Yesterday, President Obama was in Palo Alto, CA participating in a town hall meeting. On Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell and The Rachel Maddow Show, both hosts gushed that the president has found his mojo by presenting a stark contrast to the GOP agenda.
I watched part of the town hall. I agree that Obama said many of the things progressives want to hear, but I see no reason to gush. As we've seen throughout Obama's 2+ years in office, what he SAYS and what he DOES frequently are not the same thing -- they don't even come close.
It seems to me that O'Donnell and Maddow have quickly forgotten that the president loves to campaign. He is in his best element out on the campaign trail and, make no mistake, this event was pointed toward the 2012 election. What he is doing now is attempting to rejuvenate all those supporters he basically has stomped on during his time in office.
These are the people who supported him because, in 2008, he pledged to wind down the wars. Once elected, however, he has tripled the number of soldiers in Afghanistan and started a new one in Libya. This is the same man who promised to close Gitmo and we all know how that has turned out. This the guy who decried former President Bush's use of signing statement to get around Congressional intent and yet Obama is doing the same thing.
On issue after issue, the wonderful rhetoric of Obama, the campaigner, has paled in comparison to the action of Obama, the President.
So, my suggestion to the so-called liberals of MSNBC is to bite their tongues for a while to see if what Obama is saying now comes anywhere close to the actions and compromises he makes later. If he actually backs up his words, then commentators and pundits can sing his plaudits. I'll even give the man his due.
However, if this turns out to be yet another case of smoke and mirrors -- which is what I expect -- I hope people like O'Donnell and Maddow will have the courage to call him out on it.
I watched part of the town hall. I agree that Obama said many of the things progressives want to hear, but I see no reason to gush. As we've seen throughout Obama's 2+ years in office, what he SAYS and what he DOES frequently are not the same thing -- they don't even come close.
It seems to me that O'Donnell and Maddow have quickly forgotten that the president loves to campaign. He is in his best element out on the campaign trail and, make no mistake, this event was pointed toward the 2012 election. What he is doing now is attempting to rejuvenate all those supporters he basically has stomped on during his time in office.
These are the people who supported him because, in 2008, he pledged to wind down the wars. Once elected, however, he has tripled the number of soldiers in Afghanistan and started a new one in Libya. This is the same man who promised to close Gitmo and we all know how that has turned out. This the guy who decried former President Bush's use of signing statement to get around Congressional intent and yet Obama is doing the same thing.
On issue after issue, the wonderful rhetoric of Obama, the campaigner, has paled in comparison to the action of Obama, the President.
So, my suggestion to the so-called liberals of MSNBC is to bite their tongues for a while to see if what Obama is saying now comes anywhere close to the actions and compromises he makes later. If he actually backs up his words, then commentators and pundits can sing his plaudits. I'll even give the man his due.
However, if this turns out to be yet another case of smoke and mirrors -- which is what I expect -- I hope people like O'Donnell and Maddow will have the courage to call him out on it.
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