# SDMB liberals...who do you want in the next Presidential election? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 25, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302 "2011-07-25T19:56:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/21 "2011-07-26T02:20:07Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Qin, the poor will always be with us, but the Judeo-Christian tradition still supports redistribution. > > [Tzedakah - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzedakah) > > Oh, the OP. I don’t know. Jerry Brown has his hands full in California, and he’s old. Feingold might be OK. I do not oppose charity or even all welfare/government aid to the poor. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/22 "2011-07-26T02:38:24Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > The same Lyndon B Johnson who waged the unwinnable War on Poverty, who via his welfare legislation caused black illegitimacy rates to sky-rocket, who pursued a Laodicean strategy in Vietnam? Are you asking an honest question, or just trying to derail the thread with an irrelevant debate about Johnson’s legacy? If the former, yes, I mean LBJ, not the earlier Johnson whose brief Presidency ended in impeachment. If the latterr, and you want to debate the Great Society, start your own thread. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/23 "2011-07-26T02:48:48Z")
Obama. He is too right wing but better than the crazies the Repubs are offering. But he is the only choice we have. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/24 "2011-07-26T03:26:46Z")
Obama is an excellent president. The country is too full of idiot children right now to have the liberal president I’d want. Obama consistently does the best with the options available to him. Hopefully soon we’ll be able to have an actual activist liberal that will give hell, but until the idiots in the tea party marginalize themselves (or die off) it won’t be possible to do things like single payer or a rail system worth a poop. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/25 "2011-07-26T03:59:12Z")
Well…I’m gratified. Thank you all for the answers. I’ve done a lot of you a disservice, it seems…my apologies. [QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] How about asking who we’d most like to have as President, assuming the electoral victory could be guaranteed? I’d go with Feingold too - progressive, pragmatic, experienced, and effective. There’s nobody else who could advance us farther. [/QUOTE] No, I asked the question I wanted answered as I couldn’t believe what I thought I was hearing in other threads. If you would like to ask a different question feel free to start a new thread. -XT ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/26 "2011-07-26T04:36:03Z")
I hope it’s not too late for me to chime in (and I probably don’t qualify as a liberal), but here goes. Without a doubt, Obama is my choice. He’s consistently been what I thought I voted for: a smart, moderate, progressive politician who generally chooses his battles wisely. The fact that health care reform was passed and OBL was eliminated on his watch are the icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/27 "2011-07-26T11:18:23Z")
Obama has earned his second term and hopefully will have a Congress more to his liking next time around. Maybe McConnell will proclaim the primary Republican objective to be the prevention of a third Obama term. If it couldn’t be Obama, give me Joe Biden. Or Ed Schultz. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/28 "2011-07-26T11:52:57Z")
Obama. I’d like him to be a little more aggressive in promoting his agenda and there have been many disappointments but on the whole I think he’s doing a decent job under very difficult circumstances. What I’d really like to change is Congress, who are a bunch of petty partisan lobbyist-licking assholes incapable of acting constructively for the good of the country. And that goes for both Houses and all parties. In general I tend to hold two political positions. There’s the ideal one which, in a world full of sunshine and lollipops, I’d like to see the country attempt to achieve. If I answer the Political Compass with those positions, I end up somewhere in Kucinich-land. The problem is that I don’t think most of those positions are practical or realistic given where the country is right now, and see any politician promising to achieve such an agenda as deluded. And then there’s the pragmatic position of what I think could reasonably be achieved. That puts me pretty close to Obama. So - Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/29 "2011-07-26T12:26:04Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Well…I’m gratified. Thank you all for the answers. I’ve done a lot of you a disservice, it seems…my apologies. > > No, I asked the question I wanted answered as I couldn’t believe what I thought I was hearing in other threads. If you would like to ask a different question feel free to start a new thread. > > -XT Interesting that you’d get the idea that a large number of liberal posters didn’t want Obama for a second term. (Not an accusation or an insinuation, just interesting.) I’ve noticed a few threads by “disillusioned Obama voters,” who seemed to come out of the woodwork (a highly visible one in the pit is by someone who signed up this month) and I think the vast majority of people just aren’t posting to those because they have no intention of _not_ voting for Obama in the next election. You tend to notice what gets said and not what doesn’t get said. ETA: Yes, I’m in favor of keeping Obama in '12 myself. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/30 "2011-07-26T12:28:12Z")
Me. Barring that, Obama. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/31 "2011-07-26T13:28:44Z")
Obama. To make the statement that, no matter how much the Republicans want it, no matter what shitty tricks they use, no matter how stupid voters are, we are not going to return to the days of Bush, Cheney and Rove. We are, at the very minimum, smart enough not to let that band back into office. Also, those who can’t stand having a black Pres. - have another 4 years to let the idea grow on you. Of course, I am one of those who thinks Obama has done a pretty good job with the shitty hand he was dealt. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/32 "2011-07-26T14:27:06Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Qin, the poor will always be with us, but the Judeo-Christian tradition still supports redistribution. > > [Tzedakah - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzedakah) Is Tzedakah commonly done involuntarily, with people being forced to give even if they don’t want to, on pain of punishment? If not, it has fuck-all to do with discussions about government redistribution. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/33 "2011-07-26T14:48:29Z")
I’m not gung-ho about him necessarily, given that I think he’s much too accommodating to the Teapublicans, but I’m going with Obama. I will be voting for him in 2012. Hopefully, I’ll be in the majority. _Ideally_, on the other hand, I’d jump on the Feingold bandwagon. Or Bernie Sanders. They both manage to be real liberals without the general air of weirdness that hovers over Kucinich like a little pink polka-dotted cloud. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/34 "2011-07-26T15:32:04Z")
Obama. Just because his supporters can critically analyze and evaluate his job performance, and honestly criticze him when he disappoints them, doesn’t mean they will turn their back on him and hope for someone else. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/35 "2011-07-26T15:49:11Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Obama. > Just because his supporters can critically analyze and evaluate his job performance, and honestly criticze him when he disappoints them, doesn’t mean they will turn their back on him and hope for someone else. Well put. I think one difference between Democrats and Republicans is the ability to disagree publicly with a sitting president of the same party. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/36 "2011-07-26T16:46:11Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Obama. > Just because his supporters can critically analyze and evaluate his job performance, and honestly criticze him when he disappoints them, doesn’t mean they will turn their back on him and hope for someone else. Ditto. Bush has always been the one to blame for what Obama walked into, why that gets clouded in some people’s mind I do not know. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/37 "2011-07-26T16:51:53Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Interesting that you’d get the idea that a large number of liberal posters didn’t want Obama for a second term. (Not an accusation or an insinuation, just interesting.) I’ve noticed a few threads by “disillusioned Obama voters,” who seemed to come out of the woodwork (a highly visible one in the pit is by someone who signed up this month) and I think the vast majority of people just aren’t posting to those because they have no intention of _not_ voting for Obama in the next election. You tend to notice what gets said and not what doesn’t get said. > > ETA: Yes, I’m in favor of keeping Obama in '12 myself. I think the 2000 Presidential election woke a lot of people up. They realized they had to vote with their head as well as their heart. People on the left will now vote for a candidate even when they recognize he has flaws. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/38 "2011-07-26T16:52:54Z")
You go to Election Day with the President you have, not the President you wish you had. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/39 "2011-07-26T17:06:08Z")
Obama. Not sure I’m really a liberal, though. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302/40 "2011-07-26T17:35:40Z")
I would prefer Bernie Sanders, but that is not going to happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-liberals-who-do-you-want-in-the-next-presidential-election/590302.md?page=3)