Did you vote for Obama?

[GoJiRa]

I did. If I could do it all over again I would probably have to vote for him again. I do think his inexperience is showing and this makes me sad.

[LynnKaboom]

I was 16 years old in 2008, so I couldn't vote. :P

[fundiefan]

I did and I believed in my vote. I will probably vote for him again because I don't see any situation where there is an option. I won't vote for a Republican. At the time, I viewed inexperience as a positive. Not the same old BS and game playing and manipulation. I still sometimes think that. I want someone who isn't skilled in the game of politics. I know, though, that I'll never get that. He inherited a country that was, and is, beyond f*cked up. He can't breathe without it being right or wrong in someone's eyes. He was screwed no matter what and I knew that and I can't believe he functioned in any way without knowing that.

With all that, I DO think he could have and should do more, better, different. But I also know that he isn't a one man show and whatever he wants, says or does is wrapped in the system. I know he has to clean up messes he didn't make along with messes he did make.

He is not a magician. For me, though, I never expected him to work magic or fix everything. No President is solely responsible for a single thing.

From my perspective, he is too willing to give in; to worried about appeasement; too focused on 'crossing the aisle'. He's made some decisions that baffle me - but I know he didn't and doesn't and never will be personally responsible. That is not how Presidency works.

I'm not thrilled and have been disappointed. But there is not one single other 'option' that I would vote for over him. No one is better; just the same with different packaging.

And, I am adamantly opposed to Republican values. I am especially opposed to all the present 'front runners' or known opposition.

I will vote for him in 2012. Until a respectable, decent, balanced third party comes into existence, my choices are right or left. I will always go with the left.

[dianapavelovna]

I did, and I was and am proud that it was the first vote I cast in a presidential election. IMHO, he was clearly the best option. I'll probably vote for him again, faced with whatever whackass ticket the GOP pulls out of their ass next year, but I've definitely got issues with him and the way he's conducted his presidency.

[emmiedahl]

I did not. I did not vote for McCain either. This was the first and only election in which I left a space blank.

I love Obama as a person. I think he is a great guy, a future compelling historical figure, and I think a lack of inexperience is a good thing in most cases (I'm all for term limits in every elected office). I had other concerns, enough that I did not feel comfortable voting either for him or against him.

[Jessica]

Nope... :)

[Seven Severn]

Yup, and I'll do it again in 2012.

[Koala]

Yes, I did.

[HoneyBunny]

You betcha. I've been voting in presidential elections since 1980 and have never once voted Republican. Not that I vote on party lines; I just honestly believed the Democratic candidate would make a better president.

Well, except for Mondale. I'm not sure he WAS the better candidate, but I really disliked Reagan back then and hate his canonization by the Republic party now even more.

[latraviata]

I did. If I could do it all over again I would probably have to vote for him again. I do think his inexperience is showing and this makes me sad.

I am not American but if I was I would most certainly vote for him.

[Alecto]

I did, thought at times it felt like I did it more to vote against McCain and Palin.

[Maggie Mae]

Yes. I'll vote for him again, too.

I'm not happy with all of the decisions coming out of Washington. However, I disagree with Republican values. I prefer my government to be separate from my church. I feel that taxes are necessary and that it's expected that people will complain about taxes. I dislike the black & white thinking that is prevalent on the right.

[teddybear]

I voted for him and I will again in 2012. I used to vote for the person I thought was best for the job, no matter what party he/she belonged to. But since GW Bush, I vowed never to vote for another Republican.

[marmalade]

I did and I believed in my vote. I will probably vote for him again because I don't see any situation where there is an option. I won't vote for a Republican. At the time, I viewed inexperience as a positive. Not the same old BS and game playing and manipulation. I still sometimes think that. I want someone who isn't skilled in the game of politics. I know, though, that I'll never get that. He inherited a country that was, and is, beyond f*cked up. He can't breathe without it being right or wrong in someone's eyes. He was screwed no matter what and I knew that and I can't believe he functioned in any way without knowing that.

With all that, I DO think he could have and should do more, better, different. But I also know that he isn't a one man show and whatever he wants, says or does is wrapped in the system. I know he has to clean up messes he didn't make along with messes he did make.

He is not a magician. For me, though, I never expected him to work magic or fix everything. No President is solely responsible for a single thing.

From my perspective, he is too willing to give in; to worried about appeasement; too focused on 'crossing the aisle'. He's made some decisions that baffle me - but I know he didn't and doesn't and never will be personally responsible. That is not how Presidency works.

I'm not thrilled and have been disappointed. But there is not one single other 'option' that I would vote for over him. No one is better; just the same with different packaging.

And, I am adamantly opposed to Republican values. I am especially opposed to all the present 'front runners' or known opposition.

I will vote for him in 2012. Until a respectable, decent, balanced third party comes into existence, my choices are right or left. I will always go with the left.

Seconded. You saved me a lot of typing. :mrgreen:

[bananacat]

I voted for him and I don't regret it. He's certainly not the ideal president and he is not nearly liberal enough for me, but McCain would have been a million times worse, especially with the threat of Palin as VP. And I'll vote for Obama again in 2012. Ever since I started voting I have usually felt that I'm voting against someone rather than for someone, but if lesser of two evils is my only choice, then I have to work with that. (And I don't think Obama is evil; it's just an expression).

I do wish that he would wake up and realize that the Republicans in Congress are a bunch of tantrum-throwing toddlers though, and no amount of "compromise" will make them like him.

[anniebgood]

Yep, I've voted Democratic in every election since 1972. Won some lost some. I think the president was handed a losing hand when he was elected. GWB was a terrible president and IMHO screwed the middle class and then danced on our graves. The Republicans have pretty much shown their hand and it's not pretty.

[SquirrelySquirrel]

Yep (though I was licking my wounds while doing so. I'm a total Hilary fangirl.). Being a liberal, I've never had much choice to vote for anyone other than the Democratic candidate, though none of them are anywhere near liberal enough for me. The Republican party is moving farther and farther right, and the dems are allowing themselves to be dragged right along with them it seems. Obama is certainly preferable to anyone the Republicans will have running.

The only way I'll vote differently next time is if Bernie Sanders decides to jump in and save this mess we call a country. What? A girl can dream...

[valsa]

I voted for him and I don't regret it. He's certainly not the ideal president and he is not nearly liberal enough for me, but McCain would have been a million times worse, especially with the threat of Palin as VP. And I'll vote for Obama again in 2012. Ever since I started voting I have usually felt that I'm voting against someone rather than for someone, but if lesser of two evils is my only choice, then I have to work with that. (And I don't think Obama is evil; it's just an expression).

I do wish that he would wake up and realize that the Republicans in Congress are a bunch of tantrum-throwing toddlers though, and no amount of "compromise" will make them like him.

This. It's like you read my mind.

[Childless]

Yep. I voted for him and will vote for him again in 2012. I refuse to vote Republican and there just isn't a viable third party candidate. I'm not happy with everything he's done (or hasn't done for that matter), but short of running myself, I don't think I'd be 100% happy with anyone.

[fundiefan]

I have to say I adore all you liberals. When I've said that Obama isn't liberal enough for me I get all kinds of reactions but none even come close to comprehending. To know that others are more liberal than the 'hated liberal president' along with me is a nice thing to know.

For all that I am crazy because of at least I am not crazy for not seeing Obama as liberal enough.

[Buzzard]

Nope and I wont this time either, regardless of who runs against him. Eat your peas... kiss my ass...

[clibbyjo]

Yep and will again. I brought my kids with me and our playgroup had an Obama party for his inauguration. Am I happy with everything? No. My husband works for the government, there is a freeze on cost of living raises and also step increases and that personally effects us negatively and I still wouldn't vote for a republican.

Like a friend of mine always says, he walked into a disaster,you cannot expect him to clean up 8 years worth of shit overnight. :whistle:

[O Latin]

I did. It was my first presidential election. While campaigning he came to speak in the city where I live (which was a BIG DEAL since the state I live in is both politically irrelevant and red as a fire engine) and my whole family got up at o'dark thirty on a Saturday morning to go see him. I was a senior in high school and taking AP Government, so politics was way cool. A year later my mom let my sister and brother stay home from school so we could all watch the inauguration on TV.

I don't actually follow the news as much as I should, but I think he's done okay as president. He basically got handed shit and told to make something pretty out of it, so I don't blame him for not fixing all the country's problems in four years. If I'm going to blame somebody I blame the tantrum throwing finger-pointers in Congress who are more interested in making The Other Side look like The Bad Guy than in getting anything done.

I will vote for Obama again in 2012. I would vote for a Republican, if they could show that they are a reasonable and intelligent human being, but so far all the Republican possibilities are complete looney toons (with the possible exception of Romney, but I would still vote for Obama over him).

[GoJiRa]

I voted for Reagan the first time I voted.

I did. It was my first presidential election. While campaigning he came to speak in the city where I live (which was a BIG DEAL since the state I live in is both politically irrelevant and red as a fire engine) and my whole family got up at o'dark thirty on a Saturday morning to go see him. I was a senior in high school and taking AP Government, so politics was way cool. A year later my mom let my sister and brother stay home from school so we could all watch the inauguration on TV.

I don't actually follow the news as much as I should, but I think he's done okay as president. He basically got handed shit and told to make something pretty out of it, so I don't blame him for not fixing all the country's problems in four years. If I'm going to blame somebody I blame the tantrum throwing finger-pointers in Congress who are more interested in making The Other Side look like The Bad Guy than in getting anything done.

I will vote for Obama again in 2012. I would vote for a Republican, if they could show that they are a reasonable and intelligent human being, but so far all the Republican possibilities are complete looney toons (with the possible exception of Romney, but I would still vote for Obama over him).

[pomology]

Yep, I voted for him. I turned 18 after my state's primary in 2008, so that was my first election. I'm proud to have cast my vote ever for America's first African-American president. As for Obama himself... I never thought he would be perfect and so he hasn't disappointed me. In my opinion, he's generally a good guy, but definitely not liberal enough for me, inherited a complete shit show with a tanking economy (that the Repubs were still blaming on Clinton, but of course, they're now eager to say that it's Obama's fault because he's had three years in office doncha know) and two unwinnable wars, and I'm not entirely certain he has a backbone, because he seems terrified to take opinions that might be in the least controversial. Like, what the fuck does "My views on gay marriage are evolving" mean? I'm pretty sure it just means "I support gay marriage but I'm afraid to say so, because some people might hate me for it." I'm also pretty sure he's not actually Christian, but would never say so. But I digress. I think Obama has done a fine job in office. Not a spectacular job, but fine one.

Also, you know how Americans like to judge their presidential candidates by how much they want to go out drinking with them? (As in, people preferred GWB, 'cause they would like to go out and have a beer with him) -- I'd totally go out drinking with Barack Obama. His policies may not be perfect and he may not be a perfect president, but I feel like we could chill and have a great time together. Also, with Michelle. She's awesome.

And I'll vote for him again. Because if the Democratic party is too conservative for me, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure the Republicans don't get the presidency back.