politics

[dilletante]

trying to guess at how bad things might get keeps making me extra-sad about how bad things already are. we were already living under a lizard-person; we just gave him a pass on it because he was such a gosh-darn nice guy

Comments

[ceelove]

Thank you for the reminder that what I started saying at the start of the Obama administration is literally true: I've been living under a president who doesn't hate me personally. I'd been overlooking how his lack of hatred for me doesn't translate into good all-around policies.

[desireearmfeldt]

True; and also, the fact that some of his policies are objectionable doesn't mean he did nothing worth approving of. :)

[coraline]

yeah... i'm resigned to the fact that anyone who can become president is going to do a lot of shit that i hate. obama did more things that i approved of than his predecesors, and fewer of some classes of things that i hated. it doesn't make his hateful things less hateful, but...

[coraline]

it's amazing what an emotional difference that makes :/

[queenofhalves]

i can only think that how the presidency, the united states' policies, and our overall situation look when you are running for president is quite different than how they look when you ARE president. i think obama ran a sincere campaign in 2008, one where his promises were in line with his previous statements and (short) voting record. the fact that his administration did not fulfill many of these promises, i suspect, has to do with the obstructionism of congress, but also probably the fact that our international situation is much more complicated, volatile, and dangerous than the american public imagines.

i offer that as an explanation, not as an excuse. to be president is a job i would never want.

[muckefuck]

to be president is a job i would never want.

I guess you and Trump have something in common after all!

[dilletante]

quite different than how they look when you ARE president.

yeah. i've been wondering for the past 7 years what gets whispered in your ear when you take office that makes you immediately do a 180 on things like the drug war and criminal justice and surveillance.

humorous take: "pot lets people perceive our alien overlords."

scary take: "it would be a shame if something happened to your children, mister president."

[chaggalagirl]

this has actually helped me, emotionally, and a lot. it helps me put this in some perspective. thank you.