Do You Plan On Voting For Obama Once Elections Come Around In 2012?

[SavageTaker]

I know elections don’t happen again until 2012, but I think this thread could lead to a good debate.

By the time election time comes around I’ll be able to vote but I voted for the not sure option on the poll. Reason being is that I don’t think Obama has done a terrible job as president so far but he hasn’t really done anything that would make me want to vote for him. I’ll probably be one of the people that look at all of the other options available once the time for elections come and if I don’t think anyone else could do a better job then I’ll vote for Obama.

So, based on how he's done throughout his presidency so far, do you plan on voting for him once election time comes around in 2010? Remember, this thread isn’t to debate if Obama has been a good or bad president so far, but it’s for you to tell us if you plan to vote for him or not and why.

 

[Serious Jones]

I'm not ignorant enough to think that there's nothing that Obama can do to lose my vote, but right now, he has it. I'm super excited to vote, since I will finally be 18 by then. A big reason for wanting to vote for him (and a big reason why I supported him in 2008) is that I find his opposition far less competent for the job. With McCain, he may have been an adequate leader, although I disagree with many of his policies, but if he were to die in office, Sarah Palin would had been the leader of the country, and I happen to think that she is the most undeserving, incompetent politician I have come across. If Obama were to be assassinated (which I would never wish on anyone), a much more competent, wise Joe Biden would take over.

tl;dr: As long as he doesn't screw up, and as long as his 2012 opposition is as undesirable as Sarah Palin, absolutely.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Obama's all style, no substance. I was on the fence about him for his first year in office, but his handling of the BP situation has totally put me off. As seems to be the wont of Democrats in DC nowadays, all he has done is emptily chastise the oil conglomerate and bullshit about corporate greed.

 

[Dudebuster420]

As a Dude I don't generally discuss politics, however this is a most important topic for everyone. I didn't vote for him last time, and I won't vote for him this time. He has mishandled everything as predicted during his campaign, he's shown he's not the tough leader he said he would be, as a matter of fact he's shown us that he is everything but what he said he was. I wouldn't have bought a used car off of Obama let alone let him run the government. I don't have any personal issues with Mr. Obama, but as was predicted he is an inept leader as bad as the one before, only this guy doesn't have as smart of handlers and associates.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

First and foremost, I see a lot of people riding Obama's back hard in blaming him for the current state of the Country. I'm sorry to all those ignorant morons, but Obama didn't put us in this state - Bush drove us there, and its taken years and years of turmoil for us to dig down this deep.

Now, does that mean I'll be voting for Obama come 2012? I can't say yes. I can't say no. Currently, if elections were tomorrow - no would be what I'd lean toward, simply because of the only situation I can use as a factor on how good or bad Obama's been as a President, and thats the handling of the Oil Spill & B.P.

I've seen a lot of empty handed threats on how B.P. will be responsible and how they're being held accountable for their actions. But what exactly does all of that mean? All I see is Obama on a weekly television show, being interviewed saying this crap. But no where do I read how, where, or in what manner they have been punished and held accountable. And last I knew, the Oil Spill was still unsolved. So, I ask again - what exactly does all of this mean? Higher gas prices for the working man? You punish B.P., and they turn around and punish us right back. Its almost no different than terrorism.

And on that note, wasn't one of Obama's prime objectives to begin working harder on a solution for everything overseas with our troops? I've heard very little movement on anything regarding whats to come for our troops.

Now on the flip side of this.. who is going to be the top person running against him in 2012? Palin? Fuck. THAT! She has no idea what the fuck she's talking about. Plain and simple. Obama at least knew what to say to get into office. This lady doesn't even know how to go a day without saying something that makes her look like a fucking mental case. If she's the toughest opponent he'll have, congrats to Obama - he's sticking around.

 

[Soapguy]

Honestly, I don't know. I haven't seen enough to sway me in one direction or the other. I realize he has shortcomings, but I honestly don't think those shortcomings are as vast as certain people are making it out to be, but if the economy isn't turned around by the time the reelection happens then I'm sad to say that he probably won't be reelected. Since the depression, that's kind how we've tended to vote. (with our wallets) Which is a little alarming as the president doesn't have nearly as much influence over the economy as the American public would like to believe he/she does.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

Obama's done nothing but SPEND, SPEND, SPEND! Stimulus this, Stimulus that. Take over this, take over that. The country has not been lifted out of this economic crisis in the current administration. There's been no transparency. NONE. He's even appointed a woman who has no judging experience to the supreme court of the united fucking states. That is what we call a political appointment. Nothing else and I would be surprised if she is confirmed. Obama will not get my vote in 2012. Do you guys know how much the country is in debt right now? 13 fucking TRILLION. that's 13,000,000,000,000 dollars in debt due to the amount of spending this administration has done.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm not sure really. For one thing, it'd have to depend on who his opponents in the race would be. When it comes to social issues, I'm definitely more on the liberal side than anything else. I'm Pro-Choice, I believe that gays should be entitled to have their marriages recognized with the same rights and privledges as heterosexual marriages, I'm for the seperation of Church and State, etc. Basically, I'm on the opposite side of the fence from the right when it comes to most social issues.

I know that people want the economic crisis to be over, but it took years to get into the state we're in now and it's going to take time to get us out. I do think that people conveniently tend to overlook the fact that most of what's happened to bring down the economy took place on George Bush, Jr.'s watch. In 2008, I did vote for Barack Obama but I wasn't kidding myself. I knew that he couldn't wave a magic wand and make everything better. Even then, I said that Obama would be fortunate to have things back to the same level they were by the end of a second term, if he were elected to a second term. Whatever action he takes place, the Republicans attempt to block and members of his own party in Congress sometimes oppose him on somethings or drag their feet.

I admit that I generally don't vote for Republicans because I simply don't agree with the message that they tend to send out in general.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I'm really not sure who will be the candidates down the road besides Obama, unless someone on the democratic side runs against him. Usually if someone from the same party decides to run against the President then it hurts the party in the long run causing the election to be won easily by the opponent. I voted for Obama as well and I'm more of a liberal democrat then anything, but I am willing to meet in the middle on most issues. Obama has a lot of criticisms and has a lot on his plate right now with the oil spill, two wars, and the economy. Whoever is in Obama's position will have a tough time being reelected since everyone wants all the nations problems to be solved overnight.

Obama said he would rather be a radical one term president then a mediocre two term president, and it looks like it may happen. I just don't think no matter how many people disapprove of Obama's handling of the country that they will vote for a Republican candidate in 2012. There aren't any strong candidates. Romney, Huckabee, and Sarah Palin have proved they don't have what it takes to be president. No matter how many fans Palin has, people still don't take her seriously.

With Republicans in the house denying unemployment benefits and siding with BP instead of the President or the American people, I think they have painted themselves into a corner. The tea party and their candidates are doing more harm then good because anything you see in the media regarding the tea party is negative and it paints them as racist. Democrats and Republicans really don't have a strong chance.

Maybe there will be a mysterious independent third party candidate that will sweep the nation. I doubt it, but Democrats and Republicans aren't doing anyone any favors right now.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I backed Obama in 2008, and as of this moment, I do not intend on voting for him in 2012.

For one, my political views have evolved a bit in the last 2 years, as I've gone from being a moderate democrat to a full blown libertarian. I'm not thrilled with Obama's health care plan, and I'm not a fan of how he has handled the BP deal.

On the other hand, I am concerned with a lack of an opposing candidate. I think Mitt Romney is a snake. Palin doesn't have the leadership quality. McCain blew his chance. I liked Huckabee on many issues, but he is so socially conservative and I cannot get past that.

This could be another election like 2000 where I vote for a 3rd party candidate just in an attempt to bolster the percentage and get another party in the formal debate.

I will damn sure be GLUED to the primaries. Last year, the primary elections were the best pre-general election I've ever watched.

 

[Prax]

I'm Canadian so my opinion doesn't really matter, but if I were American there would be no way I'd vote for Obama. He's a carbon copy of Jimmy Carter in the 70s. A big talker who makes a lot of promises that he can't deliver on. Has he even done one thing he promised to do back in 2008? Regardless of who's fault the mess the US is in now is, Obama was charged with fixing the situation, and promised that would, and that he would act quickly, but so far all he's proven is that he's a good public speaker.

That man needs to be taken out of office, because he isn't only hurting the United States, but the countries around him, my own included.

 

[secret titan]

No way would I vote for Obama. He's promised so much, yet delivered so little. I didn't vote for him to begin with and I'm currently glad. He's spent too much time on trying to get his healthcare plan approved and hasn't done anything worthy of being re-elected.

On a side note, I wonder what it would take for the internet community to get together and vote for one worthy person as a write in for President. It's supposedly possible, but the voting system doesn't work as intended in this country anyway. The only votes that count toward who is President are the electoral votes. So, despite who wins the popular vote, politicians just elect what they want and not what their state's residents want.

 

[Dudebuster420]

I backed Obama in 2008, and as of this moment, I do not intend on voting for him in 2012.

For one, my political views have evolved a bit in the last 2 years, as I've gone from being a moderate democrat to a full blown libertarian. I'm not thrilled with Obama's health care plan, and I'm not a fan of how he has handled the BP deal.

On the other hand, I am concerned with a lack of an opposing candidate. I think Mitt Romney is a snake. Palin doesn't have the leadership quality. McCain blew his chance. I liked Huckabee on many issues, but he is so socially conservative and I cannot get past that.

This could be another election like 2000 where I vote for a 3rd party candidate just in an attempt to bolster the percentage and get another party in the formal debate.

I will damn sure be GLUED to the primaries. Last year, the primary elections were the best pre-general election I've ever watched.

This pretty well reflects my feelings exactly outside of the libertarian part. I am a registered Republican but I am really depressed with the options. I think IC is dead on about the candidates. I was going to vote for Ron Paul when it was looking like Romney or Huckabee were going to be the candidates.

McCain I thought, was the best choice overall being the lesser of two evils, and I thought he had THE PLAN that would have equaled economic recovery. That's why I don't like social issues being brought into it, let's just look at the plans and the numbers, this guy wants to do this, this guy wants to do that, which one is going to be better for US in the long run? I thought that was McCain by at least a few furlong's. People get too sidetracked with the flowery speeches, the kissing babies, shaking hands, and rehearsed responses to questions on the social issues. That was my problem with the last election, and I hope people have learned their lesson. Don't vote for the guy you'd like to hang out with or who seems pretty "Cool", vote with your brain and vote for the guy who is going to do the best job period.


In closing I have a message for someone else who said something I was a little off-put by.

Originally Posted By TheOneBigWill
First and foremost, I see a lot of people riding Obama's back hard in blaming him for the current state of the Country. I'm sorry to all those ignorant morons, but Obama didn't put us in this state - Bush drove us there, and its taken years and years of turmoil for us to dig down this deep.

Bush didn't sell us to China, Bush didn't try to socialize health care, Bush didn't ask for 9/11, He did have to respond. The economy was in decline from the Clinton Administrations 2 terms when Bush stepped in, The Democrats in Congress railroaded the Bush Administration his last term anyways, and Unlike Obama, when Bush introduced a stimulus it actually worked short term just as intended. He didn't do everything right, he didn't do everything wrong. Quit blaming Bush, we are past the point of everything being his fault.

 

[LaceKitten]

You couldn't pay me to vote for Obama when the election comes around again.

I'm not saying I'll vote for whomever he's running against though. I have to see what the guy stands for. So either I will vote for that guy or not vote in that part of the election at all.

 

[Razor]

Now see, when people said "OBAMA HASNT DONE ANYTHING LULZ GAY RIGHTS ABORTIONS EVERYWHERE" I would say "Calm down, he's been in office for 5 days, give him time." Hell. I gave him the benefit of the doubt for the first year.

It's been what, a year and a half since he was sworn in? January 2009, right?

He's gotten us Healthcare, which finally brings us up to par with the rest of the industrialized world. No more cost fixing over basic health rights! Oh yeah!

He brought us the stimulus package. That's cool. We all knew he was a Democrat when he stepped into office, and he'd spend like he didn't know how to keep his hand away from the Congressional Credit Card. Bush also brought us a stimulus package if you don't remember, and brought us a world in which we somehow blew the billions in surplus that our balanced budget from Clinton's years brought us. Now we're 13 trillion in the hole to China, or something like that.

He's somehow let jobless benefits lapse. Now that's not totally his fault, Republicans have banded together to completely block any type of legislation from Obama once they realized this was an election year. But still. He's the President. Show some god damn leadership, will ya?

He's got the Department of Defense finally talking about rescinding Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I'd compare that accomplishment to Roosevelt integrating the Armed Services. Same thing. Prejudiced against group of people not allowed to serve with their fellow Americans they way every American has the right to; Openly and side-by-side.

He's repaired our status in the world, if only slightly. People aren't burning our flags in the streets quite as much. And he's totally followed the Bush era (end game, like November 2008) exit strategy from Iraq.

As far BP, Obama did about as much as he could. He couldn't exactly go down there and vacuum up the oil himself. He had to work through Congress, and we all know how well Pelosi actually gets shit done. She's in danger of losing her seat in California. California. That's how bad she is at her job.

The fact of the matter is that there's more he hasn't done.

1) Immigration Policy.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love everyone. Don't matter who or what you are, I'll give you a fair shake. So the fact that immigrants are becoming more and more populace in our country isn't what's bothering me about the border policy.

Have you checked out Mexico lately? They're currently outright losing a war with the drug cartels over control of the country. Their president keeps calling about about "great strides" they've made, but it's bullshit. Drug Cartels own Mexico. Why else would there be major military roadblocks into all of the tourism capitals in Mexico? If they weren't there, the drug cartels would take away the one last real source of income Mexico even has.

And, of course, that means that the drug violence is sweeping over the border. Wasn't it Phoenix, Arizona that recently sparked with a huge increase in murders and kidnappings, most if not all of which were drug-related? There are outright gun battles in Mexico's streets and the deserts of the American Southwest, and we're currently worrying about North Korea. Fuck North Korea. South Korea could murder them if they wanted to. All of North Korea is starving anyway. And China isn't helping shit. Unless South Korea nukes a bitch, and that's not going to happen. They don't need to.

That Arizona law isn't a step-forward either. It's totally stepping over powers that are explicitly stated in the Constitution as reserved for only the Federal Government. That isn't the answer to the problem. Recalling the Arizona National Guard and stationing them on the border is. Screwing around with passports isn't.

2) Getting our Civil Rights back.

PATRIOT Act did it under Bush. A completely underhanded use of a national disaster to pass legislation that spit in the face of the Constitution.

Obama ran on actually repelling the law. He lauded his stance on it and that he never actually voted for it.

Then what happens under his presidency? The fucker is strengthened, and actually lengthened. What in the hell. That is the exact opposite of what he said he would do.

TL;DR: I'll vote for anyone that is a social liberal and runs on, you know, not shitting on my rights. As of now I'm voting for Obama because he has 2 years to change my mind. In 2012 I won't hesitate to vote against him. Americans don't have rights until it's inconvenient for Congress.

 

[m6usin786]

Nope.. hes not good at handling issues or keeping promises. He still hasnt got the troops outta Afghanistan.

 

[RockFan89]

Remember, this thread isn’t to debate if Obama has been a good or bad president so far, but it’s for you to tell us if you plan to vote for him or not and why.

Well if he was a bad president, why would you vote for him and if he were a good president why wouldn't you?

Anyway, I voted for McCain in 2008 because I am pretty conservative.

Social Policy:
In regards to social policy, I'm apathetic to gay marriage and am pro life, but I recognize that social change can only be brought upon through a change in our culture and not a change in government.

Foreign Policy:
I originally was worried Obama would be soft, and many conservatives have criticized him on this front, but I am generally satisfied with what he has done. He is not afraid to use drone attacks on terrorist and his speech after winning the Nobel peace prize showed me that he was willing to fight when need be. (I loved the fact he was telling the rest of the world to step up and fight terrorism while accepting a peace prize).

BP:
To me Obama shouldn't be given such Hell over this, just like I think Bush shouldn't have received such flak over Katrina (which was a massive failure of local government). What did people want Obama to do? Unless the government had people who could clean the mess up better than BP, which I highly doubt, he had to work with BP to fix the problem.

Economic Policy:
This is where he lost my vote in 2008 and will loose it in 2012. Obama has this view of the economy that government spending is the best way out of economic trouble. Too often liberals, like my high school US History teacher, think that the New Deal is what got us out of the Great Depression, but when I entered business school, everyone said that it was WWII that got us out and many economists believe the New Deal actually deepened the recession. It is a myth that deregulation got us into this mess. Bush passed more regulation then Clinton did. Plus, it was Democrats and Republicans pushing this housing bubble with the quasi-government companies Fannie and Freddie. In the summer of 2008 Barney Frank was trumpeting how sound those institutions were, 3 months later they collapsed.

Back to Obama, his bailout of the car industry was a failure (and don't believe GM when they say they paid back the loan, they paid it back with money given by the government to purchase GM stock) followed by the waste of money called 'Cash for Clunkers' which just moved August car sales to June. His Health Care policy is going to cost good companies who already provide insurance for their employees millions (I have heard numbers from 100 million to 1 billion for a single company). He is going to increase the deficit at a much greater rate then Bush did and he seems to believe raising taxes on the rich is not going to hurt the economy.

The only way I would vote for Obama is if I were living in a swing state and if Palin was his opponent. But since I live in Illinois, I'll probably vote for the Republican candidate (I'm thinking Romney or Gingrich) or the Libertarian candidate if someone like Palin runs.

 

[Vanderhook]

I'm not exactly up to speed with the current political landscape right now unfortunately, so my opinion is subject to change.

I'm not a huge Obama supporter, but I don't hate the guy. I'm a libertarian at heart, so I disagree with most of his fiscal decisions but I do like where he stands on social issues. However, I weigh fiscal issues heavier than I do social issues simply because they affect us directly. Social issues are much more difficult to enforce and slower to change -- it's not like we are going to become Soviet Russia overnight.

Whether Obama gets my vote depends on who he is running against. The Republicans from 2008 all sucked, with the exception of McCain who I am a huge fan of. However, the McCain from 2008 was definitely not the McCain I knew and loved; it seemed like he was corrupted by the GOP and forced to cater to the Republican base (arguably the most ******ed group of people in my opinion). Romney came off as a slimeball and seemed like a magnet for corruption. Huckabee seemed like a good man but the man is a Young Earth Creationist; anybody who believes that crap loses all credibility, you might as well say you still believe in Santa. Palin is one of the most ignorant politicians I've ever seen. The GOP is awful these days.

So, yeah depends who he is going up against. Hopefully Ron Paul! (yeah right)

 

[Decarow]

With McCain, he may have been an adequate leader, although I disagree with many of his policies, but if he were to die in office, Sarah Palin would had been the leader of the country, and I happen to think that she is the most undeserving, incompetent politician I have come across. If Obama were to be assassinated (which I would never wish on anyone), a much more competent, wise Joe Biden would take over.

Obama could have a stroke and die in office while McCain could live another 10 or so years. Your argument is a fallacy.

Competent and wise Joe Biden? Please. The guy was infamous in the 80s.

Onto subject. I will not vote for Obama. I didn't vote for him in 2008, and I will not vote for him in 2012. I don't like his policies. If everyone remembers correctly, the guy he picked to win Afghanistan fucked up and now we're back to the original guy people were bashing while Bush was in office.

I don't like Obama at all. I don't care what race he is, I don't care what his religion may be. I just don't like him.

In November the GOP is projected to take over the Senate. And Obama is so liberal he wouldn't be able to work with said Senate. He will be a lame duck president and that will hurt him. I will not vote for him and I hope he loses.

 

[antfarm612]

Hell no. He is piling on massive amounts of debt with his spending, expanding the government astronomically, no plans to exit Afghanistan/Iraq. I want a President who believes in freedom and peace.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

I'm with IC25 - I backed him then, but I'll probably be voting third party in 2012. I will not go anywhere near the Republican party if they're shaping up to bring in the tea party neo-cons to the frontlines.

I'm inclined to stick with Obama, depending on how things turn out, because I know the right-wing voters are all organized and pretty much voting whatever the Republicans are throwing at them, but the left will be voting all over the place, pretty much handing the Republicans the election. I would rather vote Obama than some Reagan-idolizing lunatic who's just going to hand money to the richest tier in the country.

However, if this isn't the case, my vote will probably lay with the third party candidates.