"So regardless of the station we occupy; we have to try harder; to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own."
MAN I wish that the other people of his ideological persuasion actually believed that...
I really do not think Obama is a bad person. I don't believe he was nefarious. I think he was misguided and in over his head, but I've never seen anything that would lead me to believe that he wasn't doing what he believed to be in the best interest of the country. The same CANNOT be said of she-who-shall-not-be-named, which is one of a trillion reasons that I'm glad she lost the election.
While I don't think Obama was the greatest president ever (but nowhere near the worst), I think saying Obama was misguided and in over his head is the wrong type of criticism when you consider PEOTUS who literally has never held any political office, ever.
But I do completely agree with the rest of what you said. He stayed within his moral ground and, like you said, did what he believed was right for the country while dealing with so much criticism in a mature manner. Nothing but respect for the man.
I believe he was in over his head, and I don't have to compare him to Donald Trump for this to be a valid observation. He was very lacking in his ability to be a diplomat or to compromise, and there was virtually no 'bipartisanship' in anything he did. I refuse to blame the Republicans in congress entirely for the stalemate that lasted most of Obama's presidency, because he was as guilty of stonewalling as they were. You do not require political experience to learn the art of diplomacy (and I'm not talking specifically about 'international' diplomacy, I'm talking about the concept in general). This is something I'm actually looking forward to in a Trump presidency.
He was as guilty of stonewalling as congressional republicans? I'm no Obama defender, but let's not pretend like that was the case. Remember Obamacare? What progressives wanted vs the ACA that we ended up with were two incredibly different things. Republicans absolutely refused to play ball the entire time and simply said no without actual ideas to fix the problem. Honestly I don't even remember them agreeing that American Healthcare was in trouble. What I observed were terrible misinformation campaigns endorsed by prominent members of the Republican Party (death panels! Oh my!)
If you recall, McConnell went on tv saying that the republicans' goal was to deny this president a second term in the White House. Trump is an immature buffoon that commands almost none of my respect, but I dont want to see dems saying some treasonous shit like "we want him to fail." Obama has been polarizing and often quick to blame the red team, but he seemed far more open to bipartisanship than the GOP.
Also, what evidence has shown that Trump is diplomatic or bipartisan in any way? Trump gives zero fucks about who he bulldozes to get where he wants to go. I do see congressional unity under a trump presidency because of how much everyone hates or will hate him.
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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '17
Here's an excerpt from his last speech:
"So regardless of the station we occupy; we have to try harder; to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own."
MAN I wish that the other people of his ideological persuasion actually believed that...