How could Obama win when 55% say the USA is on the wrong track?

[Tengilethos]

I have seen this point numerous times. The majority of people say the country is moving in the wrong direction, the Republicans MUST win. But Many of the people who say this don't understand how much Obama has disappointed some parts of the left.

Look at Obamacare. A majority disapproves. Have you seen the talking points on the REALLY left-wing websites? There are sentiments like:"Obama pissed away our once-in-a-generation chance for health care reform with a REPUBLICAN plan WITHOUT even a public option? Obamacare is worse than nothing because it was actually a step in the wrong direction, away from universal health care!" These people hate Obamacare just like most Republicans, but they sure as hell were never going to vote for Romney, who (they think) wants to privatize Medicare.

Many of the same people have a generally negative view of the President in that they think he is a Reagan Republican disguised as a Democrat. They think of him as the most right-wing Democrat in their lives, waging drone wars and not closing Guantanamo, bailing out Wall Street, abandoning environmental issues and capitulating to the Republicans about the Bush tax cuts. But Mitt Romney is basically the Anti-Christ, representing the worst the Republicans can offer, with more deregulation, more tax cuts for the rich, tax raises for the poor and slashing social spending while increasing the military budget. They show up in the statistics as dissatisfied with Obama, but most held their nose and voted for him, because the alternative was too terrible to contemplate.

And lastly, the lack of empathy on the right is astounding. It is one thing to be totally against a candidate so you would never ever consider voting for him, but assuming that the whole country shares your sentiment and thus dismissing the polls because they don't fit with your "reality" is the height of arrogance.

[TX-Beau]

A slight majority of the country may say we're on the wrong track, but that slight majority doesn't agree with itself about what that track is. Both sides only agree that the other side's "track," is even "wronger."

LOL

[Jack Springer]

Many republicans didn't like Romney so they stayed home and didn't vote -- they let Obama win.

What those people who didn't vote missed is that a bad Romney is much better than a bad Obama.

Romney is a moderate. He's not an ideologue like Obama. I think he probably would have made a good President for all people instead of just the new free benefit society that the USA is morphing into. Obama's plan was to divide and conquer -- that's what he'll do the next four years.

America will be a new country in 4 years. As a citizen of Germany, don't look for America to have your back in the future.

[T-Rexx]

As a citizen of Germany, don't look for America to have your back in the future.

Germany is a social democracy, with universal health care, gay civil unions, worker protections, and extreme environmentalism.

It is the kind of society that you Republicans despise.

Yet, you Republicans tell Germans that we won't "have your back in the future." Why? Because we may be more like them?

[Rolyo85]

Whine whine whine.

Romney would have been a president for all the people for sure. All the rich white male people.

[JayHawk]

And lastly, the lack of empathy on the right is astounding. It is one thing to be totally against a candidate so you would never ever consider voting for him, but assuming that the whole country shares your sentiment and thus dismissing the polls because they don't fit with your "reality" is the height of arrogance.

You are correct the country has been manipulated into the idea that healthcare for everyone is bad.

However the main idea here is that they had no viable candidate to run against Obama. The opposite vote was against Obama. Not for Romney. That is key. Until the republican party comes back to the middle on their social policy they will continue to field irrelevant candidates for national office and they will lose. When the opposite vote is against the candidate versus for your own candidate then you have no faith in your party.

[eastofeden]

Look at Obamacare. A majority disapproves. Have you seen the talking points on the REALLY left-wing websites? There are sentiments like:"Obama pissed away our once-in-a-generation chance for health care reform with a REPUBLICAN plan WITHOUT even a public option? Obamacare is worse than nothing because it was actually a step in the wrong direction, away from universal health care!" These people hate Obamacare just like most Republicans, but they sure as hell were never going to vote for Romney, who (they think) wants to privatize Medicare.

Many of the same people have a generally negative view of the President in that they think he is a Reagan Republican disguised as a Democrat. They think of him as the most right-wing Democrat in their lives, waging drone wars and not closing Guantanamo, bailing out Wall Street, abandoning environmental issues and capitulating to the Republicans about the Bush tax cuts. But Mitt Romney is basically the Anti-Christ, representing the worst the Republicans can offer, with more deregulation, more tax cuts for the rich, tax raises for the poor and slashing social spending while increasing the military budget. They show up in the statistics as dissatisfied with Obama, but most held their nose and voted for him, because the alternative was too terrible to contemplate.

It is true about the far left...I am one of them and I was extremely disappointed with Obama...he was the last Democrat for me in 2008 (even one Republican was above him) on the various match the candidates with your POV quizes...Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel were my only choices from either of the major parties...everyone else was a vote against someone rather than a vote for someone. I did have to plug my nose to vote for him in 2008 and funny thing was I would have voted for Nader had Sarah Palin not shown up...she is the far left's worst nightmare.

I have no doubt Obama's move to endorse SSM had everything to do with energizing his liberal base because frankly before his endorsement it was NOT a sealed deal and without us he had no chance and one of his strategists figured that out. He is an excellent politician and has some brilliant strategists at his disposal. It wouldn't matter if I was gay or not...I pretty much am militant about three things.... protecting the environment... a woman's right to choose what happens with her body...and equality under the law for everyone (which includes marriage equality)...and like alot of far left liberals...these things are not negotiable.

His healthcare plan is the original Republican Plan...I hate it because there is no Public Option. I also think he is a Reaganesque Republicrat and still do.....but he delivers on the three things that are not negotiable for me and for that reason I was happy to vote for him.

[Ninja108]

The Republicians thought they could just nominate anyone and the public would hate OBama so much that they would vote for him/her.
They thought wrong. As to why Romney got the nod,it's because while people like Rick Perry and Rick Santorum met the approval of the religious right,the GOP realized that there was no chance in hell either of them would win any of the swing states.
ANd it appears they haven't learned anything. The state level is one thing but as long as the GOP continues to be held hostage by the religious reich,they will NOT be doing as well nationally.

[TX-Beau]

That plus like did anyone think Secession Perry had a snowball's chance in hell - even before he was drunk on the TV.

[maxpowr9]

Germany is a social democracy, with universal health care, gay civil unions, worker protections, and extreme environmentalism.

It is the kind of society that you Republicans despise.

Yet, you Republicans tell Germans that we won't "have your back in the future." Why? Because we may be more like them?

To be fair, Obama has been dubbed the first "Pacific President" and has spent much more focus on said Pacific Rim than any other president. Obama is about to make history by being the first President ever to visit Burma/Myanmar. Obama has pretty much snubbed much of the EU and is doing his best to isolate them and their own systemic economic problems.

[evanrick]

Many republicans didn't like Romney so they stayed home and didn't vote -- they let Obama win.

What those people who didn't vote missed is that a bad Romney is much better than a bad Obama.

Romney is a moderate. He's not an ideologue like Obama. I think he probably would have made a good President for all people instead of just the new free benefit society that the USA is morphing into. Obama's plan was to divide and conquer -- that's what he'll do the next four years.

America will be a new country in 4 years. As a citizen of Germany, don't look for America to have your back in the future.

All false. Obama is not an ideologue, if he were, he wouldn't have use a REPUBLICAN idea to pass healthcare reform.

Just mad that Romney missed a huge opportunity more likely.

[Jack Springer]

Oh puh-leaze. Many republicans hated Obama enough they would have voted for anyone but him. It's the common attitude among them.



A bad Obama? WHat's a bad Obama? Obama has done a good job leading this country. A vote for Romney goes up against everything this country stands for.



Wrong. Romney is not a moderate and he didn't even try to paint himself as such. And Obama has presented the ideals that many Americans believe in. It's not a free benefit anything. That's just pure whining. Obama's plan is to bridge the gaps between this country and continue the many consecutive months of job growth. Maybe businesses will start hiring and republicans can allow

One can whine all they want about how Obama isn't a moderate when the past four years clearly demonstrates that he is. Romney didn't connect with the people and was in his ivory tower the whole time... and his VP candidate pick of Paul Ryan didn't help his so called "moderate" status. Paul Ryan is an extremist even condemned by the Catholic Church as his tax plan was draconian. Romney and Ryan remind me of the French monarchy prior to the French revolution... and both had their "let them eat cake" moments.

You are saying that Obama is a moderate?

You are funny.

[Jack Springer]

All false. Obama is not an ideologue, if he were, he wouldn't have use a REPUBLICAN idea to pass healthcare reform.

Just mad that Romney missed a huge opportunity more likely.

Ideologue: an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology

http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideologue

... and you're saying Obama is not an ideologue

[Telstra]

I have seen this point numerous times. The majority of people say the country is moving in the wrong direction, the Republicans MUST win. But Many of the people who say this don't understand how much Obama has disappointed some parts of the left.

Look at Obamacare. A majority disapproves. Have you seen the talking points on the REALLY left-wing websites? There are sentiments like:"Obama pissed away our once-in-a-generation chance for health care reform with a REPUBLICAN plan WITHOUT even a public option? Obamacare is worse than nothing because it was actually a step in the wrong direction, away from universal health care!" These people hate Obamacare just like most Republicans, but they sure as hell were never going to vote for Romney, who (they think) wants to privatize Medicare.

Many of the same people have a generally negative view of the President in that they think he is a Reagan Republican disguised as a Democrat. They think of him as the most right-wing Democrat in their lives, waging drone wars and not closing Guantanamo, bailing out Wall Street, abandoning environmental issues and capitulating to the Republicans about the Bush tax cuts. But Mitt Romney is basically the Anti-Christ, representing the worst the Republicans can offer, with more deregulation, more tax cuts for the rich, tax raises for the poor and slashing social spending while increasing the military budget. They show up in the statistics as dissatisfied with Obama, but most held their nose and voted for him, because the alternative was too terrible to contemplate.

And lastly, the lack of empathy on the right is astounding. It is one thing to be totally against a candidate so you would never ever consider voting for him, but assuming that the whole country shares your sentiment and thus dismissing the polls because they don't fit with your "reality" is the height of arrogance.

Bill Maher said they live in the bubble with no outside news.
Jon Stewart said they live in the "bull shit mountain". Both of them are right.

[prudyprudestein]

I am a liberal Democrat and don't agree with Obama all the time. I believe that compromise and consensus is a far better model to adopt than the current entrenched mode that some elected officials are practicing. Revamp the text code to be fairer to all, reduce the deficit, reduce spending on foreign aid and the military, spend money on rebuilding the infrastructure and reinvest in America. We may have a superior military but we shouldn't police the world. Other countries need to get more involved in helping to resolve conflicts. We still have ties to Europe but Asia is a very big market too so we must focus attention there as in Europe. We can't forget the other countries of the Americas or countries of Africa. We are a country of many nationalities, religions, beliefs, interests and experiences and those individuals shape or reshape our view of the world.

[Kulindahr]

Look at Congressional approval ratings. People were smart enough to know that it's Congress that's truly at fault.

Except they re-elected most of the people up for re-election.

Insanity.

[Rolyo85]

Yeah, that one was awkward...

[Kulindahr]

You are saying that Obama is a moderate?

You are funny.

Ideologue: an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology

http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideologue

... and you're saying Obama is not an ideologue

The facts are against you on both of these. Obama has been an Eisenhower Republican with a dash of Clinton Democrat, taking most of his legislative ideas from the GOP... only to have them voted down or otherwise blocked by Republican obstructionists.

[TX-Beau]

Which is why he isn't universally loved on the Left.

[Kulindahr]

How is he not a moderate?

Calling Romney a moderate is ridiculous. Romney is not a moderate at all. And his record shows that. And he chose an extremist to run as VP... or President... even Romney couldn't remember what position Paul Ryan was running for.

Mathematically, the difference between Obama and Romney is that Obama is an ellipse with all the constants in his equation falling in single digits, while Romney is an indeterminate function with no set constants or exponents.

[frankfrank]

If 55% think that the USA is on the wrong track, some of those people didn't want to vote for the R-R (Rolls-Royce) ticket which would have toppled the USA into the deep canyon nearby, making it unlikely that the "train" could ever get back on the tracks again (not even the wrong tracks).