Obama and US politics in general

[norwaysaint]

So Obama has to see out his last two years as a weak and ineffectual president, having lost control of both the house and the senate. It's not going to do his place in history any favours and it gets harder to see a Democrat win in 2016.

 

It's always interesting how Obama and Democrat presidents in general are so much more popular in Europe, even when they're losing support at home. I was wondering how those actually living under his administration feel about it. I know we've got quite a few here that live in the states. Obviously if you were a Republican before, then you already hated him, but have many here been part of the swing away from him?

 

It seems pretty clear to me that the US is gearing up for another Republican president, but it'd be interesting to see people's thoughts on Obama and the current situation.

 

Did you know that the Republicans have not won a presidential election without a Bush or a Nixon on the ticket since 1929? There's a new George Bush on the way up now too.

[JackanorySFC]

To me it seems UK politics is being more and more like the partisan US political system. ie David Cameron could go into a Labour voter's house, wash his car, make his dinner, wash up after and sign a 10 point manifesto on his kids lives but he still wouldn't get his vote as he's a "nasty Tory". Same as Republicans not supporting universal, free at the point of access health care. Anyone that has spent time in the US will have seen how 2 tier that has made the country, I remember seeing an RTA which an ambulance was called to, as well as hoping the victim was OK I was just as much hoping they had healthcare insurance, if not that ambulance call out was going to cost them X thousands of $. What kind of "Leaders of the Free World" allow that kind of ***? Just can't understand the mentality of people opposing free healthcare purely because the bloke tabling the idea is from "the other lot". Mental.

 

I've voted Labour and Tory over the years, I reserve the right to vote for who I want, that doesn't make me "Tory Scum" or a "Scrounger/ benefit apologist". However I really do see a them/ us approach (from both sides) where people denounce good ideas purely because they weren't thought up by "their" party.

[norwaysaint]

I agree with you about voting. We get some pretty silly comments on here during political discussions and I rarely read them now. Too many people believe it's polarised into right politics and wrong politics, refusing to recognise the necessary contribution of both the left and the right. So we get silly comments about "lefties" or insinuations that everybody right wing is racist or selfish.

 

Any country that is left or right for too long will eventually need a change. I am by nature left wing, but I recognise that at times, we need right wing government and would not rule out voting conservative or other. To fail to recognise the left and right wing nature of humanity that needs addressing is just naive. That doesn't mean that I support centre politics either, because that's neither a commitment to one thing nor the other. Governments need changing regularly. That's why in democracy, they usually do.

[pap]

[buctootim]

The Democrat Americans I know are disappointed in Obama - he hasn't demonstrated enough leadership and has been too safe - seeking consensus when none was likely to happen. Tony Blair did the same thing during his first few years in order to demonstrate Labour had changed and could now be trusted. Maybe Obama felt he needed to do the same thing as the first black president. For sure his room for manoeuvre has been limited the congress balance of power but most voters I know feel he could have worked around them more cleverly. That said American politics seems to have become incredibly partisan and toxic with the main goal being stopping the others doing anything, almost regardless of what it is.

Edited 6 November, 2014 by buctootim

[TopGun]

* Awaits appearance of St George and inevitable Republican rant *