Fortunately, I surround myself with educated, decent people who criticize Obama in a reasonable way. He’s way too right-of-center for me and most liberals I know. I have no idea what it’s like to live in the bible belt and hear absurdities like, “Obama is a socialist”. (oh, how I wish…)

I call out racism on Facebook, and I argue against other anti- Obama statements too. I have had people say “it’s just a joke, relax” and I have informed them in no uncertain terms that a racist joke on Facebook is still racist. I have been de-friended, and I have de-friended others.

It’s not a loss to lose connection with those people.

I don’t understand the racial stuff as he is half white. As for the non-racially motivated Obama detractors I buy them lunch. Speaking of….

@tom_g Like this crap?

I just recognize that they’re just ignorant. I try not to waste my energy on lost causes anymore.

@Cruiser It only takes a drop.

Everyone has a right to criticize the president. I don’t hate Obama, but I don’t like him either. I have many Republican friends on Facebook and they have a lot to say about Obama. They are an intelligent group of people from my childhood. Luckily, none of the comments have been absurd.

@Jude – exactly. I have no time for ignorance.

@Facade Stuff that you refer to reminds me of a favorite quote from Frank Zappa…

“I ain’t black but there is a whole lot of times I wish I weren’t white”

I hear far more criticism of his ideology than of his mixed race heritage.In fact,I cannot remember the last time I have heard a racial slur regarding him.
As for criticism of his presidency,alot of times I will agree with it!

So, criticism of Obama equals racism? I’m sure everyone knows this, but Obama hasn’t been that great of a president. The transparency he preached was/is non existent. Most of the criticism I hear is for his performance, not his race. Saying he is a socialist, (which I don’t believe he is), is not racist. And yes I voted for Obama because I thought he would be different. Alas, he is just another politician…

Usually I ignore it. If it happens in front of my son, I must address it.

I just ignore them. I also don’t have many Obama haters that are my friends.

@Russell_D_SpacePoet A lot of the stuff is racist

@Russell_D_SpacePoet: “So, criticism of Obama equals racism?” nope. I’m glad nobody has made that claim here. Making racist comments or jokes may be racism, however.

I squee with glee. Not a pretty sight.

It seems to me that the vast majority of folks who bring up the whole race thing are Obama supporters that are trying desperately to paint his detractors as a bunch of undereducated racist yahoos.

So… exactly what was the unemployment rate when Obama took office compared with the unemployment rates today?

And what about the national debt?

Oh, BTW, how is that reformed healthcare system working out for you?

And what about all of those other minor hot button items that this administration was supposed to clean up like the Patriot Act, Gitmo, and military involvement in the middle east to name a few.

Ok, fine, he showed some cahones in taking care of Bin Laden without alerting Pakistan. However, I can’t help but wonder about the feeding frenzy that would have ensued had a Republican president taken the same action.

For your viewing pleasure

@SpatzieLover Have you never heard the phrase, “Consider the source”? The guy in your link is obviously an idiot.

Everyone is allowed to express their opinion of any figure in office.

People who blindly buy into hate rhetoric and ignorant pseudo-facts I avoid like the plague. If they’re related to me, I lay into them.

On a personal level, while I am disappointed in some of Obama’s actions, I think I have a pretty realistic view of how difficult it is to accomplish anything in the mess that is our current government. I also think he inherited an absolute shit sandwich and so I have somewhat lower expectations than some. (Some constituents seem to expect him to perform absolute miracles.) I am still thrilled that we have a president that can publicly string together more that a few words without sounding like an utter idiot.

@Russell_D_SpacePoet I am able to consider the source. Other “news” shows tend to replay stuff. I try to keep the TV off when my son is around. Occasionally, he walks in from playing when I’m not in the room.

I try to ignore them.

Fox News is a joke.

Fox News

@Jude Most news outlets are.

@Jude: “Fox News is a joke.”

I disagree. It has way too much market share, and it is way too dangerous to be a joke. While it may be the most egregious distributors of misinformation and propaganda, it is not alone. And the existence and popularity of Fox News should be a warning to us that the intellectual and moral quality of this country is in the shitter.

@YoBob Inheriting and turning around a failing economy sounds so easy. Obama is crap….

Personally I don’t like him nor his administration, and I couldn’t care less about the fanfare or the hate because everyone has their own opinion and can express it. Who am I to tell them to stfu and that it’s annoying?

MSNBC

also a joke, just sayin’ ;)

From experience I can tell you that they can not be reasoned with, so I just ignore them most of the time.

Just yesterday I got into a discussion about something Obama said. I agreed at first that it didn’t sound good, but asked a follow up questuon to ask about context of the statement. After hearing more of the quote, I felt like what he said was not so bad. Someone on the thread basically accused me of making excuses for Obama. Huh? I initially am agreekng it might have been a not so bright thing to say and want more information and I am making excuses for Obama?

I am so tired of Obama haters, and Bush haters, and Clinton haters, and racist haters, and gay haters, and all the haters. People stop thinking and questioning, and just knee jerk hate.

Facebook has been full of Obama haters lately again, there must be a lot of talk lately on fox and being sent in emails.

Is that how the world is going to be until I die? People listening to the people they think are clever and just following along like puppies? People prefering hate, because it makes thme feel better about themselves?

@JLeslie I think many are frustrated because they are out of work and unemployment is high, and gas and food prices keep rising. I wouldn’t blame Fox for the frustrations of those who disapprove of Obama. Not everyone who disapproves of Obama is a sheep who listens to Glenn Beck.

@YoBob
1) When Obama took office in January 2009, the country had lost ~3,000,000 jobs in the previous 3 months. No intelligent economist or politician could blame Obama for the monthly job losses until maybe 3 months later, but we’ll say just two. The economy lost 700,000 jobs in March of 09, and that number dropped (or increased towards zero rather) virtually every month thereafter. The private sector has gained jobs the last 5 months straight, and 6 of the last 7, totalling a bit less than 1,000,000 jobs. Unfortunately you will never see a month gain in the 700k range that it would take to cancel out just how bad the economy was. Even now the economic recovery is slowing, but we are still projecting more jobs in the coming months, just tens of thousands rather than hundreds. http://flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/us-unemployment-august-2010.jpg

2) The national debt has gone up, you’re right, and its worrisome. But to be frank the only president since Carter who has given two craps about the debt is Clinton, and even he was only able to bring the deficit down to 18 billion in a year (in other words, he didn’t take away from it, just significantly lowered the amount we were adding). Heck even today captain conservatism Ronald Reagan, is responsible for more of our National Debt than George W Bush and Obama combined. I give Obama a tiny pass in that his spending arguably prevented a second Great Depression, but not a full pass as the issue needs to be fixed asap.
3) The Healthcare Bill won’t take full effect (or even majority effect) until 2014. Currently the sections in play about withholding healthcare from sick children, people with pre-existing conditions, people living with conditions getting their rates jacked up, and the part that lets children stay on their parents plans til 26…. is working out quite nicely for me, thanks.
4) The Patriot act and Gitmo you and I are in full agreement, he hasn’t done what he promised and he needs too.
5) He brought ~100,000 troops home from Iraq, and the guys still there are typically not the “front line” people anymore (notice you don’t read about them dying too much anymore). He also campaigned on increasing troop numbers in Afghanistan, which he did by about ~30,000 (not counting the additional NATO forces he negotiated from our allies). Those troops also have a designated withdrawal date. He did involve us in the Libyan conflict, but only after Britain and France dragged the issue to the UN and begged us to help.
6) I don’t understand at all what you’re implying about a Republican feeding frenzy if one had been in office and taken out Bin Laden?????

7) He also replaced two liberal supreme court justices with two new liberal justices, women…. and minorities (including the first ever hispanic). He oversaw a massive stimulus package that you either hate or love (I mean like in this country, not you specifically). He saved two American auto companies from disappearing, whilst turning a profit and saving jobs. Middle class taxes are literally the lowest they’ve been in 50 years (a combination of the Bush cuts and the cuts in the stimulus bill). Public spending into alternative energies and the sciences in general has relatively skyrocketed. He implemented the race to the top education program to do something for our schools. He is trying to start a massive mass-transport system that will bring us in line with the rest of the world in that regard. Better relations with virtually every nation in the world, especially a slue of those in the middle east (and Russia). He got us the second nuclear arms draw-down, which will cut about ⅓ of the weapons from the face of the planet. Killed more terrorists in 3 years than Bush did in 8 (including multiple high ranking terrorists). Deported more illegal immigrants in 3 years than Bush did in 8 (which may or may not be a good thing pending your prospective…... I could go on all day..

The point is, just because you don’t like the things he’s done, doesn’t mean he hasn’t done things. And to my fellow liberals I would say…. wake the F up. Did you think just cuz Obama was in office we were going to get everything we ever wanted and everything would be gum drops and unicorns? The guy has done more in 3 years than the last two presidents did in 16, and has been the most productive liberal president since AT LEAST Johnson. Quit crying because he isn’t actually the second coming of Jesus.

He is not the Messiah, but he seems to me to be a very decent guy and I have a high opinion of him. What others may think of him I don’t really care.

@tedd Thank-you for that.

Same way you deal with Bush and Clinton haters.
Why is one politician hater worse than the other?
Any politician is worth at least some significant level of disdain.
They are all amoral, egotists.
One of them was my CINC and I didn’t like him either.

@jonsblond I certainly am not blaming Fox for all the haters, because I think there are haters on the left also. But, there seems to be hate that comes in waves.

None of my close friends are out of work (except myself lol. But that is my choice right now). I actually am very frustrated with the defiicit as you know, so that conversation rarely pisses me off. As long as someone is working and getting their same salary, they are no worse off than 4 years ago when gas was even higher, and food was high then also. I am not saying that as a slight against Bush, I am only saying the economy feels the same to me as it has for years. I am trying to sell my house, and that is very frustrating, and I will lose about $100k, which does not make me happy. But the bubble that grew in housing ten years ago was crazy, and dishonest, and I felt that way at the time. I don’t expect the president to be able to do much about it, and I don’t blame any pariticular president for it.

“Any politician is worth at least some significant level of disdain.
They are all amoral, egotists. ”

Well said @josie!

@YoBob Did you even read what @tedd posted?

@Jude @YoBob I dunno if he did, but to be honest I somewhats agree with his last post.

I’m not a fan of Obama, either. There is plenty to dislike him for without resorting to racial slurs. I haven’t heard much about his race lately. But I live in CA, so we don’t get a lot of Obama hatred ‘round these parts.

@tedd Thanks for that post! You are a sensible American, level headed and does not just speak based on emotions and ignorance.

@Nullo and @jonsblond I understand you want to be fair and cite examples of why and how Fox News is not alone but c’mon, there is only one Fox News. MSNBC followed suit to compete for audiences and also to counter-point Fox’s blatantness. And please, Roger Ailes runs Fox News. Other networks have nothing compared to who Ailes is.

@Jude Yes, I did, but really don’t have the energy or desire to participate in the extended debate that would be sure to ensue as a result of any comment I might make on that particular post.

@mazingerz88 You are mistaken if you feel MSNBC is any better than Fox. They are both the same, just different sides politically. It doesn’t matter who started with the bias. If MSNBC wanted to be fair with their journalism, they wouldn’t stoop to the same level as Fox, but they did and still do.

MSNBC’s morning show is balanced in my opinion. Many of their evening shows are not. From what I understand Fox has a few balanced shows as well? For some reason it bothers me more that a morning show might lean significantly to one side. If I am not mistaken the anchors on the Fox morning show do not reveal their political afiliations, yet they quite obviously lean right. Do they try and present themselves as balanced journalists? I am asking, I really don’t know. MSNBC’s morning show, we know who is liberal and who is conservative, it is part of the schtick, right out there with it. They often cross party lines and agree with the other side.

I don’t care for Obama and this current administration, but I don’t “hate” these. I also usually ignore negativity and never accept invitations to hate someone.

@JLeslie I see the same thing you see there in your answer. People seem to project so much into what they are not seeing out of these shows and they think the whole thing is broken.

What I see people fail to take into consideration is all these show are there and survive on RATINGS and the content is driven by what gets RATINGS and real news, truths and honest reporting is boring and is not something that drive RATINGS. Real news reporting died the day Cronkite died.

@Cruiser Yeah, even Morning Joe, which I feel is very balanced in terms of letting all opinions be heard, is not of Cronkite. That is a different deal altogether.

@JLeslie Joe Scarborough is about the only voice of reason I can sit and watch these days. Kind of sad to see too.

Say 3 dreaded words: Sarah Palin, President.
( If I were American)

@dannyc New chant: Michelle Bachmann, President. The media is saying how well she did in the GOP debate. Not sure if it is being reported around the world. I can’t see Palin running for President. But, you never know.

I suppose you would lump me in with those you hate, the ones who don’t like Obama, the ones who are “racist” because they don’t like the way he’s destroying the US, the ones who can’t stand socialism or liberalism. Tough. Live with it.

@CaptainHarley – I think I’ll regret responding, but here goes….

I don’t mind someone having a different opinion. What really gets me is the ignorance – some of which appears intentional.

@CaptainHarley: “I suppose you would lump me in with those you hate, the ones who don’t like Obama, the ones who are “racist” because they don’t like the way he’s destroying the US,...”

See, you are more than capable of reading the posts above. Not a single person claimed that disagreeing with Obama’s policies were racist. In fact, this specific issue was raised and many people responded to it. Typing what you just did appears to be intentional, and to be honest, quite bizarre.

@CaptainHarley: ”... the ones who can’t stand socialism or liberalism”

Right. See, I don’t care whether you like socialism or liberalism. What bothers me is that a large part of the uneducated in this country don’t know what those terms really mean, and they apply them to the actions of a president that can hardly be called anything but Republican-light. The ideological spectrum in this country is so narrow. What we consider left/right on so many issues is merely right/more-right elsewhere.

Note: I am a socialist at heart, and Obama is no socialist. What frustrates me about people calling Obama socialist is that it is adults making these comments. If my son sees a commuter train go by near our house and claims that it is a freight train, I don’t mind all that much. He may even insist. Who cares? But adults, who are of voting age, can drive a car, and are capable of reproducing….when they say stupid shit, that drives me mad.

@tom_g
when they say stupid shit, that drives me mad.
So what? It isn’t all about you.
Lots of people have weighed in on this question. Why are you giving @CaptainHarley shit. All he has done has given a slightly more contrary point of view than the usual Fluther party line.
Is there a sense of strength in numbers on this thread?
I don’t like the president either.
He is an “empty suit”.

I usually lay out much more valid reasons to hate him. Like, you know, warmongering. Then I tell them their tinfoil hats are crooked.

@josie

He’s an overinflated balloon filled with noting but hot air.

Yes, Michelle Bachmann, sort of a mutant, slightly more evolved version of Sarah, sans lunettes (that’s glasses in french). Just saw X-men movie…
But if it walks like a duck..talks….you know the drill…

My take as a non-citizen of your great nation: the real hate should be directed at Wall Street. Obama is as much responsible for troubles in U.S. as Boston Bruins caused the riots in Vancouver last night. Everybody needs a scapegoat. Not saying he’s perfect, but he does appear to be a decent man, intelligent, and above all trying to right the ship that was sinking. I strongly believe the people who hate Obama should redirect their energy to improving opportunities in their sphere, no matter how big or small. Hate is such a waste. I would say the same for Bush haters as well. Corny, but it is true every day is an opportunity to make a difference around you.

@dannyc Interesting you should mention Wall Street and Obama. You should watch The Warning. I just watched this the other night on Nightline. Very interesting. Obama has a few people on his staff who were responsible for the economic meltdown of the late 1990s. Including, Lawrence Summers

Obama is a decent man? He’s just a politician.

Deal with them?

No.

I go on to the next question.

@josie: “So what? It isn’t all about you.”

What is the “it” you refer to here? I’m not sure I follow.

@josie: “Why are you giving @CaptainHarley shit. All he has done has given a slightly more contrary point of view than the usual Fluther party line.”

I don’t mean to be giving anyone shit, and I apologize if I am. What I said (or tried to say) is that I would love a contrary point of view. What @CaptainHarley did was state, “I suppose you would lump me in with those you hate, the ones who don’t like Obama, the ones who are “racist” because they don’t like the way he’s destroying the US,...”. This is a conversation-stopper right here. It appears that he is intentionally ignoring the words of everyone above him and stated that we are making claims that he is racist for disagreeing with Obama’s actions. Since nobody has made that claim, and people (including me) have gone out of our way to make sure people are aware of this, I am calling foul. (Note: The 10th post in this thread had @Russell_D_Spacepoet making the same mistake of arguing against an non-existent position, and I corrected him 4 posts later.)

This is not providing “contrary point of view than the usual Fluther party line”. It’s intentially assigning a position to me and others in this thread a position that we do not hold, and have stated many times. Hell, come in and tell me what specific action(s) the president took that you disagree with. Then provide some reasons.

I am not a fan of Obama because I don’t support the actions he has taken. Does this make me a racist? No. Does anyone claim that I am a racist? No. Did someone claim that I felt that opponents of Obama’s policies are racist? Yes. ???????

Perhaps we’re just so use to being defamed for not worshiping Obama that we’re gun-shy.

@CaptainHarley Meh, maybe on here… but I don’t really see that in real life. In fact if anything whenever I hear anything about Obama in real life, its usually negative.

@tom_g
we are making claims that he is racist for disagreeing with Obama’s actions
During the campaign, and the honeymoon first year of Obama’s term, more than a few of his supporters had a hair trigger about accusing any white person who did not like, or who disagreed with, the president, of being racist.
It happened alot.
So much so, that most people who still do not like the guy make the assumption that the race card is waiting to be played every time they take the side of his opposition.
I do not blame anybody who took that kind of shit in the beginning, to be anticipating more of the same now.
And it may explain some people’s resentment of his administration.

@josie – “I do not blame anybody who took that kind of shit in the beginning, to be anticipating more of the same now.”

Got it. Although fortunately I never experienced any of that. I’ll take your word for it that happened to you. I’m glad I’m not seeing that type of nonsense in this thread. Just want to make sure it doesn’t enter it through artificial means (imagined accusations, etc).

I ignore them and quietly recruit people I know to vote for him. I am just going to LOL when he wins again!

@josie I honestly don’t think Obama himself would play the race card. He has too much class and intelligence for that. I don’t think he would allow his administration to play it either. So, you can’t hold what some of his ignorant, red neck supporters spout against him.

@jonsblond
Thanks for that, I will watch it.

I have been SO pestering my kids to get registered to vote. They refuse to. They think their votes won’t count anyway. You know, even if you think that, it’s still the PRINCIPAL of the thing. People have died trying to get the right to vote. It is the number one most important freedom we have in this country.

Well (LOLL and this is right on time guys!) I went with my daughter to get a replacement driver’s license today. We were the only ones in the room, besides the clerk. I was sitting on a chair in the front row. The clerk was talking to my daughter (who is 25) and asked if she wanted to register to vote.
I said, in no uncertain terms, from my chair, ”Yes.”
My daughter looks at me, sighs and says, “Yes.”
Lady asks “Republican or Democrat.”
From my neck of the woods, “Democrat.”
Daughter looks at me again, turns back and says, “Democrat. Whatever that is.”
I had to laugh! But I guarantee you she’s going to feel an unexpected sense of pride when she receives her voters card in the mail!

PS….just ‘cause she’s a registered Democrat, she can still vote Republican if she wants to, can’t she? Of course she can. They don’t know who’s doing what behind their little voting stands… Point is, got another one registered! And that makes two…due to my nagging my husband registered to vote during the Obama campaign, for the first time in his life.

As an aside…I do NOT get people who won’t registered to vote…

@Dutchess_III Depending on the state she will not be able to cross party lines in the Presidential primaries most likely. But, I am going to guess she is a Democrat at heart anyway. Also, she probably will only vote for the presidential election at first, since she is a new, rather apathetic, voter. Are you in a swing state. I feel my vote does not count at all for President in my state. Electoral college and all. My state is too heavily one direction. Meanwhile, I think it is good you pushed her to register. As long as she doesn’t get called for jury duty any time soon, she will be glad.

But how would they know who she voted for?
I think my vote doesn’t count either. I’m not sure why the electoral college was created in the first place.

Of course your vote counts @Dutchess_III. Don’t let anyone tell you it doesn’t. They just don’t want you to vote. The electoral college was created to make it fair for less populated areas to have the same voice as highly populated areas. You are represented equally. Well, as equally as possible and still live in a free Republic. You have to participate or it doesn’t work.

@bkcunningham Tell me how the electoral colleges work.

It is a compromise of sorts Dutchess. A compromise on having the popular vote/majority rule or having more of the minority voice heard on the national level. It is a state level of people who you have selected to represent your vote. There are currently 538 electors (one for each of 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 Senators; and 3 for the District of Columbia. All of this is brought to you by the 23rd Amendment of the US Constitution.

According to the US Federal Registrar’s Office, “Each State’s allotment of electors is equal to the number of House members to which it is entitled plus two Senators. The decennial census is used to reapportion the number of electors allocated among the States.”

You have to understand who your electors are and what they represent in any given Presidential election in order to really appreciate the system of the electoral college @Dutchess. The electors are selected on the local level and make a vow of sorts, a pledge to vote for the candidate of their party. They are bound by state law or by pledges of honor to cast their vote for a specific candidate. They are your representative when it comes to voting for the POTUS>

The representatives are selected by your party to vote for you. You are part of a small group of people on the local level who decides who will cast the lot for the good of the whole, so to speak.

Each state decides how their electors are selected. Also, each state is given a specified number of Electoral College votes. Say for instance Florida, where I live. We are given 27 electoral votes based on our population as a whole of the nation. The

When you cast your vote; let’s say for President, you vote and the votes are tallied on the local level. For some people it is on the town level. Some places call it a township, or it is a village or hamlet. Depending on what your form of government is called and how it is arranged. But whatever; it goes on through the same procedure through the county level or the city level if you live in an independent city form or government.

The population of an area is very important in this system. When they re-district (or draw the boundaries of where people go to vote) based on population or the census; which is done every ten years, pay very close attention to what is going on where you live. This is very important to understand the elecoral college. This is where the local people you know, or should know something about, come into play.

@Dutchess_III – It dtroubles me that the drivers’ license/voter registration lady asked about party affiliation, and not only that, limited the choices to Republican or Democrat. Not only are there a very large number of voters out there who choose to vote on issues rather than party affiliation, there are several additional parties in this country that are gaining significant purchase, the Libertarians, for example.

If the question of party must be asked during the registration process (which I believe borders on the unconstitutional), then at least it should be asked in a neutral way such as “Do you have a party preference/affiliation?” rather than “Are you an X or a Y?” without even allowing the possibility that the answer might be “Neither!”.

To make a first time registrant declare a party when they are likely to be clueless about the issues or platform (You daughter did, after all say “whatever that is” when asked) is, IMHO, scandalous.

@YoBob Many states do require an affiliation, because they only allow you to vote in your own party’s primaries. Most places, you can choose other parties besides Democrat or Republican, or even “unaffiliated”, but you have to choose something.

@augustlan – I understand that many states require you to declare a party affiliation. Being an independent with Libertarian leanings, I find that practice reprehensible, bordering on the unconstitutional as it makes it extremely difficult for those of us who find both major parties to be equally unpalatable (for different reasons) to gain political purchase. Further it acts as a barrier to entry for alternative parties who recognize the shortcomings of the two established entities.

@YoBob I see what your point is, but you have to remember, the primaries have nothing to do with actual government or elections. Their methods and rules are set up by the parties themselves, and each party does it differently.

Primaries are not really part of the constitution.

Also the parties themselves really don’t want people who aren’t openly members of their party to help select their candidates.

Point out that people who truly value freedom and democracy don’t hate. They agree or disagree. True patriots also respect the will of a majority of voters.

Ultra-conservative zealot are a threat to democracy. I would talk about this threat.

@YoBob I’m the one who gave her no choice! The lady asked, “How do you want to vote?”
My daughter looks at her puzzled.
Lady says, “Republican or Democrat.”
I yell “Democrat!”
A moment afterwards, as she was getting ready to get her picture taken (she still could have changed it) I said, “You could have said you were unaffiliated! That’s what mine reads!” (I’ve been registered to vote since Carter.)
Daughter says, “You didn’t tell me that!”
I said, “No, I didn’t!” And laughed. She laughed too. It was no biggie to her. She doesn’t care. I’m just hoping it will reflect somewhere somehow.
Actually…can I go and change my “unaffiliated” to “Democrat?”

********************************

To answer the question. I just smile and say, “I voted for him the first time, and I’ll vote for him the next.” And watch them implode! LOL!!

@Dutchess_III, nope. If you change your current unaffiliated status, it must be to to Republican. Sorry. That’s the law. ; )

LOL! YOU’RE NOT MY MOTHER!! I know allllll the tricks, @bkcunningham!

@CaptainHarley ”the ones who can’t stand socialism or liberalism”
I am almost certain that you have no clue what these two terms mean other than the negative connotation that big name, small IQ, Republicans have given them.

@CaptainHarley “He’s an overinflated balloon filled with noting but hot air.”
This is strictly empty political jargon. If you could explain which of his policies and decisions that you disagree with, you would add a whole lot to the discussion. But, resorting to cliche’ political insults makes it sound like you don’t know what you dislike about him other than the fact that he is a democrat, and you think that you are republican.

@josie “He is an “empty suit”.”
Please read or reread my second point and apply the same comment from me to yourself

@tedd ”In fact if anything whenever I hear anything about Obama in real life, its usually negative.”
Please, do not from an opinion on someone based on what you hear from other people. Especially when that person is the president of the United States. And even more so when news networks exist such as fox news. Read up on the man.

That said, there is at least one thing that I disagree with from Mr. Obama. I am furious that he has no balls, and that he is letting ‘The House’ run the show. He bent over backwards trying to plan bipartisan policies and when the republicans in the house said “we’re going to do it our way!” he bent over more. I am angry with him for not getting things done before Boehner and company took over and tried their damnedest to run up our debt, bring down our credit rating, and deny anything that Obama promised to the American people just to make him look bad in time for the 2012 election.

Well said @Afos22. Glad to have you here on Fluther.

I deal with it the same way that I did/do a Bush hater.
Hate doesn’t help anything. It doesn’t change anyone’s mind about how they feel, it only polarizes people.
Obama is just a man and either you like his politics or you don’t.
He is our president so I give him the respect that he is due as the holder of that office, just like I did Bush.

Right on @wilma!

Unfortunately, as a Born Again Christian in the middle of Ohio I’m surrounded by Obama haters. I’ve now almost bitten a hole through my tongue!

So far I’ve seen 1 “Obama for President” sign in someone’s yard, and 0 for Mitt. Right on! Need to get me a sign.

@Dutchess_III, I need one also. ROAD TRIP! ;0)