# President Obama: Too Conservative Or Too Liberal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210 "2012-04-08T23:08:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/21 "2012-04-09T20:44:49Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I think it’s more likely that he’ll swerve even farther to the Right, since he won’t need to worry about alienating his base anymore. You think he’s a stealth-conservative who carefully mapped out being all social activist in order to subvert his Republican cohorts and steal representation away from the naiive? There’s your plotline–write that one up. Oh wait…George Lucas already did! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/22 "2012-04-09T20:51:42Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > You think he’s a stealth-conservative who carefully mapped out being all social activist in order to subvert his Republican cohorts and steal representation away from the naiive? No; I think he’s just plain conservative, not stealthy at all and has only been marginally restrained by the need to not convince his base that he’s no better than the Republicans. He’s no liberal, or even a moderate. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/23 "2012-04-09T20:56:12Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No; I think he’s just plain conservative, not stealthy at all and has only been marginally restrained by the need to not convince his base that he’s no better than the Republicans. He’s no liberal, or even a moderate. I disagree 100%. I think he honestly expected to compromise with Republicans and he did his part, but received nothing in return. If he gets a second term, which he most likely will, I would not be the least bit surprised if he is much more liberal leaning. And even as is he now, he is still way better than the Republicans. To say he is no better is insane. ---
**Author:** ![QuarkChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c5a1d2/32.png) [@QuarkChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuarkChild)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/24 "2012-04-09T21:17:22Z")
I’ve heard Europeans refer to “Obama Syndrome”–a person gets into a position of leadership expecting to accomplish transformational change, thinking that they can reason with the opposition, only to be blindsided by a lot of obstructionism and resistance. I think that Obama way overestimated the degree to which he could get Republicans to support his agenda, and wasted a lot of time and effort watering down his policies in a futile attempt to woo them. This probably made his administration more conservative than he would have preferred, on social issues. On security / foreign policy issues, I think that he is truly conservative, and I have been appalled at what he has done with Homeland Security and the like. But seriously, what on Earth can you do? Support the party that wants to eliminate social services and cut taxes for millionaires? As far as I can tell, Obama (in actions if not in belief) is somewhere between center-right and center-center, and the Republicans fall variously between right-right and batguano. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/25 "2012-04-10T15:06:29Z")
I think he has spent his whole first term keeping up appearances. If he gets reelected we will see more of the real BHO agenda. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/26 "2012-04-11T12:19:10Z")
> [@QuarkChild](#): > > I’ve heard Europeans refer to “Obama Syndrome”–a person gets into a position of leadership expecting to accomplish transformational change, thinking that they can reason with the opposition, only to be blindsided by a lot of obstructionism and resistance. I think that Obama way overestimated the degree to which he could get Republicans to support his agenda, and wasted a lot of time and effort watering down his policies in a futile attempt to woo them. This probably made his administration more conservative than he would have preferred, on social issues. > > On security / foreign policy issues, I think that he is truly conservative, and I have been appalled at what he has done with Homeland Security and the like. > > But seriously, what on Earth can you do? Support the party that wants to eliminate social services and cut taxes for millionaires? > > As far as I can tell, Obama (in actions if not in belief) is somewhere between center-right and center-center, and the Republicans fall variously between right-right and batguano. In all seriousness, what was Obama’s agenda? What did he run on that he has had to water down? Not Obamacare… he didn’t run on a more complete governement takeover of healthcare. Maybe Guantanamo but I think that is more him lying to the left realizing all along that the only responsible thing to do was to keep it open. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/27 "2012-04-11T12:45:59Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Maybe Guantanamo but I think that is more him lying to the left realizing all along that the only responsible thing to do was to keep it open. :rolleyes: There’s nothing “responsible” about keeping it open. It exists because of cowardice, sadism and the Republican determination that Obama not be allowed to accomplish anything whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![QuarkChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c5a1d2/32.png) [@QuarkChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuarkChild)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/28 "2012-04-11T16:56:50Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > In all seriousness, what was Obama’s agenda? What did he run on that he has had to water down? Not Obamacare… he didn’t run on a more complete governement takeover of healthcare. Maybe Guantanamo but I think that is more him lying to the left realizing all along that the only responsible thing to do was to keep it open. Not just Guantanamo. Extending the Patriot Act, for example. On social issues Obama is more moderate or liberal, but on national security he seems conservative to me. Just MHO. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/29 "2012-04-11T18:22:26Z")
I actually think he’s liberal enough, he just gets road blocked by the conservative establishment and isn’t able to accomplish what needs to be done. If the President had no opposition playing games with these things, I think we’d see substantial positive change in this country under him. I’m not only voting for him again, but I’m working actively for his campaign again, too. Hell,I’m sitting at my desk at work wearing my Obama 2012 sweatshirt as we speak. FWIW: I’m relatively moderate, so perhaps that’s why Obama strikes the right balance for me. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/30 "2012-04-11T19:08:13Z")
> [@DiosaBellisima](#): > > I’m not only voting for him again, but I’m working actively for his campaign again, too. Hell,I’m sitting at my desk at work wearing my Obama 2012 sweatshirt as we speak. Is it a…hoodie? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/31 "2012-04-11T20:32:22Z")
Last week I watched [David Mitchell from the Cato institute on PBS newshour](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june12/obama_04-03.html) talking about the Ryan budget. One of his objections to Obama is one I hear from liberals: that he is too much like Bush: > [@](#): > > DANIEL MITCHELL: Well, that’s because both Nixon and Bush were both big-government interventionists. > > My biggest problem with Obama is that he’s continuing the failed policies of Bush. Bush doubled the size of the federal government in just eight years. He did bailouts. He did intervention. He did regulation. Obama promised hope and change, but he picked up the baton and he is running in the same direction. So this guy from the Cato institute says Obama is too much like Bush. Was Bush too liberal? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/32 "2012-04-11T20:33:23Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Is it a…hoodie? :eek: Psh, never! It’s one of the “Runway to Win” designer made, off the shoulder, jaunty little cute sweaters of course. I mean, hell, I’m not looking to get shot! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210/33 "2012-04-11T22:29:36Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > He’s conservative, incompetent, and I despise him; but I’m still voting for him because the opposition are fanatics, thugs, plutocrats and lunatics. I don’t despise him. However, I don’t think that he was experienced enough to become president. If the Republicans had given me a viable choice, it’s entirely possible that I would have held my nose and voted for a Republican for president. However, they didn’t back then, and it looks like they won’t this time around, either, so Obama will almost certainly get my vote. He’s not my ideal choice for President, but of the people who are likely to be running, he’ll probably be the one I vote for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-too-conservative-or-too-liberal/618210.md?page=1)