I voted for him twice, the first time with I must admit with enthusiasm and to avoid a complete and utter disaster with John McCain and Sarah Palin in the White House. The second time is was to avoid having to listen to an arrogant prick for four years. Plus I still like Joe Biden.
I have always criticized Obama for not being as left as I would have liked, for not going far enough with the ACA, not because I disliked him, not because he is an African American, not because I distrusted him but just wished he could have gone further. Paul Krugman has written a pretty good summary of his presidency
Is he what I hoped for, no, but he has had little support from a congress that is less popular than bed bugs.
I look at the behavior of the Democratic Party over the last six years and the rabid obstruction of the Republican Party at the same time, coupled with some of the most pathetic and blatant racism that we have not seen since the civil rights era.
I was criticized recently for taking a cheap shot at Lundergan Grimes for not even answering possibly the easiest question in the world. "Did you vote for the President?". It's not as if the president is from the opposing party, its not as if you had another choice from within the Democratic Party the alternative was Mitt Romney or before that it was Sarah Palin...I mean John McCain. Really? Unless of course her vote was for the opposition, then the question is pertinent to her campaign.
Our Democratic representatives have a much worse record than Obama remember the blue dogs requirements for even getting them on-board for the Affordable Care Act? Remember some of them voting to repeal it even?
When we talk about a fundamental Democratic Party principle of a livable wage even on this we have members of our own party voting against even voting upon it.
The Republicans have been effective in nullifying the President by sheer and utter obstruction and somehow the President is to blame, somehow he has become a dead weight because congress couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery. Just look how effective they were when G W Bush was in power with many of the Democrats that supported him on foreign policy, then look at the results and we are liable to have as the next President someone who supported that disaster.
The Democratic Party has been losing against the Republican Party since 2010 because they have not stood up to the Republicans on every issue but by trying to be not quite as bad as.
President Obama is not what I had hoped for but he is leagues ahead of the Democratic Party in congress in terms of performance.
I am actually dreading the run up to 2016. The triangulating away from every Democratic Party principle will be thoroughly depressing.
I would like to thank the President for his energy and determination to keep on going, even if I disagree often, I only disagree to try and move policies to the left, not to be not as bad as a Republican. My problem is really with the not as bad as Democrats.
You may "win" the election but do you actually "win"? Hell, even when the Republicans lose they seem to win and drag along many Democrats with them.
Just my ¢5