Salon: Jamelle Bouie: 'Four More Years to Enact a New Great Society'

Source:Salon- Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois 44th President of the United States.

"If you want a sense of how remarkable Barack Obama’s re-election victory is, think back to last summer. At the time, the president was struggling to reach a deal with House Republicans, who were threatening not to raise the debt ceiling and plunge the economy into a second recession. Unemployment was high—9.2 percent—Obama’s approval had dipped to the low 40s, and to anyone paying attention, the first African American president looked like a one-term failure.

But beginning in the fall, Obama began to reassert himself. With the American Jobs Act, he outlined a viable plan for generating economic growth and kick-starting the recovery. With his widely praised speech in Kansas, he outlined a populist agenda of greater investment and higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Over the course of 2012, he built good will with important communities, from LGBT Americans with an endorsement of same-sex marriage to Latino immigrants and their families with a measure meant to emulate the DREAM Act. What’s more, the economy began to pick up: Job growth increased, unemployment dropped, and the overall economic picture began to brighten.

Together with one of the most hard-nosed campaigns in recent memory, Obama managed to bounce back from the nadir of 2011 to one of the broadest re-election victories in recent memory. At this point, news networks have called New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, Virginia, and Ohio for President Obama. Only Florida has yet to be called, where the remaining votes are in traditionally Democratic areas of the state. Compared with 2008, Obama lost only two states: North Carolina and Indiana. When all is said and done, Barack Obama will have won re-election with 332 electoral votes—a much larger margin than the last president to win re-election, George W. Bush

Over the next week, I’ll write about the details of Obama’s victory, in particular his huge advantage with nonwhite voters—without historic margins (and turnout) among African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans, it’s likely Obama would have failed in his quest for a second term. Indeed, it should be said that Republicans have themselves to blame for a good deal of this. If not for their categorical opposition to health-care reform, the Affordable Care Act would have never been passed in its current form. If not for their harsh approach to immigration, they might have won greater Latino support over the last four years. If not for their embrace of misogyny, they might have closed the gender gap. If not for their willingness to indulge the worst conspiracies about Obama, they might have made inroads with young people and college-educated voters. 

Together with one of the most hard-nosed campaigns in recent memory, Obama managed to bounce back from the nadir of 2011 to one of the broadest re-election victories in recent memory. At this point, news networks have called New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, Virginia, and Ohio for President Obama. Only Florida has yet to be called, where the remaining votes are in traditionally Democratic areas of the state. Compared with 2008, Obama lost only two states: North Carolina and Indiana. When all is said and done, Barack Obama will have won re-election with 332 electoral votes—a much larger margin than the last president to win re-election, George W. Bush

Over the next week, I’ll write about the details of Obama’s victory, in particular his huge advantage with nonwhite voters—without historic margins (and turnout) among African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans, it’s likely Obama would have failed in his quest for a second term. Indeed, it should be said that Republicans have themselves to blame for a good deal of this. If not for their categorical opposition to health-care reform, the Affordable Care Act would have never been passed in its current form. If not for their harsh approach to immigration, they might have won greater Latino support over the last four years. If not for their embrace of misogyny, they might have closed the gender gap. If not for their willingness to indulge the worst conspiracies about Obama, they might have made inroads with young people and college-educated voters.

It’s still far too early to make a judgment about Barack Obama’s overall historical standing. But by virtue of winning re-election, he has become the most successful Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson, and one of the most successful of the 21st century.

Not bad for the skinny Hawaiian kid with a funny name."

Source:Salon

I hate to break it to so-called Progressive Democrats, (Democratic Socialists, in actuality) but I have a friend on Facebook who is an admitted Democratic Socialist, more liberal-libertarian on social issues, but a proud Socialist on economic policy. A true proud Socialist who I like and respect personally because of his honesty and ability to backup what he believes in. Even though we rarely agree when it comes to the economy and what government's role should be in it.

My friend who voted Socialist yesterday at least for President, voted for Jill Stein of the Green Party technically, but she's a Democratic Socialist ideologically. With her Green Deal and all of that wanting to let the Bush tax cuts expire for everyone to finance new public infrastructure across the country. Somewhere in the neighborhood of a trillion dollars. My friend knows that Barack Obama is not a Democratic Socialist, thats why he voted for the Green Party. I'm guessing expecting that the President would win anyway.

If trapped in the political closet Socialists believe that Barack Obama is going to try to build some new Great Society, an idea that goes back to the 1960s with Lyndon Johnson and we are going to create some new and expanded welfare state to accomplish this, or what Dr. Stein calls the New Green Deal, they are living in Dreamland and perhaps sharing an apartment there with Ann Coulter. Thats not the type of Democrat that Barack Obama is and he's never been that type of Democrat. 

What President Obama wants to do is build an economy that works for everyone, but doesn't expect the Federal Government to be able to do this itself. And wants to empower more Americans to be able to live their own lives and live what's been called the American Dream. When you think of Barack Obama you think of Bill Clinton politically. Progressive Democrat who I wish was more liberal on social issues who understands the limits of government.

If trapped in the political closet Socialists want a Socialist President, then they should back a Socialist who can win the Presidency. Instead of expecting Progressives or Liberal Democrats to do that for them. And then they also need to find a way for someone like that to get elected President of the United States.