# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/81 "2010-06-07T02:34:17Z")
No buyer’s remorse here. President Obama has accomplished an [amazing amount](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/5/854279/-You-Pragmatists-are-trying-to-Accomplish-Things) of good things in the short time he’s been in office, and that list just scratches the surface. More good things are on the horizon, and right-wingers seem intent on continuing to say and do very stupid things, which bodes well for the upcoming elections. Like others, he’s a bit too far right for me, and has views I disagree with, but I still admire the hell out of him. Barack Obama aside though, I think we also hit the jackpot with having Michelle Obama as our First Lady. She’s an amazing, intelligent, beautiful (inside and out) woman who is doing great things. Too bad the media hardly ever tells the country about any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/82 "2010-06-07T02:34:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It was your insistence on getting 15-1 odds that caused people to decline your bet. Yes, I know. It was statements such as “he will be re-elected in a walk” and “he will have no competition” that prompted me to give such folks the opportunity to put their money where there mouth is. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/83 "2010-06-07T02:39:32Z")
No remorse for me. I’ve been terribly disappointed that he has carried on a number of Bush policies regarding restrictions on civil liberties. He’s failed to follow as liberal or progressive an approach on the selection of Supreme Court justices as I would like. Otherwise, I’m quite pleased with the economic recovery. The consistent monthly improvement in jobs has been good. Our improved standing in the eyes of the world is heartening. On the whole, he has been great so far, and there’s nothing that people like **Evil One** can even point to to the contrary. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/84 "2010-06-07T02:44:43Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > The consistent monthly improvement in jobs has been good. Yes, the federal government does 95% of all the new hiring in a month (May), then reports that it is over-hiring on purpose, and then crows about the new jobs making the unemployment numbers look better. And people like you buy it. Yeesh almighty. Cite: [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704764404575286263535019280.html](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704764404575286263535019280.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/85 "2010-06-07T02:56:53Z")
> [@Evil\_One](#): > > You asked me for “proof” that there are a number of people who are ideologically incapable of seeing Obama as anything other than perfect. That’s like asking me to provide GPS coordinates and candlepower estimates if I say the sun is shining. > Of course those people exist. As I said to another poster, pretending they don’t is to become one of them. So the people exist, but actually saying who they are would be like providing GPS coordinates and candlepower estimates for the sun shining. And my asking you to name a few of those people makes me one of them. Wow! In no way does this make it look like your argument is a total straw man! I love the way that you’ve phrased it to make it appear that any doubt I have for your arguments makes my question invalid. A+ for dishonest debating. ---
**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, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/86 "2010-06-07T02:58:42Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Obama is a good reason why we need a better system of selecting presidential candidates. A man totally unqualified to be president, with 5 months of Senate experience, and NO understanding of how complex economies work, suddenly becomes the most powerful person in the world. > We need to examine how this man was ever considered for this job. > If we survive his “learning experience”.:mad::mad: 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 ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/87 "2010-06-07T03:00:13Z")
I voted for him and am generally happy with him now. He hasn’t done everything I wanted, and he’s had quite a bit of opposition to contend with, but I am overall pleased with his performance thus far. I hate to sound repetitive, but he’s sooo much better than the last guy. So, no, no buyer’s remorse. ---
**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, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/88 "2010-06-07T03:00:25Z")
> [@Evil\_One](#): > > He looked good and sounded good reading a teleprompter. People were able to project what they wanted on his blank canvas. He would not have been elected without the mass turnout of people who start their sentences with the word “dude”. Those cute but politically clueless clearly have not heeded his call to help out others he’s endorsed. Since you seem to think he was such a bad idea… what exactly is it you envision McCain/Palin doing over the past 18 months that would have been so miraculous? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/89 "2010-06-07T03:03:17Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > And it’s statements like these that prompted me to offer the bet I did, which you scoffed at. Your odds were bullshit and you gave yourself an automatic win if Obama died. If you want to make a straight up, even odds bet, with a push if Obama’s incapacitated, then get back to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/90 "2010-06-07T03:05:09Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Yes, the federal government does 95% of all the new hiring in a month (May), then reports that it is over-hiring on purpose, and then crows about the new jobs making the unemployment numbers look better. And people like you buy it. Yeesh almighty. > > Cite: [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704764404575286263535019280.html](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704764404575286263535019280.html) Holy shit. You really are something aren’t you? To the OP, getting back on topic, no I don’t have voter’s remorse. I think the president is doing a fine job. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/91 "2010-06-07T03:05:12Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Since you seem to think he was such a bad idea… what exactly is it you envision McCain/Palin doing over the past 18 months that would have been so miraculous? McCain/Palin would have not passed the healthcare reform bullshit. And that’s enough to have been better than Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/92 "2010-06-07T03:07:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Your odds were bullshit and you gave yourself an automatic win if Obama died. If you want to make a straight up, even odds bet, with a push if Obama’s incapacitated, then get back to me. I’ll take out me winning if Obama dies or is incapacitated. But your big talk warrant much better odds than even. What are you afraid of, tough guy? If he’ll win in a walk without any competition, then 8 to 1 in my favor sounds about right, don’t it? > [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Holy shit. You really are something aren’t you? So . . . care to argue against what I posted? Or you got nothin’? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/93 "2010-06-07T03:07:43Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Yes, I know. It was statements such as “he will be re-elected in a walk” and “he will have no competition” that prompted me to give such folks the opportunity to put their money where there mouth is. You’re the one who’s unwilling to do that. You also tried to give yourself an automatic win if Obama died. Being confident that Obama can beat any Republican for reelection does not equate to a confidence that some teabagger won’t try to kill him. Your bet was disingenuous and your odds were not viable. Why should anyone take your bet when they can get much better action elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/94 "2010-06-07T03:08:09Z")
Xl > [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Yes, the federal government does 95% of all the new hiring in a month (May), then reports that it is over-hiring on purpose, and then crows about the new jobs making the unemployment numbers look better. And people like you buy it. Yeesh almighty. > > Cite: [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704764404575286263535019280.html](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704764404575286263535019280.html) I was thinking about every month prior to that as well. Under Obama, we’ve seen consistent improvement in jobs since he took over. That’s what I’m buying. Yeesh that. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/95 "2010-06-07T03:09:38Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’ll take out me winning if Obama dies or is incapacitated. But your big talk warrant much better odds than even. What are you afraid of, tough guy? If he’ll win in a walk without any competition, then 8 to 1 in my favor sounds about right, don’t it? Nope. The only thing that’s fair is even odds, something you don’t have the guts to do. As long as i can get even odds elsewhere, then I have no reason to look at anything worse. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/96 "2010-06-07T03:15:18Z")
After how he’s dealt with the recent BP issue, I have to say that I’m actually feeling a bit more upbeat about Obama. No buyers remorse here. I think that, overall, he’s about as optimal a president as this centrist could wish for, especially given the previous alternative. This probably makes both the left and right dislike him for different reasons, and while I could wish he’d done some things differently, I’m pretty happy so far, all things considered. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/97 "2010-06-07T03:19:43Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’ll take out me winning if Obama dies or is incapacitated. But your big talk warrant much better odds than even. What are you afraid of, tough guy? If he’ll win in a walk without any competition, then 8 to 1 in my favor sounds about right I’ve never been a fan of wagering on elections, especially as some lame kind of challenge about the strength of your convictions. However, I have to say that calling someone out for not being willing to bet, and then seeking 8 to 1 odds in your favor just makes you look like a big pussy. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/98 "2010-06-07T03:30:04Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > I didn’t vote for Obama (nor McCain, as I have to remind people who love to trash me), but I still think he’s really done a decent job as President, and IMO has done a much better job than McCain would have. For me, this is key. To answer the OP’s question, one doesn’t have to ask oneself, “Has Obama been as good as i hoped he would be?” One need only ask oneself, “Has Obama been better than McCain would have been?” And the answer to that is a resounding “yes.” I couldn’t vote for Obama because i’m not a US citizen, but if i could have voted it would have been for him, and i was incredibly happy when he won. I’ve been disappointed with some aspects of his presidency; in some cases it was over minor differences, and in some cases over large policy decisions. I thought the Cash for Clunkers program was a big fat waste, and i thought that various bailouts of financial institutions should have come with far more strings attached, in terms of things like mandating that the banks actually loan out some of the money they received. > [@Evil\_One](#): > > This bothers me as well. They are both much more concerned with playing “gotcha” than solving problems. And yet you started this thread, which is nothing more than a masturbatory “gotcha” for assholes and idiots like you and… > [@ralph124c](#): > > Obama is a good reason why we need a better system of selecting presidential candidates. A man totally unqualified to be president, with 5 months of Senate experience, and NO understanding of how complex economies work, suddenly becomes the most powerful person in the world. > We need to examine how this man was ever considered for this job. > If we survive his “learning experience”.:mad::mad: Don’t you have some retarded question you need to ask in GQ? > [@Evil\_One](#): > > Committed leftists, mostly. You show yourself to be more stupid by the minute. Or, at best, completely ignorant. Many really committed leftists are not only unhappy with Obama, but were never especially enamored of him to begin with. Look, for example, at left-wing publication _Z Magazine_. Even before Obama’s election, authors writing for _Z_ were strongly critical of Obama, and within a couple of months of his inauguration they were writing articles like: [Obama’s Economic Plan vs. An Alternative: Too little, too late](http://www.zcommunications.org/obamas-economic-plan-vs-an-alternative-by-jack-rasmus) [Lessons from the Big Auto Bailout: Big finance counts, labor rights don’t](http://www.zcommunications.org/lessons-from-the-big-auto-bailout-by-roger-bybee) [Obama’s Busted Bank Bailout: Twenty million unemployed by December?](http://www.zcommunications.org/obamas-busted-bank-bailout-by-jack-rasmus) [Obama’s Violin: Populist rage and the uncertain containment of change](http://www.zcommunications.org/obamas-violin-by-paul-street) And the criticism has continued in the year since then. Even the more solidly left-liberal (rather than flat-out leftist) weekly _The Nation_ has been critical, running articles and opinion pieces like: What Ever Happened to Candidate Obama? Obama’s False Reform Obama’s Tortured Turn Obama at One The last article listed above was a forum on his first year, with some expressing disappointment, and some others saying, in effect, “Hey, i already knew he wasn’t going to be different than all the other politicians.” [I can’t link to the _Nation_ articles because i got them from a subscription-only database.] While there are certainly people who appear set to stick by Obama no matter what, and there are also people who don’t want to listen to any criticism of him, in my (admittedly limited and subjective) experience, most of these people tend to be moderate-to-conservative Democrats, rather than committed leftists or full-on progressives. In fact, my experience suggests that, once you siphon off the former Republicans who voted for Obama mainly because they didn’t like McCain-Palin, the further left an Obama voter is, the more likely they are to be disappointed with his presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/99 "2010-06-07T03:31:59Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > In fairness, _everybody_ scoffed at your bet. Oh when was this? ---
**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, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/100 "2010-06-07T03:37:46Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Obama is a good reason why we need a better system of selecting presidential candidates. A man totally unqualified to be president, with 5 months of Senate experience, and NO understanding of how complex economies work, suddenly becomes the most powerful person in the world. > We need to examine how this man was ever considered for this job. > If we survive his “learning experience”.:mad::mad: Just because we’re in the Pit and it seems like a good day for it… You’re unqualified to _breathe_, you fucking moron. Every time you hunt and peck and mange to drool on the ‘submit’ button, it makes me embarrassed for all of humanity. And no, no buyer’s remorse. He’s certainly not made me entirely happy, but it’s not as though anything on earth could ever make me consider McCain/Palin as a \*better \*option. Oh, and by the way, Obama is a profound disappointment to “committed leftists”. Anyone who says otherwise is frankly too silly to bother with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201.md?page=6)