In your opinion do you think Obama was ever given a fair chance by the Republicans?

Do you ever see the Government working together to truly get your country up and running on full steam again, or will it be Rep,vs Dem now till the end of time everyone else might as well sit back and watch because it’s going to get messy.

Many conservatives believe that no Democrat can do anything right. Those who do concede that anyone more liberal than Ted Cruz is capable of doing anything right are, by today’s standards, Moderates or Centrists. While Obama has done much to earn derision, he hasn’t been bad enough to warrant the amount of derision he’s gotten in his time in office. So no, I feel he hasn’t had a fair chance. And with the nation as polarized as it is, nobody from either party will unless/until we the people say “Enough!” and vote all the clowns out.

@jerv VERY NICELY SAID, sorry for being loud but great answer. thanks.

No, I KNOW he wasn’t given a fair chance. And the fact that he persevered in the face of it makes him a great man, IMO.

@Dutchess_III I agree,thanks.

This isn’t really a question, is it?

Nope.

Obama has received no more respect from Republicans than Trump has from Democrats.

@SQUEEKY2 It is pretty clear to me that by the wording of your question you seem to lack understanding of the core conservative and core liberal ideals that are the foundation of both parties. 8 years ago Obama heralded a great new beginning of hope and change that was going to save our country from the downward spiral of failed Bush policies. People took the bait and the added bonus was the awaiting ticker tape parades of having out first black president. He delivered on his promises largely in part to a Democratic controlled Senate and I ask you to look at where we are today to where we were 8 years ago. Tarp, the bank bailout, the auto bailout, Obama care, protracted engagements in war torn Middle East and despite what the liberal media would like you to believe we are 8 years later STILL in a recession, twice the number of people on welfare, hundreds of thousands of jobs lost to overseas outsourcing, thousands of companies moving their business out of the US, skyrocketing healthcare costs and a 19 trillion dollar debt.

The difference between conservatives and liberals is conservatives knew this would be the outcome since there was no pathway outlined to pay for all this and hence the vehement opposition all these years.

I am not expecting my words here to expand your views or understanding of the intricacies of the economics of our county…but there is a greater reality as to why the conservatives opposed Obama’s and the Democratic policies they worked tirelessly to block that transcends the liberal media message and I do believe is outside your wheelhouse to understand and appreciate.

I do not just hold contempt for the Dems for the way things went…I blame Washington for their irresponsible actions in Congress and say shame on you to both sides of the isle and will still say it falls squarely in Obama’s lap for the state of affairs we face today. He is a very smart man and should have known and done better but fell victim to his desire to write history and honor his promise of hope and change instead of rolling up his sleeves, making the real tough choices and sacrifices to lead our country out of the mess we are still in today.

The creation of the Tea Party movement was almost exactly at the moment Obama was elected. That should speak volumes.

We all know it’s just because he’s black.

Sad thing is we can banter this back and forth and unless we can get into an alternate universe where maybe Romney had become President or perhaps Congress had been willing to make some compromises, we can never truly know.

As far as I am concerned he did the best he could with the shit hand he was dealt; TARP began under the watch of the previous administration; Bank Bailouts (well, TARP by a different name so, same), Auto Bailouts – again, inherited from the prior admin; ACA – actually his baby but put forth in a compromised form to try to placate the Republicans (We wanted a single payer with no insurance companies as middle men) but even this was not good enough for them and they hindered and obstructed it at every turn by the other party (how many votes were cast to eliminate it? Forty? Fifty? Sixty? Perhaps if instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water the Party of No had tried to work with the Dems to come up with something instead of just pitchin’ a bitch; Mid East wars – Really? You are gonna try to saddle him with this, again inherited from Republicans; the ongoing recession – need I say it, brought on by failed Republican policies of the prior administration; welfare – been with us since, what, the 1930’s and there are ongoing problems with this that need to be addressed but again, let us obstruct, not construct or repair; lost jobs, jobs going overseas – sure, let us blame the American Worker for not working for shitlittle; what is needed is stronger unions and Americans who say “sure, take your business overseas, see if we buy from you again”; companies moving overseas – what, not enough corporate welfare? why don’t we just quit giving it to those left unemployed so the top 1% can scrape even more into their banks; skyrocketing heathcare? Maybe if we quit letting the insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment suppliers and Healthcare facilities dictate their own terms after allowing them to purchase their own Senator/Congressman or two they would be much lower but sure, try to implement price controls like are successfully utilized in Europe and listen to the Republicans scream; 19 trillion dollar debt – a result of all the tax breaks that have been given and continue to be given to the upper eschelon and the companies they own ever since the Reagan Administration.

@tinyfaery Obama was elected in large part just because he was black and could eloquently read speeches on a teleprompter. People bought into the hope and change message. Anyone with even a small appreciation for where our country was economically back in 2007 would say…whoa…wait a minute…this all sounds great and exciting….but….how exactly are we going to pay for this?? What about jobs? What about better education? Those things matter a whole lot more than climate change to me? Any one else notice we have a 9 trillion dollar deficit?

So…8 years later where are we now? Where did that hope and change get us and why in Gods name is a socialist leading the Democratic primaries??

@Cruiser Of course my view differs considerably from your own, when it comes to the blame game. As noted above, we can banter this all day long. But there are some really big clues regarding which case is valid.

So let’s begin with the BIG one.
On hearing the announcement of Obama’s election, Mitch McConnel stood in the well of the Senate and announced to the world that after conferring with his counterparts in the House, the number one priority of Republicans in both chambers would be the preventing Obama’s reelection. It was the most brazen statement of cynical truth to be uttered by a politician in my lifetime. It was an open declaration of out and out obstructionism, and it is impossible to deny that it was ruthlessly carried out, and Obama was reelected anyway. If Obama is guilty of anything, it is in his failure to appreciate that a group of people would be pig headed enough to torpedo the country itself in order to assure him a single term. But this is exactly what they did and continue to do to the peril of us all. And the other BIG clue is in the Obamacare that you so detest, and I hold my nose about. When Romney pimped the plan the Republicans wore their tongues out licking the collective ass of insurance corporations fearful that a black man might push for socialized medicine. To everyone’s consternation, Obama lent his name to the scheme And instantly the plan was evil incarnate. How come?

Do I think Obama was treated fairly by the Republicans?
No.

[redacted]

His agenda was the exact opposite of what Republicans wanted. Of course they didn’t support that. Obama started with a super majority and didn’t need Republican support so he never Courted it. He was treated the same way he treated others. I think that’s fair.

@stanleybmanly Yes what McConnel said is of record but so is Obama, Pilosi and Reid at that same time defiantly announcing that their super majority would ramrod pass Obama’s policies at will. Who is more wrong here? I know your choice and you know mine.

It’s quite a feat to declare yourself opposed to an agenda before that agenda is announced. McConnel didn’t require an agenda, but rather declared at the outset that EVERYTHING would be obstructed, and nothing better exemplifies this than the vitriol poured on their own health plan once the demon embraced it.

I always laugh when I hear that health care argument. Obama might have had a chance at some Republican support if he had been willing to compromise just a little. Republicansd wanted 3 things, Buy insurance across state lines, health savings accounts and a cap on lawsuits. Obama wouldn’t budge.

Just a side note. Democrats don’t seem to understand the meaning of compromise. It is where both sides get something they want. It’s not compromise if you merely give a little on what you want but the other side still gets nothing.

Well I look at the areas where compromise was achieved, and what I notice is that in every one of them, the guy on the ground, your average workaday Joe took it in the shorts. Let’s begin with those revisions to the bankruptcy laws.

@stanleybmanly You forget that Obama had over a year and a half to declare precisely what his plans were if he were to be elected. It was a clear red line in the sand before the election the Republicans had no choice but to take notice of….oops we know how that turned out.

@Jaxk And Republicans don’t seem to understand the meaning of the words “consequences” or “reciprocity”. Your post right underneath my last one and the fact that you know what “compromise” means marks you as a non-Republican conservative; even being able to see that is enough to get you thrown out of the GOP.

@Cruiser If not for all the obstructionism and foot-dragging from the right, I would agree. It’s amazing how acting like a bunch of fanatics throwing a temper tantrum makes so many people sympathetic towards Obama and vote Democrat if for no reason other than “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. I myself would hate Obama for some of the things he has/hasn’t if not for the fact that Republicans have been more reprehensible than ISIS in recent years.

@Jaxk Obama started with a super majority and didn’t need Republican support so he never Courted it.
Completely wrong. While he did have a super majority, he actively worked with several Republicans, and made concessions to them to gain their support. Of course, in the end they still voted against it, and they then begged to throw it all out and start over. Obama had won at this point, and knew they would frack him again, given the chance.

@jerv Let’s look at living in the US as if were a job. Out of the blue at the company you happily work for they say the company is about to be sold and the new owner is going to impose all sorts of new rules you don’t agree with and on top of it you will get less in take home pay. You have a choice to stay or go find another job. Here in the real world those options are not so readily available so when an Obama comes along and says if elected he will do all sorts of things I don’t agree with (you do) and he gets elected I get hosed and you I assume are happy as all get out.

@Jaxk Allowing the states to decide for themselves whether or not to expand Medicaid was a huge concession on Obama’s part.
Expanding Medicaid was a major component of the ACA. We all know what the Republican governors did with that—all but one said “No,” and allowed millions of their constituents fall through the cracks, purely out of spite.

@Dutchess_III – I know that’s the liberal talking point but not really what happened. Obama thought the initial subsidy was enough to force the states to accept his plan. Unfortunately many of the states saw through it and realized once the federal subsidy stopped, they would be left with a huge liability that they simply could not afford.

Liberals like to boil it down to either provide entitlements or you’re an evil person. It’s never that simple.

The subsidy was in place for the next 10 years. When the subsidy stopped they could rescind their medicaid program. Why not at least cover people for the next 10 years? Do you know how many lives could be saved in 10 years?

Surely even you can see the fallacy in that. Provide an entitlement then take it away? When has that ever happened? Why aren’t you arguing that the federal subsidy should have been permanent? Obama was trying to keep the costs under a $trillion and was doing it at the expense of the states. That’s why he tried to eliminate current subsidies if the states didn’t go along. The courts struck that down. Obamacare was bad law, poorly implemented. Everybody knows that. Just some refuse to admit it.

@Cruiser I consider it a small price to pay to avoid the alternative; a neo-feudal system where women and minorities (including homosexuals) have restricted/no rights.

Here in the real world those options are not so readily available. I can either vote Democrat or drink the Kool-aid. I have too much empathy to be sociopathic enough to vote Republican until they purge their ranks of both the extremists and of the people delusional enough to thing the party hasn’t radicalized.

Reap what you sow.

@Jaxk And you are nothing but conservative talking points. Surely even you see the fallacy in that.

Obama was given a fair chance by the republicans when McCain chose Palin to share his ticket.

LOL! Well, that’s one thing about the Republicans….they just ain’t never been to smart!

@Jaxk here we agree. Obamacare is terrible law. Like the tax code, the convolutions are so rampant that finding the plan suitable is tantamount to confronting the labors of Hercules. It may be the end of the world for you, but the crushing and expensive effort to keep the insurance corporations afloat will have to be abandoned.