Why Do Americans Continue to Give Obama a Pass? Because It's Not His Fault

From the fine folks at Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/06/06/why-do-americans-continue-to-give-obama-pass/

I want to take a close look at this article and break it apart piece by piece, so that I can ask the questions that Liz Peek doesn't bother to address, but instead lays squarely on Obama's shoulders without any consideration for the actions of others.

Ms. Peek begins by citing a list of failures, from "pitiful job creation" to "paralysis on immigration" to what she considers a "world-view patently at odds with mainstream."

Okay, let's start by taking a look at some of those "mainstream" views. A recent ABC poll showed that 8 out of 10 Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical use, and around half believe it should be legalized in a more general context (http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/medical-marijuana-abc-news-poll-analysis/story?id=9586503). This Kansas branch of NBC cites a 60% approval rating for medical marijuana -- a state that can hardly be called the bastion of liberal politics (http://www.ksn.com/news/local/story/Poll-60-percent-of-Americans-support-medical/c1R1odu6dUeP-5rnH0VBeA.cspx). Even the website on which Ms. Peek's article appears quotes a "slim majority of Republicans" (53%) favor legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes (http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/04/21/medical-marijuana-support-grows-polls/).

Yet Republicans have consistently come down against any efforts to legalize medical marijuana -- in spite of their other constant call to arms, the restriction of "big government." Excuse me, Ms. Peek, but if the government is telling me what medication I can and cannot use for my illness, how is that supporting a small government? (http://www.ravallirepublic.com/news/state-and-regional/c144dca4-409c-11e0-b58f-001cc4c03286.html, and http://newmexicoindependent.com/69054/republican-bill-would-end-medical-marijuana-program, and I'm sure there are others)

Obama has not come out against medical marijuana. He publically stated he would withdraw federal prosecution of medical marijuana patients and caregivers (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/us/19holder.html). He supports the use of marijuana as a medical treatment for glaucoma and cancer, and he explicitly states that he would like to see federal law change so he does not have to punish doctors for providing prescriptions for medical marijuana (http://granitestaters.com/candidates/video_obama_02.html).

Read that again, Ms. Peek. Obama wants to change federal legislation so the government will not interfere with a doctor's recommended medical treatment. President Obama wants the government out of medical marijuana. If I didn't know better, I might think he was a Republican, and one who is a bit more in touch with "mainstream views" than you suggested. Hypothetically speaking, if Obama was to introduce legislation that would make medical marijuana legal federally, would the Republicans bow to what the "mainstream" is asking for?

Perhaps medical marijuana is just a fluke. Let's look at gay marriage shall we? Is Obama out of touch with people on this issue?

According a Gallup poll, 53% of Americans support gay marriage. In a breakdown of the poll, all self-identified groups of people saw an increase of approval between 2010 and 2011 except for one group - Republicans. With 70% of those aged 18-34 supporting gay marriage, the future does not look bright for discrimination (http://www.gallup.com/poll/147662/First-Time-Majority-Americans-Favor-Legal-Gay-Marriage.aspx). In the interests of "balance", I looked up how many people oppose gay marriage? The (considerably right-wing) articles that came up saying the majority of Americans oppose gay marriage were older than 2009; the first listing an article from 2004.

Oh, and before I turn to look at Obama's stance on gay marriage, I wanted to remind Ms. Peek that we are discussing government laws that restrict a person's ability to marry the adult of their choosing. That's right, big government is in your bedroom, telling you whom you can and cannot sleep with, create a family with, receive social and legal benefits from, and so on. The Republicans are opposing legislation that gets the government OUT of one of the biggest decisions I could make in my life. And the Republicans are opposed to the government telling me what I can and cannot do, right?

Right?

In February 2011, Obama announced he would no longer "oppose legal challenges to DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act)" (http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/23/nation/la-na-obama-gay-marriage-20110224). While largely a symbolic act, it had the effect of forcing Congress to hire its own lawyers if they wished to defend DOMA. Congress - of which the Senate is controlled by Republicans. Neat trick, Obama. You know you can't get the legislation passed yet, so you're forcing the Republicans to legally defend an Act which goes against the wishes of the majority of the American people. Brilliant!

I will concede that Obama originally came out as against the recognition of legal gay marriage, softening his stance by recommending civil unions that would enjoy the same benefits. I found it a little odd listening to the echoes of segregation coming out of a black man's mouth, but stranger things have happened. However, he has recently taken gradual steps that suggest maybe he's coming out of the discrimination closet, so to speak, as pointed out by this Fox News post (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/28/obama-suggests-stance-gay-marriage-evolve/).

Oddly enough, as of the writing of this posting, you are slightly correct, Ms. Peek, in that Obama is out of touch with the mainstream view. But perhaps you meant is that the majority of Americans oppose gay marriage? Sorry, I can't give you that part. Half credit.

In some cases, Republicans are actually more in touch with the American mainstream than President Obama. Former RNC chairmen Ken Mehlman announced not only that he supports gay marriage, but that he is gay himself (http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2010/08/former-rnc-chairman-is-gay-will-support-gay-marriage.html). GOP Senator Allan Kittleman (R-Howard) of Maryland is a long-time supporter who cites his passionate belief in equal rights as the motivator for his support (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2011/02/gop_senator_announces_support.html). My favorite: A former Iowan Republican state senator announced that he was forming a group called Republicans For Freedom, a group for gay-marriage supporters in the Republican Party. His justification? The small government argument. A true Republican! (http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Ex-GOP-senator-to-announce-pro-gay-marriage-group-1402696.php)

I've looked at these two issues with how Obama relates to "mainstream" American views. Here's a few more, a little less in-depth:

Abortion:
A recent Gallup poll revealed that the majority of Americans oppose abortion morally and support some legal restrictions for it (http://www.gallup.com/poll/147734/Americans-Split-Along-Pro-Choice-Pro-Life-Lines.aspx). Obama himself voted against legislation banning partial birth abortion, but has supported states' rights to restrict late-term partial-birth abortions (http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm).
Grade: Full credit, but with a caveat. The Gallup poll noted that the pro-life/pro-choice boundaries were drawn along age lines, not gender lines, suggesting the possibility that what could be considered "mainstream" views may shift in the coming decades. If so, Obama is a visionary, or "on the side of history." If not, then yes, full credit for Obama being "out of touch."

Immigration:
Sixty-eight percent of Americans believe the top priority regarding immigration should be the active pursuit of visa violations, followed by increasing security forces on the border at 61% (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0712/Americans-top-priority-on-illegal-immigration-visa-violators).
Obama has consistently supported amnesty, while generally 2/3s of Americans oppose it (http://www.numbersusa.com/content/polls/oppose-amnesty.html). On the other hand, Obama did support legislation making it easier to verify the citizenship status of employees, which increased the prosecution of employers of illegal aliens (http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/obama-immigration.html), a position supported by 71% of Americans (http://www.endillegalimmigration.com/illegal_immigration_polls_surveys/index.shtml).
Grade: Incomplete - Immigration is a very complicated topic, so in some ways Obama agrees with mainstream and in other ways he doesn't. His policies also have shifted over time, making it more difficult to grade. My opinion is also that current events suggest that immigration is a bit lower on the priority list due to the laser-like focus on jobs and the economy, so the diversion here between Obama's views and the "mainstream" is less of a flashpoint than it was in the 2008 election.

This is not a complete list. I'll probably do another short blog comparing Obama's view on taxes with "mainstream," specifically the "Taxes On The Rich" so oft-quoted by the media, to further flesh out Ms. Peek's point on Obama being out of touch with mainstream views.

I also intend to further delve in to her article. Why hers? Because she either lightly touches directly, or suggests indirectly, nearly every single controversial issue that Obama and the Republicans disagree, while simultaneously employing logic that considers half the issue at best. I intend in further blogs to show that Ms. Peek has failed to go beyond the very surface of the issues, and missed the critical answer to the question she posed: The reason why Americans are going easy on Obama is because they knew he has a psychotic Republican party to deal with. The Republicans have made it so difficult that Obama would find a fight in trying to buy a box of facial tissue for the Men's bathroom. Americans know this, they can see it, so they understand that ANY victory Obama gets is miraculous. And he's gotten some rather important ones.

Anyway, I'll adress this and more later. For now, I'm going to go smoke a bowl and kiss my wife. ;)