From Inside the Beltway: Don't listen to what I say - watch what I do

[Samantha]

24. Thank you KoKo for your very thoughtful, informational post

My simple explanation for Obama is that he is a political enigma. I believe that is what he chose for himself, and there is not too much we can assign in any one direction as to influence that has prompted him to make the moves he has made. We can only drive ourselves crazy trying.

But we do have some good simple rules of thumb we can follow that he has given us himself, especially the one "make me do it." In that specific regard, we have been remiss in our follow-through, and I believe that has to change. There are just too many issues that truly grieve me that do not impact me personally but I feel the pain as if it did. Two great examples of this are the cuts in the Food Stamp program which has impacted not just adults, but 40 percent of which impact the lives of children. The refusal to extend unemployment benefits to adults who are not working not because they are lazy as the Republicans accuse, not because they are gaming the system, but because Republican politicians, a primary one being our former occupier of the Oval Office, George W. Bush*, crashed our economy. With an aplomb that cannot be understood by any sane, reasonable person, too many barbaric politicians are pushing policies towards implementation in our Nation's capital today over which Obama personally cannot hold sway.

He is just one man. He is just one-third of the collective weight of the government we have. So with our current Congressional make-up and our miserable excuse for a Supreme Court, to some extent his hands are tied.

But to the extent he has maneuverability, I feel he does try to fight the good fight the best he can under current conditions. All of the influences you mention in your post I think have played a role, but I do not think their collective weight settled to form a man the individual Barack Hussein Obama did not want to be. I believe he is today exactly who he chooses to be, it is just our vision of him is a little cloudy at times.

In the meantime, I believe we must as citizens, pardon this express, reload and set our sights on the directions we want our government to go in, and then we must collectively press on to persevere for progress. Specifically, in that regard, we need more vocal opposition to the ugly language permeating our air waves (thanks to the Republican party and especially Tea Partiers) demeaning, insulting and humiliating the victims of our economic and political missteps. We need to pointedly refute the words we hear from politicians that are simply lies and deception. We need to be proactive in standing up to all who wish to drive this Country to a place that we would be ashamed to call our Country ... and we are almost there.

It may be almost too late - but not quite. So how shall we proceed....

Sam