storyteller
Veteran
The Obama did nothing train is really full steam in this thread.
Not gonna defend him.
It’s just crazy to see both sides of the isle shyt on the man when he was the easily the best president we’ve had in a looooong time.
I mean we can both acknowledge that Obama was the best president of our lifetimes and point out that he faced unprecedented obstruction and then had a number of his most recognized moves undone within the next president’s first term. The Iran accords, TPP and DACA all flopped; he was forced to concede a Supreme Court seat and some darker aspects of his legacy (deportations and using imminent threat more liberally for drone strikes) have been used to excuse current administrative abuses of authority.
None of this changes the fact that he moved us forward on healthcare, ended the recession and left office respected globally and appreciated nationally. He did a good job given the constraints he faced. But it’s fairly obvious that he got blanked on certain legislative goals regardless of whether you blame the republicans entirely, Obama’s administration or put it as a mix of both.
and once we accept the fact that he faced a ton of obstruction that severely limited his impact (again a positive impact nonetheless); the idea that Bernie’s not going to accomplish much stops looking like some unique problem only his platform is facing. I kept trying to hammer that home on Warren’s public option vs going for single payer. No matter what path the next president chooses, they will face intense obstruction. So the bold approach being treated as unrealistic while pretending the incremental approach won’t face similar obstruction is a pipe dream just as much as believing Bernie will get everything he promises done.
Every president is gonna have to compromise point blank. Obama was forced to and it kept him from having an even bigger impact. The next president will face those same obstacles as well whether they try to be moderate or progressive. Bernie has a different approach which may or may not be more effective. Everyone has looked at ways around obstruction (see the American prospect’s day one agenda series for details). But the obstruction is coming regardless of who wins.
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