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Obama: "Leadership Isn't Just Legislation"

Demon of Light

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After a suffering a "shellacking" in the midterm elections, President Obama acknowledges what many have seen as his chief weakness - failing to sell the importance of several legislative milestones to the American people.

"I think that's a fair argument. I think that, over the course of two years we were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that, we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn't just legislation. That it's a matter of persuading people. And giving them confidence and bringing them together. And setting a tone," Mr. Obama told 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft in an exclusive interview set to air Sunday. (See clip below)

Source: CBS News

He sure is modest.
 
'It's not our policies, it's the failure of the people to understand our policies'
 
First I want to apologize to some of the low life, brain dead Liberals I have attacked in the past for being stupid because I was wrong and there are a few of them who have caught on to Obama's fraud and lack of intelligence.

Leadership is having the right ideas and being able to convey them in such a way that others understand them and want to get behind them and make them reality.

Obama blew the greatest opportunity ever given to any one in the history of man.

I am one of those who knew Obama was an Anti-American from the start, but millions believed his lies, and then he blew it by trying to put his Socialism/Marxism plans and agenda in place, and more and more real Americans figured it out.

Obama with any luck will be a one term wonder but unless he learns from his massive mistakes he will be pointed out in history form now on as not only the worst ever to hold the office but the first ever Anti-American to ever hold the office.

You can say what you want about President George W. Bush being a bad guy or idiot t or what ever, but anyone with half a brain can see that Obama has been misrepresented by his disciples as a genius when he's in fact borderline retarded.
 
Source: CBS News

He sure is modest.

He is modest. He is also right. He did not spend time building a consensus among the citizenry for his programs. The Republicans were much better at taking their side of the debate to the population than was Obama. They has the majorities that would let them advance their agenda without first building the support of the population. This is not unprecedented (Bush and the Republicans bullied their agenda through at the state of his administration) but it was wrong.

Whether you think that Obama's policies are mostly right (as I do) or not, he did a piss poor job of leading.

Calling him a communist, socialist, or anti-American is just ignorant. Calling him a man who has shown poor leadership is a stinging and accurate characterization of Obama.
 
People who claim Obama is "evil" or "anit-American" or "retarded" are just as fanatic as those liberals who claimed that GWB was a terrorist and a sociopath when he was in office. Both presidents believed in what they were doing and believed it was best for the country at the time. Both presidents however, were wrong. Bush though people wanted to be protected from overseas Islamic extremist at all cost, even if that meant preemptive wars based on thin pretenses, but he didn't realize that a lot of liberal minded people didn't want it. Obama thought that people wanted the removal of anti-consumer/pro-business policies in the credit card industries, health industries, and mortgage loan industries, but he didn't realize that a lot of old-school, traditional conservatives who are happy with their health plans don't want that.
 
"I think that's a fair argument. I think that, over the course of two years we were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that, we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn't just legislation. That it's a matter of persuading people."
LOL completely assbackwards.

Here's what he meant to say:
"...over the course of two years, we were so resistant to compromising our agenda just to persuade centrists that we decided the best course of action was to limit the people's ability to stop us by getting busy and focused on obfuscation and pushing legislation through the process before anyone had a chance to read it. I thought I had the leadership skills to persuade people after the fact, but I guess I was wrong. Sorry guys, I'm sad to see you go -- I mean, where am I gonna get another 65 useful idiots?"
 
God. He thinks it's his failure to sell his vision??? No matter how he dressed up that pig, no sale to a vast majority of the American people. He still doesn't get it.

I wanted to throw my shoe at the TV.
I really thought he'd have no choice but to "get it" this time. God... that man is either the most dense or most arrogant human being on earth.
 
People who claim Obama is "evil" or "anti-American" or "retarded" are just as fanatic as those liberals who claimed that GWB was a terrorist and a sociopath when he was in office. Both presidents believed in what they were doing and believed it was best for the country at the time. Both presidents however, were wrong. Bush though people wanted to be protected from overseas Islamic extremist at all cost, even if that meant preemptive wars based on thin pretenses, but he didn't realize that a lot of liberal minded people didn't want it. Obama thought that people wanted the removal of anti-consumer/pro-business policies in the credit card industries, health industries, and mortgage loan industries, but he didn't realize that a lot of old-school, traditional conservatives who are happy with their health plans don't want that.

I totally agree about people on either side needing to demonize someone just because they don't reach the same conclusions. It's childish.

As Lincoln said, "you can please some of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time." There are some people who will not like anything that Bush did just because he is a Republican. There are some people who will dislike everything that Obama has done or will do simply because he is a Democrat.

I think that Bush did realize that a lot of liberal-minded people didn't want to go to war, he just didn't care because those folks weren't going to vote for him no matter what. Also, Bush didn't go into Iraq because of Islamic terrorism. He went into Iraq because of Saudi oil. It was clear that maintenance of US forces in Saudi Arabia was not viable (infidels in the sacred land) as it was causing too much trouble for the Saudi government. The troops were in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in order to prevent Hussein from invading again. Next time, he would not bother with Kuwait but would go directly for the mother load. So, to protect Saudi oil from falling into Hussein's hands, Hussein had to go. Justifications followed. I wonder if he could have gotten the support of the public if he had explained this.

I don't think that lumping anti-consumer/pro-business credit card and mortgage loan are in the same category as health care. I don't think that keeping companies from screwing consumers is a bad thing and I don't think that most people would disagree. I also think those things didn't play much of a role in the election, which is a mistake by the Democrats. They could have touted how the Republicans opposed reining in corporate abuse. Certainly, health care was a big thing but I don't know how big of a negative it really was to the voters (only 19% said it was an issue and the responders didn't indicate if they are in favor of the changes or against). This was probably a lot more important to the Republican leadership than to the voters. The polls say that this was primarily a vote on the economy. The economy sucks so the party "in power" gets punished. However, now that the Republicans are in power in the House, they will claim that the vote was a mandate on all of the crap they talked about when it was largely just "fix the fricking economy."
 
sounds about right to me.

Well of course it does - its --much-- easier to think that people are too stupid to get your message than to admit that your message is poo.
 
I think that Bush did realize that a lot of liberal-minded people didn't want to go to war, he just didn't care because those folks weren't going to vote for him no matter what.
Its more the case that he went to war, knowing that the liberals would not like it, because it was the right thing to do.
If somone opposes the right thing, then they are, by definition, wrong.
 
he assembled a JOINT SESSION to sell the issue, for cryin out loud

The President’s Remarks, and a Letter from Ted | The White House

it was his great white whale, he was ahab obama

2 days after he signed the leviathan into law HE WENT TO IOWA---LOL!---to push it

RealClearPolitics - Obama's Health Care Speech in Iowa City

talk about OUTTA TOUCH

he promised us we'd learn to LIKE IT once we got to know it

he's ridiculous, he INSULTS our intelligence

Obama: Voters 'Scared,' Not Thinking Clearly About Election - FoxNews.com

so today he's evolved: "leadership isn't just legislation, it's a matter of persuading people, and giving them confidence and bringing them together and setting a tone"

no duh, president pubescence

the rudiments of american politics 101---he's only NOW learning

pathetic
 
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People who claim Obama is "evil" or "anit-American" or "retarded" are just as fanatic as those liberals who claimed that GWB was a terrorist and a sociopath when he was in office. Both presidents believed in what they were doing and believed it was best for the country at the time. Both presidents however, were wrong. Bush though people wanted to be protected from overseas Islamic extremist at all cost, even if that meant preemptive wars based on thin pretenses, but he didn't realize that a lot of liberal minded people didn't want it. Obama thought that people wanted the removal of anti-consumer/pro-business policies in the credit card industries, health industries, and mortgage loan industries, but he didn't realize that a lot of old-school, traditional conservatives who are happy with their health plans don't want that.

So, if he isn't your garden variety dumbass, he must be sabotaging the country on purpose. Right?

Everything he's done has been totally counter-productive. Either he's doing it intentionally, or he's just a stupid mother ****er.
 
I totally agree about people on either side needing to demonize someone just because they don't reach the same conclusions. It's childish.

As Lincoln said, "you can please some of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time." There are some people who will not like anything that Bush did just because he is a Republican. There are some people who will dislike everything that Obama has done or will do simply because he is a Democrat.

I think that Bush did realize that a lot of liberal-minded people didn't want to go to war, he just didn't care because those folks weren't going to vote for him no matter what. Also, Bush didn't go into Iraq because of Islamic terrorism. He went into Iraq because of Saudi oil. It was clear that maintenance of US forces in Saudi Arabia was not viable (infidels in the sacred land) as it was causing too much trouble for the Saudi government. The troops were in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in order to prevent Hussein from invading again. Next time, he would not bother with Kuwait but would go directly for the mother load. So, to protect Saudi oil from falling into Hussein's hands, Hussein had to go. Justifications followed. I wonder if he could have gotten the support of the public if he had explained this.

I don't think that lumping anti-consumer/pro-business credit card and mortgage loan are in the same category as health care. I don't think that keeping companies from screwing consumers is a bad thing and I don't think that most people would disagree. I also think those things didn't play much of a role in the election, which is a mistake by the Democrats. They could have touted how the Republicans opposed reining in corporate abuse. Certainly, health care was a big thing but I don't know how big of a negative it really was to the voters (only 19% said it was an issue and the responders didn't indicate if they are in favor of the changes or against). This was probably a lot more important to the Republican leadership than to the voters. The polls say that this was primarily a vote on the economy. The economy sucks so the party "in power" gets punished. However, now that the Republicans are in power in the House, they will claim that the vote was a mandate on all of the crap they talked about when it was largely just "fix the fricking economy."

You really screwed the pooch on that quote. He said:

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."
 
Its more the case that he went to war, knowing that the liberals would not like it, because it was the right thing to do.
If somone opposes the right thing, then they are, by definition, wrong.


So, why was it "right"?
 
First I want to apologize to some of the low life, brain dead Liberals I have attacked in the past for being stupid because I was wrong and there are a few of them who have caught on to Obama's fraud and lack of intelligence.

Leadership is having the right ideas and being able to convey them in such a way that others understand them and want to get behind them and make them reality.

Obama blew the greatest opportunity ever given to any one in the history of man.

I am one of those who knew Obama was an Anti-American from the start, but millions believed his lies, and then he blew it by trying to put his Socialism/Marxism plans and agenda in place, and more and more real Americans figured it out.

Obama with any luck will be a one term wonder but unless he learns from his massive mistakes he will be pointed out in history form now on as not only the worst ever to hold the office but the first ever Anti-American to ever hold the office.

You can say what you want about President George W. Bush being a bad guy or idiot t or what ever, but anyone with half a brain can see that Obama has been misrepresented by his disciples as a genius when he's in fact borderline retarded.

ouch... that hurt me... :wink2:


do it again :ninja:
 
You really screwed the pooch on that quote. He said:

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

Yes, he did. My bad. Just goes to show that, even when you think you remember something, never hurts to check. It should have been "You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of time" which is attributed to John Lydgate who Lincoln was paraphrasing. I'll check my quotes from now on.

If I could still edit the post, I'd fix it.
 
People who claim Obama is "evil" or "anit-American" or "retarded" are just as fanatic as those liberals who claimed that GWB was a terrorist and a sociopath when he was in office. Both presidents believed in what they were doing and believed it was best for the country at the time. Both presidents however, were wrong. Bush though people wanted to be protected from overseas Islamic extremist at all cost, even if that meant preemptive wars based on thin pretenses, but he didn't realize that a lot of liberal minded people didn't want it. Obama thought that people wanted the removal of anti-consumer/pro-business policies in the credit card industries, health industries, and mortgage loan industries, but he didn't realize that a lot of old-school, traditional conservatives who are happy with their health plans don't want that.

First what is "anit-American" did you mean Anti-American? Obama is Anti-American and it's been proven time and again by his own words.

As to the charge that Obama is retarded is flat out wrong. From what I have seen I have been the only one with guts enough to point out that Obama is "borderline" retarded.

What is amazing is that there is never any intelligent response to my posts about Obama because there is no argument that can be made in favor of a fool.

And now we see Keith Olobermann has been caught giving money to Liberals who were on his lame ass show, and he is now as good as fired, by MSNBC and that is a good thing.

Now it they can get rid of that gay guy Chris Matthews with his tingly leg and his admiration of Howard Deans arms. I wonder if his wife knew hr was a closet gay?
 
So, why was it "right"?
The war? Given the information at the time and the history of the issue, military action was the right course of action.
 
The war? Given the information at the time and the history of the issue, military action was the right course of action.

It is the course of action that we took. I'm not sure how killing over 100,000 Iraqis was "right". It's just what we did.

Fundamentally, Bush had some not-so-good people around him who were given him tainted information. The Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz trio lead Bush astray and that caused Bush to lead the American people astray. Even Powell (the guy with the military experience) knew that it was not a good thing to do, but we did anyway.
 
Its more the case that he went to war, knowing that the liberals would not like it, because it was the right thing to do.
If somone opposes the right thing, then they are, by definition, wrong.

What is wrong with your premise is that "right" is relative and not absolute. Just because it is "right" to you doesn't mean its right to other people. The Iraq war was right in Bush's mind but not right according to hundreds of millions of other Americans. In the same sense, Obama's reforms on
corporate america was wrong to you, but hundreds of millions of Americans feel they were right. This is why most issues should be relegated to the states. There is too many people in this country for everybody to be happy under the exact same laws. What feels right for you is wrong for me and vice versa.

So, if he isn't your garden variety dumbass, he must be sabotaging the country on purpose. Right?

Everything he's done has been totally counter-productive. Either he's doing it intentionally, or he's just a stupid mother ****er.

Funny, that's the thing liberals said about GWB when he was in office. And you know what? It was a bullsh*t premise then and its still a bullsh*t premise now. Obama's only problem is that he has spent his entire life in liberal and big city American areas such as Hawaii, New York, Mass., Chicago, D.C. etc. Many people in these environments are liberal democrats who want health care reform and the other types of legistlation he is passing, so he came to view these people as "America". However, he has rarely stepped into middle America, into the rural, medium sized and small towns that stretch across most of the country and are filled with old-school conservatives who oppose anything that is deemed "socialist" or that might make their taxes go up. He is very disconnected with the colonial minded, ultra-conservative, midwestern and southern Americans who sincerely don't want change and would rather deal with things the way they are. And they don't want bipartisan compromise. Obama already did compromise. The democratic desire is universal health care and the compromise between that and private health care was these reforms. The conservatives don't want compromise.

What is amazing is that there is never any intelligent response to my posts about Obama because there is no argument that can be made in favor of a fool.

If you ever wrote anything intelligent someone could intelligently respond. Most of what you right is merely malicious, seethingly hateful Obama and liberal bashing that never progresses the current political discourse.
 
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