# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/101 "2010-06-07T03:40:49Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh when was this? [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. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/102 "2010-06-07T03:43:57Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > 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. This is me. Yes, I’m annoyed with Obama’s not being as liberal as I kinda hoped he’d turn out to be, but that was really just pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. It’s not like he pulled a bait and switch on me. He ran as a centrist (to me, all that “reaching across the aisle” bullshit is a red flag that means “I’m a compromiser!”) and only marginally left-er than HRClinton. Despite the disappointment, I don’t have “buyer’s remorse.” Mainly 'cause that implies there was another product out there I could’ve purchased. McCain/Palin – or any Republican, or Hillary Clinton for that matter – were never on the table for me. Hell, you couldn’t pay _me_ to take 'em! I’m very, very happy about certain things that he’s done, and disgusted by others. I have no doubt whatsoever that it would be 99% disgust if McCain/Palin got in. So do I feel remorse for my vote? Not a bit of it. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/103 "2010-06-07T03:46:52Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > McCain/Palin would have not passed the healthcare reform bullshit. And that’s enough to have been better than Obama. Heh. There’s nothing for it, then, but to agree to disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/104 "2010-06-07T03:47:45Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh when was this? A couple or four months ago? **Rand** offered the bet in a GD thread, as I recall, and somebody opened a thread in MPSIMS to discuss it. (In order to avoid hijacking the original thread.) Maybe someone with a more precise memory than I have can link to the thread, or else you can trail through posts from him or me, as we both posted in it. Heh, see above. I’d forgotten that **Rand** started it. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/105 "2010-06-07T03:59:44Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Heh. There’s nothing for it, then, but to agree to disagree. Nah, not really. He’s dead wrong, and that’s all there is to it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/106 "2010-06-07T04:44:42Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > 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 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 … . Liberal criticism of Obama is not just limited to the usual left-wing publications. In its July 2009 issue, this article in [Harper’s proclaimed Obama a failure](http://harpers.org/archive/2009/07/0082562) only three months into his term. The February 2010 Harper’s featured an editorial by Roger D. Hodge titled [“The Mendacity of Hope”](http://harpers.org/archive/2010/02/0082802) that went beyond criticizing Obama for–in particular–failing to end involvement in Afghanistan, flip-flopping on closing Gitmo, and continuing the policy of civil rights abuses established by Bush to announcing complete opposition to all of Obama’s policies and goading liberals into doing the same if they had any moral gumption. The concluding three sentences would not be out of place in a commentary written by the most strident right-wing Tea Partier. > [@](#): > > Obama has set a trap for himself, but because he is such a clever politician, the spring is just as likely to fall on us instead. Such insidious governance demands serious, sustained opposition, not respectful disagreement or fanciful historical apologies or mournful lamentations about the tragedy of his presidency. Principles can be sacrificed to hopes as well as to fears. Finally, in its April 2010 issue, Harper’s despairing article, [“The Vanishing Liberal”,](http://harpers.org/archive/2010/04/0082894)bemoans the lack of liberal opposition to Obama and cites it as proof of the left’s political impotence and “learned helplessness.” As for me, I have mixed feeling toward Obama. I still support him but he’s caved too easily on things like health care and financial reform. ---
**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, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/107 "2010-06-07T05:21:07Z")
> [@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. Oh god, that’s pathetic. ---
**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, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/108 "2010-06-07T05:22:06Z")
**Evil One** , as this thread has shown, your fundamental premise is fatally flawed. There are not legions of liberals who worshipped Obama, and are now totally disappointed in him. This meme of “Obama worship” was essentially an election tactic of the republicans during the last election. They tried to play Obama’s popularity as a negative. “cult like” and “worship” were the terms tossed around about Obama supporters. This was basically a Rovian tactic of trying to use your opponent’s strength as a negative against them. A word of caution; don’t buy into “your team’s” propoganda too much. Of course, there were those who thought Obama would be some kind of game-changer, and could accomplish a tremendous amount in a few months. These people were generally politically naive, and often this was the first election cycle that they were involved in. They did not know about the realities of politics - compromise, getting votes, dealing with recalcitrant members of your own party, etc. Some of these naive people may indeed be disappointed with Obama. It’s a big country- if you look far enough, you can find a few people with just about any opinion. Here on the dope though, there are vanishingly few politically naive posters. And they tend to avoid the pit or Great Debates. Therefore, you will get commentary like that above; most people are generally satisfied with Obama - the recognize the realities of politics, and think that he’s done an OK job so far. ---
**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, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/109 "2010-06-07T06:26:41Z")
Feeling bayou remorse, but mostly blaming BP. ---
**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, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/110 "2010-06-07T10:39:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Here on the dope though, there are vanishingly few politically naive posters. And they tend to avoid the pit or Great Debates. :rolleyes: I seldom use smilies and IIRC this is the first time I’ve been moved (in spite of some real provocation) to use rolleyes, but, really. Obama=Bush in black face. The list of his Bush extensions is long but his most egregious to date, even including his coddling of BP, is his present SCOTUS nominee. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/111 "2010-06-07T11:03:14Z")
No buyer’s remorse whatsoever. While I too would have liked to see him take a harder stance on some issues and more progressive policies (and, y’know, to stop doing those things that Bush did that I didn’t like), I think he’s accomplished a remarkable amount in a relatively short time in the face of incredible opposition and despite taking over a country in economic freefall and two very messy wars. OTOH I shudder to think what McCain-Palin would have done. McCain can’t even handle a simple primary challenge, let alone deal with the mess we’re in. The US would probably be run by Halliburton by now. ---
**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, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/112 "2010-06-07T11:21:57Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Obama… O"bambi"… > > Deer in the headlights, as predicted… Yeah, a deer in the headlights that passed the stimulus bill, health care reform, student loan reform, about as much in the way of jobs bills as an economically ignorant group of Republican and ‘centrist’ Dem Senators will allow through, two versions of what look like half-decent financial regulation bills have passed their respective houses of Congress and will go to conference committee shortly, and DADT reform should soon pass Congress as part of the Defense appropriations bill. If actual deer in the headlights were similarly effective, we’d never see a deer carcass by the side of the road. He’s a long way from perfect (e.g. what exactly are our goals in Afghanistan, and how do our actions there relate to it? Fuck-all if I know), but describing him as a deer in the headlights (or a post turtle, as a longtime family friend did a few months back) doesn’t even make sense. ---
**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, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/113 "2010-06-07T12:20:34Z")
I realize that I neglected to answer the OP in my post above. You might say I have buyer’s remorse. But it serves me right for shopping at the corporate owned govt hacks dealership when I was looking for a vehicle for change. :smack: But the new engine built at Harvard and the slick new body style fashioned in community organizing looked petty damned good. It turns out it comes with the notorious AMF warrantee, Adios, mother fucker. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/114 "2010-06-07T12:46:42Z")
Just read the first page before eye-glazing set in… So, who are these SDMB posters who view Obama as saint or demon? Name names. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/115 "2010-06-07T13:48:34Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So, who are these SDMB posters who view Obama as saint or demon? Name names. A quick search reveals some likely candidates: Dopers who worship Obama: **obamaforprezzy obama4prezy mrsobama** Dopers Who think of Obama as a Demon: **Obama The Commie obamarxist** There _may_ be others. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/116 "2010-06-07T13:49:14Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This meme of “Obama worship” was essentially an election tactic of the republicans during the last election. They tried to play Obama’s popularity as a negative. “cult like” and “worship” were the terms tossed around about Obama supporters. This was basically a Rovian tactic of trying to use your opponent’s strength as a negative against them. A word of caution; don’t buy into “your team’s” propoganda too much. Excellent point. And as stated here by **Evil One** in his OP, he did buy into it hook, line, and sinker. ---
**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, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/117 "2010-06-07T13:53:34Z")
[QUOTE=Squink;12544894…] There _may_ be others. [/QUOTE] No doubt. ---
**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, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/118 "2010-06-07T14:09:00Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Just read the first page before eye-glazing set in… > So, who are these SDMB posters who view Obama as saint or demon? Name names. Well, they exist. And some of them are on the SDMB. But it would be IMPOSSIBLE to say who they are. Except you, of course, because just asking that question made you one of them. Did I get that right, **Evil One**? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/119 "2010-06-07T14:10:31Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > The list of his Bush extensions is long but his most egregious to date, even including his coddling of BP, is his present SCOTUS nominee. She isn’t on a list I would have assembled as President, but it’s hard to see what’s objectionable about her. ---
**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, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201/120 "2010-06-07T14:11:56Z")
Guin–what’s “pathetic” is how you follow me from thread to thread yipping at my heels like an attention-starved yorkie. Maybe try actually arguing against something I’ve said for once. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-feeling-buyers-remorse-about-obama-yet/542201.md?page=7)