What did Obama mean by change?

[IHateMyJob2004]

As title asks, what did Obama mean by change? I can not recall what his defintion was. Of the things that were supposed to be changed, what has changed? What was attempted and failed? What has not been attempted?

 

[xBiffx]

He was never specific and that is why he gets hammered for that stupid slogan. All the idiots that voted for him were like "oh boy, change!". What they didn't realize is that change can mean for the worse just as much for the better, hence why you should get specifics before wasting your vote.

I have to credit him though. It worked and he didn't lie. He got elected and look at all the change (for the worse, that is).

 

[airdata]

He either meant well, and then got into office and found out that POTUS isn't really in a position to make change happen...

Or he was simply using a gimmick to trick people into voting for him in order to continue the Bush era war on terror/ nation building.

 

[dank69]

Change:

Job creation/losses

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care, in a campaign that projected themes of "hope" and "change".

Iraq war ... pass
energy ... tried and failed I would say
health care .. pass (sort of) ... change yes, universal ... no

Of course, we need a quote that has him define this as the change he is talking about.

 

[IronWing]

Change:

Wow, that's great news! I think. Maybe a caption or axis labels are in order.

 

[spidey07]

He wanted to fundamentally transform America into a socialist/communist paradise. Thankfully Americans are onto what he really meant.

 

[woolfe9999]

He was never specific and that is why he gets hammered for that stupid slogan. All the idiots that voted for him were like "oh boy, change!". What they didn't realize is that change can mean for the worse just as much for the better, hence why you should get specifics before wasting your vote.

I have to credit him though. It worked and he didn't lie. He got elected and look at all the change (for the worse, that is).

Actually, he was terribly specific. He made over 400 specific campaign promises, and those are just the ones cataloged on politifact.com. You can disagree with his policies all you like; you can criticize him for either keeping some of those promises (if you disagree with them), or not keeping some of them (if you agree with them). However, the thread topic is foolish because no one should even be asking such a broad question. Sure, Obama used a slogan as every POTUS candidate does, but he also laid out quite clearly what he wanted to do.

 

[dank69]

Wow, that's great news! I think. Maybe a caption or axis labels are in order.

Added label to post.

 

[Theb]

The campaign had a punchy meaningless slogan? Is that even legal?

fyi -> http://www.presidentsusa.net/campaignslogans.html

 

[Texashiker]

As title asks, what did Obama mean by change?

If you think you are bad off now, wait until you have to buy all of the mandated products.

 

[Hugo Drax]

As title asks, what did Obama mean by change? I can not recall what his defintion was. Of the things that were supposed to be changed, what has changed? What was attempted and failed? What has not been attempted?

Change in skin color. This is the first dark skinned president in the US so we got the change.

 

[cybrsage]

He meant the skin color of the president.


LOL Just noticed Hugo beat me to it.

 

[Craig234]

I think first and foremost, it was a political slogan based on high dissatisfaction with the Republicans after their 8 years/30 years. Simply saying 'not them'.

Then the specific change I remember being raised most was a naive at best, pandering at worst claim to support 'changing the way Washington works'.

An attack on the 'partisan' gridlock, on the lobbying domination.

To his credit, I think Obama made efforts in these areas. Progressives are furious over his repeated 'reaching out' to Republicans. Tonight I saw a Tom Tomorrow cartoon from 2009 that mocked this very accurately - portraying Republicans as 'bringing up a demand forgotten from before Bush that Obama give Republicans equal say in his policies', while they'd oppose ANYTHING he wanted to do unless he gave huge concessions, and then they'd oppose it despite getting them - while Democrats sat around trying to look for how Obama was saying he'd reach out so much but didn't mean what he said, despite the evidence he did.

He did take some steps against lobbying - walking a fine line between needing them to get elected, and the populist reforms (leaning in the favor of the lobbyists).

Other 'changes' were supposed to be the wars and civil rights - which range from 'sort of kept' to 'really betrayed'.

But he did bring some important changes, from no longer letting the industries provide the regulators over their own industries, to far better Supreme Court nominees.

I also think he brought a 'change' to a lot of the whole way the Bush administration did things - from the secretive oil-dominated neocon agenda and other corruptions (Bush's personal attorney made Attorney General to ensure the Attorney General woudl sign off on any policies he was asked to), the Karl Rove corruption, and much more.

Bush appointed - and then recess appointed - the most objectionable person available for Ambassador to the UN, while Obama has tried to have better global relations.

Bush skyrocketed military spending - beyoind the wars - and all kinds of corrupt spending, shooting the deficit up in good times; Obama has done better on those things, in the crash.

We're actually looking at 'less of an increase for the oversized military' being planned, for a change.

 

[sandorski]

A President can't make change happen alone. He has certainly tried to initiate Change, others have merely gone to extraordinary measures to block it.

 

[Ninjahedge]

Never blame the head for a pair of crippled legs.

Never blame the legs for what comes out of the mouth.

What we should be questioning is why the Congress has been so unwilling to compromise (R) or consolidate (D) on any of the important issues.

When we elect 500+ shills to make our rules for us, one guy coming in and crying "Change" can only do so much. The rest is up to US.

So, instead of complaining on a bulletin board (guilty) why don't you actually get out there and do something? Not just for a day. Not for a week. Look into running for office, or supporting some local candidates and influencing politics.

And hell, I am SURE we have more people complaining about things than we have voting. You don't like the ballot? WRITE IN a candidate! Oh, but that would take more time and you would be late for work, etc etc... Tough poop.

"Waaaah! Our politicians suck and I am too lazy to do anything but complain about it!"

 

[Ausm]

Wow, that's great news! I think. Maybe a caption or axis labels are in order.

Actually there has been 22 months of private sector growth with ZERO help from the Republicant's.

 

[Ausm]

The campaign had a punchy meaningless slogan? Is that even legal?

fyi -> http://www.presidentsusa.net/campaignslogans.html

George W. Bush Compassionate conservatism

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA X 10 to the 100th power

WTF is a compassionate conservative??? I think that species went extinct at least 50 years now.

 

[Siddhartha]

As title asks, what did Obama mean by change? I can not recall what his defintion was. Of the things that were supposed to be changed, what has changed? What was attempted and failed? What has not been attempted?

Change the direction of federal government away from Mr Bush. Step away from Neo-con foreign policies. Get the tax structure back to where it was under Mr Clinton. Not renew the Bush Tax Cuts. Get a health care plan in place. Increase investment in infrastructure. You get the idea.

 

[IGBT]

this should be obvious. He wants to retrograde society thru de industrialization. Liberals can't win being who they are. They can't win being honest. And when they loose at the election poles they slither off to find a activist liberal judge.

 

[Ninjahedge]

Um, ya.

IGBT post value = 0.

That wasn't even god flame bait.

 

[Onceler]

return 0; means that the program was successful so therefore the post was valid.

 

[pcgeek11]

He is trying to Re-Form America.

 

[trenchfoot]

A President can't make change happen alone. He has certainly tried to initiate Change, others have merely gone to extraordinary measures to block it.

Agreed.

As you've mentioned, what really gets me annoyed is that a lot of the people who criticize and complain about Obama not delivering on many of his promises are the very ones who have done every single thing possible to prevent him from making good on those promises. Yes, of course that's the Hell No Tea Party bitched Repubs I'm referring to, along with those Blue Dog Dems that sabotaged major portions of Obama's Health Care Reform plans. And after hacking and butchering away at it with numerous hostage holding "compromise demands", they then point to the carnage they caused and declare what a failure Obama's program is and how he couldn't "deliver" on it.

So here we have Obama's biggest critics complaining about his undelivered promises being the very ones who did their best to make sure those promises went undelivered acting like no one is the wiser for their duplicity.

sheeesh

 

[Onceler]

He promised to close GITMO and to have us out of Iraq within one year of being elected.