Why did you vote for Obama, and are you getting what you wanted?

And (since the limit on thread titles has been reached), are you going to vote for him again in 2012?

I was thinking about this today. I voted for Obama. I know one of the reasons was definitely "no more fucking Republicans" after the past 8 years. I guess I got what I wanted there, but I'm not really sure. I know I wanted the US out of Iraq as soon as possible, and some progress seems to be getting made there, but there's a long way to go and I was hoping things would be further along than they are now.

I think ultimately I wanted Obama to repair relations with the rest of the world where the US is not popular. I don't really feel like I've seen this happen. I wanted to see him reach out to Venezuela and Argentina and say, "We did bad things and interfered with your countries improperly, and I apologize for that, let's start a new chapter." I don't feel like this has happened. I think a lot of the mistrust around the world comes from the idea that the US will do what it wants, where it wants, when it wants, and it doesn't really seem like Obama has gone to much lengths to try to convince the world that he intends to change that. He hasn't really done anything to normalize relations with Cuba, which is about 20 years overdue.

It doesn't really seem like he's done much aside from the whole healthcare thing, which I don't really care about since my own state already has almost exactly the same thing.

I will probably vote for him again, but only because it at least seems like he's doing no harm.

if I was a US citizen I'd have had two reasons:

1) no more republicans

2) a black president. Start flinging poo now.

I think the symbolic impact of 2) has been tremendously important. I feel that nowadays, to many ethnic minorities, racism is a comfortable excuse for failure. The election of a black president, and the popularity he gained throughout his campaign clearly showed that racism is not the issue that it is often believed to be.

I would have voted for him because the republican party is utterly disgusting and Obama is a true intellectual, at least by politicians' standards.

lol 3 non-American responses in a row!

I was cheering for him because he's smart, well spoken and not Republican, and he's still those things. Also he was running against McCain/Palin. He hasn't done an amazing job but he's been solid.

Pretty sure just by being not George Bush and black he did this in leaps and bounds. My sister went to West Africa and they love him there.

Why does it matter how the rest of the world views our country?

All that matters is that we have the right policies. If we have the right policies and people hate us, who cares? If we have the wrong policies and people love us, does that make it better?

I could see you saying you voted for Obama because you thought he would change policies which you thought were wrong, but to say that you voted him to improve our image around the world is silly.

When people don't like us, they are more likely to try to kill us.

It's really not even close to being that simple.

In parts of the world, the US backing down from certain "unpopular" stances would be seen as a sign of weakness and make them more likely to take action against us.

The international community as a whole is a lot more like a fenced in yard of pit-bulls/rottweilers/etc. than it is some sophisticated cocktail party.

There is a balance that needs to be maintained, and the goal of "make everyone like us!" will not increase national security. In fact, it would most likely hurt it.

experience dictates that this is very improbable though. It's also called self awareness, and not really possible in limbo

I'm simply saying that public opinion is irrelevant to the rightness of any given policy (domestic or international). This is true not only for countries, but for individuals as well.

Making your primary goal be "please people", in any area of life, is a recipe for disaster.

public opinion is an indicator. The simple probability that a given policy is 'right' if it causes widespread outrage and resistance is disproportional to the amout of resistance. This is certainly true in the west where those parts of the population that are politically inclined at all will be fairly well educated and informed.


Of course, if ever a given policy should be completely sound, necessary and advantageous, and you still aren't able to sell it to the public without causing civil strife, you are a failure at being a politician.

this, because the US as big as it is, can't stand on it's own. All of the trillion dollars of debt are a clear sign of that.

Without others supporting US troops, US bases, letting them wherever, all of that power will be stuck around the gulf of mexico.

The batteries, the technology most of the us army uses, it's made in china, japan, etc.

Can't believe someone thinks like Nolan, in so simple terms.


Also, most of the US media is bullshit, and americans should hear news from international sources to know how great america is doing.

What are you talking about, bro?

I'm not a protectionist or an isolationist...

Nor a realist.

Anyhoo. I voted for him because 1) he's (half) black, 2) he talks good and stuff, 3) his campaign and his lofty rhetoric was extremely inspiring, and 4) he's (half) black. Basically I projected all my hopes and aspirations into the guy.

I feel pretty gypped by the guy though. All he has left in his wake is a trail of broken promises and unpopular, watered-down and decidedly non-socialist policies. The only time I feel proud of my vote is why I hear Republicans open their retarded pie-holes and say repugnant shit. Also, when he speaks out for social justice and empathy in obvious lip-service to progressives and intellectuals I want to get on my knees and suck his B(H)BC. He needs to start putting the pedal to the metal if he really wants to make some substantial transformative and redistributive changes to this country. Right now he is a let-down but he has a chance to turn things around. Most importantly he has to get outside his Wall Street bubble and start concentrating on Main Street. He can start by firing his entire team of financial/economic advisors.

So for those who voted for Obama, what policies of his do you agree with? I'm dying to know.

Mostly his support of marijuana decriminalization and harm reduction, both of which he's (not surprisingly) done a 180 on since becoming president. Also he gave really nice speeches.

Huh, I was going to say that was one of the things he stuck to... Didn't he instruct the federal law enforcement not to enforce the federal ban on marijuana in states that have made it legal (i.e. California)?

I voted for him because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

He's a smoker and he lives right down the road.

Best reason given so far.

Had I been an american citizen, I would have voted for him on the basis it keeps Sarah Palin further down the line of succession than vice president.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Anyways, I didn't vote for Obama because my brain actually functions.

Could have fooled me.

>calling someone else unrealistic

>believes everyone should own/share everything equally, everyone have the same wealth, etc.

Liberals are quite a riot.

If the equal part bothers you we could make sure that white people end up with 50% of what every non-white has.

My bad, I was referring to the foreign policy concept. Prolly should have made that more clear since there are dim bulbs here. Also, I don't like labels; I wouldn't necessarily call myself a liberal. A Marxist, yes.

I find it hilarious that some of the main reasons people voted for Obama is because of his skin color and his charisma. The US government uses some serious psychology on their citizens and it's amazing how it actually works. If only Ron Paul was given some air time..

Although I mostly agree with Ron Paul, the more air time he is given the worse off he would be.

The guy has negative charisma.

True, politics and policy should come down to personality and aesthetics.

Don't worry, it does.

I didn't vote for him, and it sounds like the reasons many in this thread gave can be translated to "I got caught up in the hype and followed the rest of the sheep towards the balloons and confetti cannons."

I really would have thought the people of Illinois wouldn't fall for the whole "hope and change" charade, considering the last politician from here who ran on that platform was Rod Blagojevich, but once again they proved themselves to be just as stupid as I often accuse them of being.

because calm, humble, and fact based campaigns are what Republicans are known for

Because if he didn't vote for Obama he must have voted for, and currently be endorsing, Republicans.

Because USA is a two-party system.


Oh wait, what?

He instructed federal law enforcement not to go after medical marijuana (which is what California has; it's not "legal" there). While I applaud this, he has said legalization on a federal level is out of the question. Furthermore, he's refused to recognize the major human rights and racial issues of prohibition, and generally laughs off any discussion of legalization as if proponents were just bored, stoned kids.

One other reason I voted for him was his support for net neutrality, though I must admit I haven't followed this issue much since he's been elected and therefore don't know if he's switched positions on that as well.

I also supported health care reform, but the way he executed that was piss-poor and only served to help the insurance industry.

I agree with whoever said it that he's failed to be as inspiring a President as he was a candidate. He almost seems jaded these days.

Never mind that he was a top student at Harvard, black people can never be intellectual!

I would think true conservatives would appreciate Obama's handling of the office. He has considerably weakened the position of the executive branch during his time. For example, asking Congress to come up with their own health care reform bill, instead of having his staff write it and asking Congress to rubber stamp it (like Bush or Clinton would have). In this way he's brought the office of the President much closer to its original intended purpose.

Pinkkk believes in the rightwing meme that blacks can only achieve success with unfair advantage due to government assistance, quota programs, tokenism and affirmative action.


Which is true. The white man is society's punching bag.

See, I got a boner reading this.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...cking-his-economic-policies/?fbid=dt9ZGbIfZ8N

Is that surprising? Candidates are free to campaign for what they believe in whereas people who get elected have to work with what is possible in the political system.

Then what's wrong with isolationism?

The lack of free trade.

A fair trade for not having to give a damn about the rest of the world and being entangled in their BS.

Not really, when you can just be a non-interventionist instead. Then you get the best of both worlds.

Isolationism is not feasible in the post-Third World world.

Yes it certainly does. Arnold Schwarzenegger for example.. jesus Shows how blind Americans really are.

Anyway, Obama is just a good actor.. it's the federal reserve that controls everything. INCLUDING YOU!

I didn't vote for Obama because

1. I'm not a faggot

2. I'm not a hype-riding hipster/soccer mom

3. I'm not a negro

4. I'm not a citizen