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Two liberal democrat pollsters on the divisive nature of Obama's administration and presidency.
Our Divisive President
Seeded on Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:45 PM EDT
Article Source: Wall Street Journal- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (5)
During the election campaign, Barack Obama sought to appeal to the best instincts of the electorate, to a post-partisan sentiment that he said would reinvigorate our democracy. He ran on a platform of reconciliation—of getting beyond "old labels" of right and left, red and blue states, and forging compromises based on shared values.
President Obama's Inaugural was a hopeful day, with an estimated 1.8 million people on the National Mall celebrating the election of America's first African-American president. The level of enthusiasm, the anticipation and the promise of something better could not have been more palpable.
And yet, it has not been realized. Not at all.
Rather than being a unifier, Mr. Obama has divided America on the basis of race, class and partisanship. Moreover, his cynical approach to governance has encouraged his allies to pursue a similar strategy of racially divisive politics on his behalf.
- 1 vote
#1 - Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:48 PM EDTreally? The GOP from the moment he won the election made clear their strategy: Make Obama Fail. This President has reached across the aisle time and again, and the GOP has gone as far as to now stand against what they previously stood for, for not other reason than it was offered by this President. The GOP and conservative pundits have made it a race issue, Glenn Beck declaring him a racist on national TV. Mr. Obama has been out there day in and day out talking about the American People, the GOP has made this about how only those that support them are the 'real' America and any opposition to their positions is treason.
- 3 votes
#2 - Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:49 PM EDTActually he's been out there talking about his agenda for the American people. That some people disagree with his policies only makes them the target of those who are incapable of listening to another viewpoint, and what has become a corrupt and dishonest media across the board.
But this is America. People are used to having freedom of speech and any attempts to silence them through intimidation will only make them dig deeper into their beliefs. Is Obama a divisive president, yes. Some of his statements have been, shall we say, unwise but the vast majority of his divisiveness can be hung around the necks of his namecalling, nasty supporters. And the tactic will not work. All you have to do is look at the state of this country to see that.
The problem is that his agenda "for the American people" isn't all that popular with the American people. (see his poll numbers and the poll numbers for his agenda items)
- 1 vote
yeah, I've seen the polls and while I disagree with the idea that 1005 people speak for the entire nation, I've seen the polls where it shows that people were against health reform, but at the same time were for every provision offered under it. You do understand that the polls also say that 26% of those polled cannot name the nation we declared independence from. Polls are a reflection of the popular argument. The President's job is not necessarily to do what is popular, but to do what is in the best interest of the nation. No where when i see these polls do I see where they established that the individual being polled had much in the way of knowledge or understanding of the issue they were being polled about.
- 1 vote
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