LAWRENCE, Kan. - Where I work we happen to sell a President Obama bobble head doll that speaks when you push the button beneath him. I know you all know what I'm talking about - it's the kind of thing that you see while you're waiting in line at a Walgreens and then you make it talk even though you know the 5 people ahead of you already did it and the cashier is most likely going insane. Obviously, working around one of these dolls can get rather obnoxious.
After listening to this Obama bobble head day after day, however, I began to actually think about what I was hearing. Granted, the doll spouts about 6 different quotes (rather impressive actually...the sound quality is crystal clear!) but the one that I hear the most is from the election night speech in Chicago:
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there."
I looked it up online, and the quote continues as follows:
"There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem."
After hearing this I'm immediately taken back to election night and can still vividly relive the sights, sounds, and even that electric feeling that was in the air. I actually even recall when this exact quote was said and when those words were uttered by Obama, I remember not just my own shock that we now had a President who was willing to admit times wouldn't always be grand, but everyone else's outpouring of affection for someone who might be willing to say it like it is rather than sugarcoat everything the public hears.
This is something that I have always respected about President Obama. So imagine my surprise when here we are, essentially a year later, and all I can hear from my progressive friends are cries for the President's head!
I understand why folks are upset, I truly do. I, myself, am often furious after reading the news or blogs for more than five minutes. I hear myself asking questions like "we won this election, so why are we compromising?" or "How can we stand for some of these policies as progressive democrats? What's wrong with us??" So believe me when I say that I get the anger and am extraordinarily sympathetic to any pleas for more liberal legislation.
What I don't understand, however, is how dismantling any support for one of our most prominent figures, President Obama, and the democratic party in general is going to accomplish anything. We all knew and even accepted that things weren't going to turn around right away. After eight destructive years of neo-con rule, there was no way that anyone could have completely turned things around by this point in a Presidency.
All I'm saying is, please, for the love of everything holy, stop with the negativity! With the conservative push back that the President is receiving, don't you think we have enough of that already? We all discuss the nefarious nature of politics and the "inside the beltway" banter that leads to gridlock but guess what? This is where it comes from. It might sound trite and idealistic but I still believe that we can continue to look ahead toward the future and keep building a brighter tomorrow. I don't think that the hope and idealism that was felt during the '08 elections are gone forever, we just need to find it again. And it can start with a simple change in tone. No, things aren't perfect. Yes, it is our job as the progressive wing of the party to continue fighting for our beliefs. But these slash and burn tactics are getting us absolutely nowhere. Instead, we should continue working together to achieve what we know this country can.
It isn't going to be easy, but that's exactly what we were told. Let's stop being the pretentious kid in the corner of the room who tells the rest of his class how to do things but then doesn't help with any of the group work. No one is going to applaud us for pointing out what is wrong if we can't help figure out what is right.
Fine, it has been a rough year and things haven't gone perfectly. Get over it.
Let's get to work.
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