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Creator of ‘Hope’ Poster Abandons Obama
In his 2012 Republican National Convention speech, Rep. Paul Ryan pointed out the stark difference between Obama’s campaign theme and his record. “College graduates should not have to live out their twenties in their childhood bedrooms,” Ryan said, “staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.”
Despite the truth of Ryan’s statement, the young, enthusiastic and arty stuck with their failed president and now have little to show for it. Today, even the creator of the famous Hope poster has abandoned his once-venerated leader.
Street artist Shepard Fairey told Esquire magazine that President Obama was “not even close” to living up to his hype.
Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he’s compromised on that I never would have expected. I mean, drones and domestic spying are the last things I would have thought [he’d support]. I’ve met Obama a few times, and I think Obama’s a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control. I’m not giving him a pass for not being more courageous, but I do think the entire system needs an overhaul and taking money out of politics would be a really good first step.
Perhaps Obama was too busy raising $1.1 billion in 2012 to get around to taking money out of politics.
Published in Politics
Oh he still hasn’t turned on his savior. It’s not Obama’s fault you see, it’s the all powerful “system”. Maybe Obama us just too pure and good for the system he has been burdened with. Just like they believed when it came to Chicago politics Obama was the only virgin in the whore house.
Great closing line, as always.
I do think the entire system needs an overhaul and taking money out of politics would be a really good first step.
Taking stupid people out of politics would be a better first step.
Arrivederci, Shep.
I always read this kind of article hoping that the subject has realized an error in ideology but its always that Obama wasn’t progressive enough. I’m always disappointed.
Not so fast there, Shep! If Hillary doesn’t raise her $2.5 bn, you could be stuck with one of those racist, sexist, homophobic non-Democrat Presidents. Couldn’t let that happen!
I’d rather take the money out of politics. But when we try cutting the budget even a tiny bit, they accuse us of treason.
No president will ever be fascist enough for these people.
This.
I am tired of people bellyaching that Obama had a really hard time. Being president of the United States means having hard times. People who feel that it’s not fair that Obama is having a hard time shouldn’t have voted for him. They should have voted for someone who could deal with it.
I don’t think “quality” means what he thinks it means.
Exactly.
I can’t escape the feeling that whenever one of these “progressives” expresses disappointment in Obama, it’s mainly because they expected all of the rest of us knuckle-draggers would’ve been rounded up into the camps by now.
THIS!
I fail to see the connection between domestic spying and money in politics. It’s like Bernie Sanders drawing a connection between having too many choices of deodorant and children going hungry. I think Fairey just knows that “money in politics” is a good all-purpose boogieman.
For goodness sake his first 2 years he had the House and a fillibuster-proof majority in the Senate. The Supreme Court was the only branch with any power to block him, but when Obamacare came before them Justice Roberts whiffed.
How much easier can it get?
Yea, he hasn’t turned on Obama. He just wants more, more, more.
Reminds me of those polls you hear cited about whether people think the country is going in the “wrong direction”. It seems everybody agrees that the country is going in the wrong direction, but you never hear of a follow up question about which direction is the right direction.
Is the Presidency too much for any one man?
(The meme surrounding the Carter years that was then dispersed during the Reagan years.)
Only if he’s liberal.
“Obama has had a really tough time…I think Obama’s a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control.”
The soft bigotry of lowered expectations.
Poor Obama also has had to deal with the first cold winter in the history of the country which has derailed his amazing economic recovery! Why must the job be so hard for him? I think the presidency may be racist…..
The economy crashed in September, 2008. If Obama wasn’t up to the task, or if the crash would have necessitated changing direction, he had more than ample time during the election season to either cede to John McCain and Sarah Palin or explain to the people how he intended to handle the problem. Yet, he raised almost a billion dollars and slimed his opponents to get this “really tough time.”
In 2012, things weren’t any better, but he fought hard and raised a lot of money to… keep this “really tough” job. This isn’t a “really tough time” like starting college and getting brain cancer; this is something that Obama knew about, wanted, and spent billions to get. This is a job that he took when other, super-competent people wanted it.
Presumably, he should either do it competently and [Ed.: shut up], or suffer the slings and arrows of political criticism.
If he had only inherited peace and prosperity, we would see just how good a president he could be.
It should be pointed out (for the umpteenth time) that white millenials voted for Mitt Romney, not Barack Obama. Obama only won 43% of whites aged 18-29.
It makes little sense to speak of a “youth vote” anymore. Race is paramount.
The constant lament that we need to “get money out of politics” really bugs me. It sounds good, but what does it actually mean? And when have politics — at any time or place in history — not been inextricably linked with money? What are political parties supposed to use to fund campaigns? Bottled sunshine and leprechaun poop? This is just specious left wing happy talk, masquerading as actual thought.
Source wmartin?
Don’t be annoyed. Be joyful that there is another leftwing cliche to use against the left.
They keep giving us these weapons to use against them, but some conservatives refuse to take them up.
http://elections.nbcnews.com/ns/politics/2012/all/president/#.VWizi1K5XTo
I was off by 1%. 44% of whites 18-29 voted for Obama.
Appreciated.
Looks like it’s down there under “Age by race.”
Reviewing the numbers again, single women and single women with children voted for Obama quite a bit, while Marrieds and college/some-college folks voted for Romney (while no-high-school diploma and post-graduate folks voted for Obama). And older people voted for Romney.
The elephant in the room that dare not be mentioned.
But of course, that whole “Single women see government as a husband substitute” is just sexist propaganda from Faux News.
To be fair, I think the various issues are interrelated.
For example, young black single mothers who didn’t get a high school diploma probably vote most for Obama.
Old black married mothers who got some college education are more likely to vote for Romney.
I wonder what the break down is for young white males with no high school diploma?