This is not the President Obama we voted for

[Valin]

The Guardian:

Heather Long

5/17/13

 

You can argue that Republicans have blocked President Obama from doing just about anything. You can argue that he's had bad luck. You can argue that he isn't always the greatest orator. But you can't argue away that the Department of Justice took the unprecedented step of seizing phone records from the Associated Press. Or the flimsy rationale justifying drone attacks abroad and at home. Or the bizarre step the Pentagon has taken to expand the ability of the military to intervene in state and local matters. Or the fact that Guantanamo Bay is still open years after Obama vowed he would close it, and the US is making headlines for force feeding inmates.

 

These are actions that President Obama and his top team have taken on their own.

 

(Snip)

 

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve seen cracks in Obama’s idealism since he was sworn in as president. It is typified in the fact that prisoners – 166 of them – are still detained at Guantanamo Bay despite Obama’s promises to close the prison swiftly after he took office.

 

But this week was one head-shaking moment too many for me, and it appears from the president’s sinking approval rating that others – including some who gave Obama a real chance – are with me. As a registered Republican, I thought long and hard about whether to vote for Obama, but I crossed party lines, as did many of my young peers. I wanted a more transparent and accountable government. I wanted America to make a very different statement after the Bush years.

 

(Snip)

 

This isn't the president so many took to the streets to cheer on in 2008. And the blame for that can't be placed solely on partisan politics or the media's thirst for a good scandal.

 

 

 

You thought? With what?

[cudjo]

Sure turned out to be the Obama I figured it would and I sure didn't vote for him either time.