Pres. Obama, patience, and the instant-gratification citizenry

[GoodWitch58]

washingtonpost.com

I think it is welcome to have a president whose vision extends beyond the duration of his own term of office, though it entails a political risk that he could be cut off by the voters before any of his hopes are realized. If the current high level of public frustration fuels a Republican resurgence well beyond the normal midterm losses for a president's party, it is possible that next year might bring a serious effort to repeal the health-care act and reject his initiatives in international affairs.

I do not think this is likely. But a president who is not driven by a compulsion to provide instant gratification for his constituents must also cultivate adult patience in them. My bet would be that Obama has that capacity.

davidbroder@washpost.com

this OpEd piece reminds me of what another poster said a few days ago about the space program; remembering how much pride we Americans had then; how everyone was excited about the Apollo program; and the Peace Corps; and the younger generation (me) wanting to get out of the war in Vietnam.

The Civil Rights movement had come through horrible times, but finally people were being respected and even the woman's movement showed promise. Despite the many problems, there was more optimism and more hope then, than the general population seems to have now.

I am saddened by the lack of civility among members of Congress; among members of the Florida legislature; and especially the language and behavior of talk show hosts and some political candidates and wannabees..words do matter and the inciting and hatefulness serves no one well.

I long for Walter Cronkite and JFK...and I sense from his idealism that President Obama may too.

 

[30ashopper]

"next year might bring a serious effort to repeal the health-care act and reject his initiatives in international affairs"

I'm surprised he mentioned international affairs. I for one am pretty happy with Obama's foriegn policy initiatives. I wish he were even more of an isolationist than he is!

"I long for Walter Cronkite and JFK...and I sense from his idealism that President Obama may too."

I long for another period like 1994 -> 1999 and the good things that came out of Washington during that time. Clinton in the White House and Republicans like Newt controlling Congress.. we got a lot done and we decreased the deficit through pragmatic spending cuts and reform, and reasonable taxation levels. I'd like to think we have another period like that on the horizon.

 

[Lynnie]

"next year might bring a serious effort to repeal the health-care act and reject his initiatives in international affairs"

I'm surprised he mentioned international affairs. I for one am pretty happy with Obama's foriegn policy initiatives. I wish he were even more of an isolationist than he is!

"I long for Walter Cronkite and JFK...and I sense from his idealism that President Obama may too."

I long for another period like 1994 -> 1999 and the good things that came out of Washington during that time. Clinton in the White House and Republicans like Newt controlling Congress.. we got a lot done and we decreased the deficit through pragmatic spending cuts and reform, and reasonable taxation levels. I'd like to think we have another period like that on the horizon.

Yep, Clinton balanced the budget, probably a lot of this credit goes to the US actually having a balanced government. I think we even had a budget surplus for a couple of years......if I remember correctly.

 

[30ashopper]

Yep, Clinton balanced the budget, probably a lot of this credit goes to the US actually having a balanced government. I think we even had a budget surplus for a couple of years......if I remember correctly.

Sorta-kinda if you throw in the social security surplus. Clinton and the repubs of that period came the closest we've seen in decades.