complete crock of shit. Since we’re all so certain that Obama would be re-elected, we should have no problem giving **RR** 15-1 odds. Actually, **Rand Rover** is such a coward that he wouldn’t respond to my posts in that thread, #67, #78, #90 and #100, among others. I gave him odds and stated my view that paying off a bet in the case of assassination was in extremely poor taste and should result in a push. **Rand Rover** had ample opportunity to take a bet, and he chickened out because the thread was nothing but a big honkin’ chunk of troll bait. **RR** should put up or shut up about taking bets on Obama’s reelection. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/192 "2010-06-07T21:07:41Z")
Personally, given the situation on the Korean peninsula, I couldn’t be gladder that senile gasbag and warmonger McCain is miles from actual influence. That despite being pissed off at Obama over a number of issues (principally related to civil liberties & the treatment of detainees, but extending to the war in Afghanistan). ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/193 "2010-06-07T21:10:12Z")
> [@Evil One](#): > > A solid majority of the American people do not want a bigger government and they are concerned about government spending. Poll after poll confirms this. Not quite as simple as that, though (at least, for us politically mature types who can appreciate nuance, right?). Poll after poll confirms that Americans favor smaller government **in the abstract** , but support government action for many **specific practical goals**. The governmental involvement that we want on particular issues adds up to more than the smaller government that we theoretically prefer overall. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/194 "2010-06-07T21:20:18Z")
If **Brecker** doesn’t riposte SCOTUS and no one else responds to my other radical posts by tomorrow AM, I’m out of here. Enjoy yourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/195 "2010-06-07T21:37:45Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I’m not sure whether it’s hilarious or very, very sad that you think the people whose only tactics seems to be disingenuous denial, blatant misrepresentation of actual legislation, and screaming “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” to any idea whatsoever from the other side, are “grown-ups.” I wasn’t talking about you types. I was thinking about people like the party who balanced the budget in 1995. > [@Euphonious Polemic](#): > > It was denied that there were ANY examples? By ANYone? Yes, as a matter of fact it was. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > It doesn’t exist. Let’s see - you apparently didn’t read my cite, you didn’t apparently read the thread. I think an attempt to change the subject is a little overdue on your part. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/196 "2010-06-07T21:52:41Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Yes, as a matter of fact it was. Perhaps **Diogenes** was a tad brusque. I myself would say that actual Obama worship does not exist outside of the clinically insane or the hopelessly naive. Once again, the “Obama as messiah” meme came from the past election cycle, and was a product of the Republicans looking to use Obama’s persona charisma as a talking point against him. Which one of these three your “cite” fits best, I will leave as an exercise for anyone who has the stomach to look through that mess. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/197 "2010-06-07T21:54:04Z")
Whenever I begin to, Sarah Palin opens her mouth again. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/198 "2010-06-07T22:46:32Z")
So let’s see if I have this right: 1. Republicans feel threatened by the level of dedication Obama receives from his supporters. So they try to turn that into a weakness. “Oh, you drank the kool-aid. You worship the messiah. Obama can do no wrong, right?” This is essentially a straw position and no significant amount of people actually feel this way. 1. Republicans do everything they can to obstruct anything Obama (and his supporters) want to do. 2. The obstruction is moderately successful - proposals are stripped down and obstructed. Obama can’t accomplish some of his campaign goals as he’d like them. 3. Republicans point to this as evidence that Obama is not the guy we thought he was, that he isn’t pushing for or accomplishing the things we wanted him to. Therefore we should regret electing him. Is that about right? So we have a straw man, an attempt to prevent anything he wants to do, and then gloating that he couldn’t live up to those straw man expectations? Remorse suggests that you’d change your decision if you could go back. How many people do you think who are dissapointed with Obama would like to go back and either note vote (and make McCain/Palin more likely) or vote for McCain/Palin? Almost none, right? So then what is your point here? This is sort of like when (numbers pulled out of my ass) we polled the country on health care reform, and 30% thought the bill proposed was a bad idea because any reform is bad and 30% thought it was a bad idea because it didn’t go far enough. And the right wingers on this board portrayed this as “see! 60% of Americans don’t want health care reform!” So, yeah - we have some people dissapointed that Obama isn’t far _enough_ from the republican politics, and you’re somehow suggesting that this leads to a remorse that somehow works in favor of your republican politics. How? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/199 "2010-06-07T23:10:09Z")
Because America is basically a center-right country, and all those elections are aberrations and outliers. Well, real Americans, anyway… ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/200 "2010-06-07T23:38:06Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > And I don’t recall offhand… did you make anything even close to this complaint about the alcoholic former cheerleader failed-at-everything-he-touched total **bozo** that crashed this country into a tree, blew it up, then tossed the keys to Obama and said “She’s all yours!” as he strolled away from the burning wreck? \* > \*Jake Johansson I never endorsed Bush. But I think your rantings are getting kind of old-Bush isn’t president (he hasn’t been for the past 18 months). After a certain point, you have to realize that Obama is responsible.:smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201.md?page=11)