Support NeoGAF

[replicashooter]

When Obama first came on the scene people were running around with cream in their pants as if this chap was going to pull some Denzel Washington type "hea hea heaaaa my maaann" kind of thing and turn the whole world around and fix every wrong instead of just being another lying ass, self serving politician who just happened to come with a different coloured paintjob this time.

Now that a few years have passed and the rose tints have slipped slightly from your eye glass, how do you feel about his performance or more importantly, your own expectations/cheer leading?

 

[InertiaXr]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=460275 ?

 

[LQX]

Yeah, still waiting for my change. Telling me to wait until next year.

 

[ivysaur12]

Spoiler

No.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

No because I didn't expect him to be Jesus. I didn't vote for him to begin with but will be voting for him in 2012. He's never been anything more than a moderate Liberal on some issues and a moderate Conservative on others.

 

[Bread]

some Denzel Washington type "hea hea heaaaa my maaann" kind of thing

I have no idea what this means

 

[Invisible_Insane]

It doesn't matter what I think of Obama; I live in New York.

 

[nyong]

Status quo. Better than Bush in some ways, worse in others. I knew going into his presidency more or less what to expect. If his plans for the Internet ever fully come into fruition, though, I think he'll be looked back on as the worst thing to happen to this country in a long time (yes, worse than Bush and Iraq).

 

[Admiral Bone to Pick]

Well...that was a pretty offensive OP all things considered.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Status quo. Better than Bush in some ways, worse in others. I knew going into his presidency more or less what to expect. If his plans for the Internet ever fully come into fruition, though, I think he'll be looked back on as the worst thing to happen to this country in a long time (yes, worse than Bush and Iraq).

What plans are these?

 

[Invisible_Insane]

Status quo. Better than Bush in some ways, worse in others. I knew going into his presidency more or less what to expect. If his plans for the Internet ever fully come into fruition, though, I think he'll be looked back on as the worst thing to happen to this country in a long time (yes, worse than Bush and Iraq).

Which plans are you referring to?

Well...that was a pretty offensive OP all things considered.

Racism doesn't exist anymore, man, we elected a black person.

 

[ohhthegore]

I have no idea what this means

 

[Brian Fellows]

I never expected anything from him in the first place.

 

[PhatSaqs]

Jesus could be in office and there would be crazy opposition to everything he proposes as well.

Really doesnt matter who is in there....

 

[Quick]

 

[InertiaXr]

It doesn't matter what I think of Obama; I live in New York.

Yeah, why does the Electoral College still exist? I live in Kansas so my state will go to whoever becomes the republican candidate. I never understood the all-or-nothing per state format, it means nearly no candidates ever go to the 'guaranteed' states and always to 10 or so 'battleground' states.

 

[Zekes!]

nope

Spoiler

I'm Canadian

 

[DrFunk]

No, because I didn't have stratospheric expectations of him

 

[commedieu]

Only about Guantanamo, but everything else has gone well. I love to watch the push back on common sense fucking issues though. A lot of people have come out of the wood pile for this one.

I understand why Guantanamo needs to be there, as an adult...knowing the processes of the govt. Just was kinda.. 'doh' Not really his fault though.

Jesus could be in office and there would be crazy opposition to everything he proposes as well.

Really doesnt matter who is in there....

yap

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

No really. Having worked in politics prior to Obama, I knew that he was not going to be able to deliver everything as promised. However, I was disheartened the lack of aggressiveness and the focus on the health care bill. But in the face of a oppositional, for that sole reason, House, Republican establishment and mnedia fear/hate mongering, I think he's done an ok job.

Has the country gotten better? Some numbers say yes. Does it feel like it? Not as much, but that could be a consequence of being so far deep in it when his presidency began that progress needed to make ridiculous strides forward for everyone to agree.

Is the country better that he has been President? Dunno, might be too early to decide. Seems like the country has gotten more fractured and I'm constsantly amazed at how much raw hate this one man has caused rise to the surface, but it makes me want to fight mfor my beleifs or contribute to those who fight for things I agree with more.

He's got my vote again.

 

[MThanded]

When Obama first came on the scene people were running around with cream in their pants as if this chap was going to pull some Denzel Washington type "hea hea heaaaa my maaann" kind of thing and turn the whole world around and fix every wrong instead of just being another lying ass, self serving politician who just happened to come with a different coloured paintjob this time.

Now that a few years have passed and the rose tints have slipped slightly from your eye glass, how do you feel about his performance or more importantly, your own expectations/cheer leading?

What is this...

 

[makingmusic476]

Three years ago my entire understanding of politics was what my dad told me, so I was an ardent Obama hater. Since then, I've come to quite like the guy's actions while in office, save for certain actions regarding certain liberties.

So no, I don't feel short-changed.

If I'm disappointed about anything, it's that we got the Affordable Care Act instead of a proper single payer system. Three years ago I was like "government in my healthcare WHAT THE FUCK."

Edit:

Funnily enough, I got my dad on board the single payer train too.

 

[.GqueB.]

To be honest, I'm not sure what I expected but I did get caught up in the hype. His speeches were great, his message was excellent and the way he delivered them was inspiring. I didn't quite expect him to change the world but I did expect SOMEthing from him.

I always compare his style to that of Bush. To put it simply, Bush got shit done. No matter how shitty the idea, no matter how little evidence, no matter how dumb he sounded at every turn, he managed to help mess up this country something awful in just 8 years. That, to me, says a lot. This fumbling, bumbling buffoon was able to make so many of his terrible ideas a reality just because.

Now we have this intelligent, well spoken man who can't seem to have that same impact. Not to say he's not getting anything done (because he is) he's just so forgettable to me. I honestly don't care that he's not delivering on all his promises. Who could expect such a thing? I'm just upset by his level of "meh". He's not trying to inspire anymore which is why I was so behind him in the first place. I'm curious how he's going to run his campaign because I can't imagine the whole "inspiring" thing working again.

It's gonna be interesting.

 

[akira28]

Do you feel shortchanged by Obama?

No. I feel like Congress fucked up any possible changes because they're partisan shitheads who care more about politics than they care about this country.


So I blame them. Not Obama.

 

[perineumlick]

The problems we are facing now were a long time coming, and I knew things wouldn't change overnight. If anyone believed otherwise they have themselves to blame for being disappointed. I don't agree with all of the decisions he's made, but I feel he has fought the good fight; good enough to deserve a second term to build upon things. I shudder at the alternatives; there's not any other candidate on the roster who I would trust alone in a room with my child, much less run this country.

 

[MThanded]

He tried to get a lot done and congress continued to play games,

 

[nyong]

What plans are these?

National Internet ID, kill switch to take infrastructure offline, outlawing encryption unless the governement has back door decryption, etc. ZDNET had a really good article on the encryption stuff.

But hey, at least he wants further broadband penetration.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

nope.
Wasn't expecting radical change and he was better and is better than the opposition.
And yeah, Congress is like kids arguing in the playground.

 

[FStop7]

No more or less than McCain would have done. I got exactly what I expected - a yes man for the powers that be. That's what we were going to get either way.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

Yeah, why does the Electoral College still exist? I live in Kansas so my state will go to whoever becomes the republican candidate. I never understood the all-or-nothing per state format, it means nearly no candidates ever go to the 'guaranteed' states and always to 10 or so 'battleground' states.

Because the constitution requires it to exist, and I really don't see any changes getting made to that any time soon.

No more or less than McCain would have done. I got exactly what I expected - a yes man for the powers that be. That's what we were going to get either way.

We would likely still be in Iraq and on our way into Iran. I can't agree with that assertion.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

No.

I knew that it would take a lot more than four years to fix this country.

 

[Veezy]

NVM

 

[replicashooter]

I have no idea what this means

This is a perfect response:

Well...that was a pretty offensive OP all things considered.

How do you figure? My comment was in reference to things like the whole "I got this" or "Wow, Obama looks so cool doing X" and the general hype and cheerleading that was going on from all and sundry who were expecting a "cool" president who would do "cool" things ala Denzel Washington when he's playing a bad ass but instead he's truly been like Bush 2.0

What is this...

Exactly what I mean, people were all hyped about a Black president when it turns out he's been the same as every White president before him. Skin tone changed but the games the same.

 

[Kabouter]

Yes, I was really hoping he would institute a new ERP, but nothing of the sort so far.

 

[MThanded]

This is a perfect response:





How do you figure? My comment was in reference to things like the whole "I got this" or "Wow, Obama looks so cool doing X" and the general hype and cheerleading that was going on from all and sundry who were expecting a "cool" president who would do "cool" things ala Denzel Washington when he's playing a bad ass but instead he's truly been like Bush 2.0

Explain.

 

[SouthernDragon]

Nope. Considering how ridiculous Congress is, he's done a pretty good job all considered.

That said, what a hilarious OP.

 

[djplaeskool]

Fuckin' Congress...

Also, I live in Georgia. If anything, I want to punch Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal in the face.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

This is a perfect response:

How do you figure? My comment was in reference to things like the whole "I got this" or "Wow, Obama looks so cool doing X" and the general hype and cheerleading that was going on from all and sundry who were expecting a "cool" president who would do "cool" things ala Denzel Washington when he's playing a bad ass but instead he's truly been like Bush 2.0



Exactly what I mean, people were all hyped about a Black president when it turns out he's been the same as every White president before him.

Yes, people thought his politics would be radically different because he was black.

That is an exceptionally fuckwitted thing to say.

 

[BannedEpisode]

I feel short changed by the hardlined congressional/senate division and lack of cooperation by either party.

 

[The Lamonster]

No, I am a realist.

 

[MThanded]

Saying Obama is bush 2.0 is a drastic oversimplification.

Also as the president your power is always limited by congress.

 

[J.ceaz]

To be honest, I'm not sure what I expected but I did get caught up in the hype. His speeches were great, his message was excellent and the way he delivered them was inspiring. I didn't quite expect him to change the world but I did expect SOMEthing from him.

I always compare his style to that of Bush. To put it simply, Bush got shit done. No matter how shitty the idea, no matter how little evidence, no matter how dumb he sounded at every turn, he managed to help mess up this country something awful in just 8 years. That, to me, says a lot. This fumbling, bumbling buffoon was able to make so many of his terrible ideas a reality just because.

Now we have this intelligent, well spoken man who can't seem to have that same impact. Not to say he's not getting anything done (because he is) he's just so forgettable to me. I honestly don't care that he's not delivering on all his promises. Who could expect such a thing? I'm just upset by his level of "meh". He's not trying to inspire anymore which is why I was so behind him in the first place. I'm curious how he's going to run his campaign because I can't imagine the whole "inspiring" thing working again.

It's gonna be interesting.

To be fair a lot of the reason Bush was able to "get shit done" was because of post 9/11 America. At one point Bush had a 90% approval rating among the public not to mention that going against the pres. at the time could get you labeled anti-American. Faced with that dems in the house and senate kinda just rolled over. It also helped that republicans controlled all three branches of gov't until 2006.

 

[makingmusic476]

Bush 2.0 lol. How would Bush have handled Libya? Be handling Iran?

 

[nyong]

No more or less than McCain would have done. I got exactly what I expected - a yes man for the powers that be. That's what we were going to get either way.

I was regretting not voting for McCain right up until he started spouting off about Iran. That alone justifies (not endorses) an Obama presidency over the alternative.

 

[Gaborn]

I think objectively a large number of people have to be at least a little disappointed if they're honest about it. How often during the campaign did Obama talk about ending the drug raids on medical marijuana dispensaries? (often) In reality what has happened? Not only have they continued, they've gone at a faster pace than the previous President. I have my issues where I was never going to agree with President Obama and I don't think it would be fair to downgrade him for that, but on issues he repeatedly made promises about? He's absolutely been a disappointment for people that care about some really pressing issues in our world today.

 

[Atramental]

Our congressional system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.

 

[Hawkian]

Yeah, why does the Electoral College still exist? I live in Kansas so my state will go to whoever becomes the republican candidate. I never understood the all-or-nothing per state format, it means nearly no candidates ever go to the 'guaranteed' states and always to 10 or so 'battleground' states.

I used to be a big fan of the electoral college, but I was convinced by this video and the others by the same guy have really poked clear holes through everything about the first-past-the-post electoral system we have.

Only about Guantanamo, but everything else has gone well. I love to watch the push back on common sense fucking issues though. A lot of people have come out of the wood pile for this one.

I understand why Guantanamo needs to be there, as an adult...knowing the processes of the govt. Just was kinda.. 'doh' Not really his fault though.



yap

Guantanamo Bay and the extension of the Patriot Act and the Bush-era tax cuts are the big disappointments for me. Then again, I never had any illusions about him being liberal enough for me. He's been a generally good president in many ways, and an impressive one considering the climate and the hand he was dealt.

edit: Ah- medical marijuana is the most personally disappointing aspect for me. But unlike the others mentioned I can see political capital being gained that would make it appealing to his presidency to pursue.

 

[perineumlick]

This is a perfect response:





How do you figure? My comment was in reference to things like the whole "I got this" or "Wow, Obama looks so cool doing X" and the general hype and cheerleading that was going on from all and sundry who were expecting a "cool" president who would do "cool" things ala Denzel Washington when he's playing a bad ass but instead he's truly been like Bush 2.0



Exactly what I mean, people were all hyped about a Black president when it turns out he's been the same as every White president before him. Skin tone changed but the games the same.

Well, maybe if you had looked beyond his skin color, you would have had more rational expectations. He's a man first, and all men have strengths and weaknesses regardless of skin tone.

 

[AtomskEater]

Not really. I did get swept up in the hype, but the economy was already one foot into the shitter. I didn't think one person was going to be able to single-handedly fix all the ails of this country in a few years.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

Bush 2.0 lol. How would Bush have handled Libya? Be handling Iran?

smoking guns and preemptive strikes.