Re: American Presidential Candidates
it's not just about getting another chance. as a first-term president, he has deliberately under-pursued his stated agenda so as not to risk reelection problems. his supporters should not judge the first term because it was always meant to be written off as mediocre/neutral, especially in such a hostile political environment.
a second term qualitatively empowers a president much more than simply giving him another four years. his second term would certainly be more geared towards promoting the interests of his base.
Under pursuing is fine, and is a viable strategy, but the issue here is how in some cases, Obama has taken a more right wing stance than even the Republicans (detention act). The Bush tax cuts were also an extremely unpopular (not to mention hurtful) move. If Obama is truly trying to end bipartisanship in Washington by placating the Republicans, it's failing because the GOP does not want to compromise. Many Republicans have stated that the party's only goal is to get Obama out of office. So then the question becomes, why does he still pursue right wing (not centrist, see below) policies? Either he's a closet Republican, or more likely, he's bowing to someone, aka corporations.
I also worry about the influence that lobbyists and corporations have on Washington. Take Helen Thomas for example. Saying that "the Jews should get out of Palestine" and (on the issue of where they should go) they should "go back to Europe" got her fired. Why? Because AIPAC said so. All of these politicians, presidents included, want employment after their terms, and corporations offer them lucrative "consultant" positions in return for favourable policies.
Until corporate/lobbying influence is ended, Washington is merely a playground for political posturing, where any significant changes will have to be approved by AIPAC, Wall Street, and the defense contractors.
This talk of voting for lesser evils, giving Obama another chance because he's a closet leftist who's waiting for the right time to come out, truly boggles my mind. Does the "Left" even exist today? How do you see the centrist "Left" reclaiming its founding values if you keep rewarding anti-progressive policies with your vote? How do you let the "Left" feel the heat when they've backtracked on the very grounds that enabled their victory 4 yrs ago? Does Obama have any credibility left when he's repudiated the very progressive movement he owes his presidency to? You'd think after 4 years we'd realize he's not the anti-establishment revolutionary we wanted him to be. Battered wife syndrome (word, @nikhil25 ), indeed.
Post 2008, where does this unadulterated, political blind faith in grown adults come from? It's like to hell with the OWS movement.
Centrist in America is right wing in many other countries. There was an article on a politician in Reagan's administration whose policies were compared to today's spectrum, and it turns out he was more in line with the Democrats. And Reagan is the poster boy for the Neo Cons. I agree with you that Obama should be "punished" but in the end, it makes no difference. He'll put a nicer spin on it than a GOP candidate, but they will both end up doing what they've always done: pursue an aggressive foreign policy, and cater to the upper class (who fund their campaigns and provide them with employment after their political careers).