Barack Obama
Related: About this forumLove you, BOG! Let's support the President during this heart-wrenching time.
A lot of us BOGers voted for Barack Obama in 2008 (and 2012) for Peace. I know I did. I still see him as a person of peace who is faced with a very difficult "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. As troubled as I am, I am glad to see so much support here on the BOG for the President. I really don't pray, but I am praying to whatever force is out there that he makes the wise decisions, as he usually does.
And, ad nauseum, THIS IS POSTED IN THE BARACK OBAMA GROUP - A safe haven for members of Democratic Underground who support the president and his policies.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)happens. There is really no control Obama could have place in calming the waters in Syria, when there was plenty pushing him to act in Syria, he did not. I am happy he has ask Congress to do their job in voting on a striking Syria, I know it is going to place pressure on the members but then if they vote to strike or not to strike. I do pray for our president, he has a lot on his shoulders.
Like the home-made sign I carried to an Obama rally in 2008 - "Pro-peace, pro-choice, pro-Obama!" My sentiments have not changed. I hate war, but I trust Obama to do the right thing.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Including most of the men and women who must fight. My family produced soldiers going back many generations, and I can tell you they didn't do it for the thrill or glory, because when the costs are counted, nothing but a sharp bitter aftertaste remains. That said, if certain of our ancestors hadn't stepped into the breach, we'd all be eating saurkraut with chopsticks today, to use but one illustration. Either that or the sun still wouldn't set on the British Empire. Etc.
I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. Just remarking. I very much appreciate your post.
Suich
(10,642 posts)I think there is a lot we don't know.
One thing I DO know, is, President Obama is a helluva lot smarter than I am. I may disagree with some of his decisions but I trust him implicitly, no question!
My own thought is that Bush stirred up a hornet's nest in the Middle East and left the situation a lot worse than when he took office. Now President Obama has to deal with the consequences of his failed policies. The same goes for the economy.
Cha
(305,196 posts)For one thing.. we all are being asked to think about what kind of actions we want to take or not take for the kind of world we want to live in.
"We are still in a state of flux" as Senator Warren said last week.. There's just so much propaganda out there from the side that wants to do nothing it's hard for me to take them seriously. Trying really hard to equate PBO with bush.. to me that means they have nothing. Saying it's "none of our business".. when it is, whether we intervene or not. It's everyone's business who resides on this Planet when someone is gassing innocent civilians and thumbing his nose at the world.
What I do know is that I respect and trust President Obama.. that hasn't changed. So, I've been sending my positive thougts out into the Universe, too, so that the Force of Wisdom will be with PBO and his Team.. and all of us.
I am so thankful that there are thoughtful people like Elizabeth Warren in the Senate during these complicated and difficult times!
BOG.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)After seeing new videos of the Syrian carnage. She said something about trying to understand opposition to a strike, but added "You haven't seen what I have seen."
There were a lot of people after WWII who regretted having turned a dear ear/blind eye to the Holocaust. Talk about a stain on the soul of mankind.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Therefore it doesn't really matter to whom/what we do/don't pray/petition when our goal is the greater good for mankind. Physical energy is never wasted, and I don't imagine mental/spiritual energy is either. From your heart/lips straight to the ear of the Higher Power.
hopemountain
(3,919 posts)my instinct is to be a peacemaker or to walk away.
however, this is a time like no other. we are all being asked to make decisions and choices that will affect our lives and the lives of the next generations and all living things on this earth. how humans interact with one another is a huge test. we already know how greediness has affected millions and the economy of the world. we already know how our unsustainable quest for energy and money is upsetting the balance of things on so many levels - radiation, gmo's, air, water, soil, & food pollution, climate change, etc. we must do what we can where we can to be humane to one another and we cannot afford to wait one more day, much less, another generation.
i stand in support of our president barack hussein obama.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)I stumbled on a RawStory video from CNN of the victims of the nerve gas. It was edited, but there was still enough to make me cry seeing the clips of the dozen or so films shown the Senate and will be shown to the House.
As Commander-in-Chief, he is forced to see much more. Our attention spans are short and we're easily distracted. This man is carrying all of this horror, hatred and petty spite on his shoulders.
But I don't think that is what matters to him, he's on a mission to fulfill his goals of a better world. What he said in Russia was the issue:
What would doing nothing mean to the world we leave for our children?
It sends a bad one, I think, that it's okay for the powerful to kill the weak. And this was not done in the heat of battle; it was carried out in cold blood.
The Sarin gas attack was in a heavily populated city neighborhood. It was not an error. Iran has said they know he uses CW and this must end. Iran suffered the death of a 100,000 from gas atracks from Saddam.
There are going to be some alliances that may fall away, some new ones made. Germany was holding out, now they are saying they have proof. Many nations have said they have proof now.
These people are not just saying this to please PBO. They know what nerve gas can do. They've seen killing on an industrial scale.
Our defense system, even if misused at times, knows things we don't want to know.
Okay, I'll post a video that will cheer us up. And for the first time in my life, I will pen a letter to the POTUS and tell him how much what he doing means to me personally and that I support him.
Be of good cheer, BOG.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)So please consider also an email sent at the WH site.
mountain grammy
(27,235 posts)If only Carter had sent in the Marines, Reagan would not have been elected. Of course, every hostage would have been killed, but Carter isn't remembered for their survival.
The events of 9/11/2001 can be laid directly at the feet of the Bush administration but did they suffer any consequences for their lack of diligence? No, because as long as Americans hold on to the "we're number one" mentality of aggression, this is what we do.
No President since Eisenhower has been able to stand up to America's military. JFK tried, we know how that ended. Carter tried, we know how that ended.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)I am glad it is Obama that is making these horribly tough decisions.
sheshe2
(87,309 posts)for the legacy that will be left behind for us, for we the people. So many say "his legacy" and scoff. That's not true. The President does not have an ego that needs to be fed. He stands for the people and has proven this time and time again.
Thanks Kath, I like what you said.
President Obama's ego is a healthy and practical state of mind, knowing that he CAN do the world's toughest job, and determined to stay the course. It's not the sort of look-at-me ego that makes gauche fighter plane landings on a carrier at sea with a big LYING "Mission Accomplished!" sign.
While I'm on one of my favorite kicks, did DU back in those days see much about what a struggle the REAL pilot had to keep the idiot leader of the 'free' world from taking full control of the plane? He said he literally had to pull rank on his commander-in-chief. I've always wondered how that pilot's career fared afterwards, because he made a truly tough call. But then if he hadn't, he probably wouldn't have lived to worry about it either since GB was not even really qualified as a co-pilot. They would've literally crashed and burned, taking no telling how many lives with them; and you know who would've been left in the WH.
For any readers who might not have considered this before, Navy pilots are the greatest in the world. Landing on a carrier at the best of times is like trying to hook up with a tiny moving target that can pitch and roll w/o warning. Think about the tiny window of success. It must be easier to herd cats.
AND GB WANTED THE WORLD TO THINK HE COULD DO THAT????????