One of my former fellow ROTC cadets recently asked on Facebook if anyone who had voted for President Obama now had “buyer’s remorse”. Not surprisingly, the comments he received focused on the reasons why the commenters hadn’t supported Obama as a candidate and now didn’t support him as Commander in Chief.
I thought it was an interesting question though, especially since I struggled with my decision to vote for Obama. I cringed at some of his economic plans, most notably the proposals for stemming the tide of foreclosures, and I still think the problem of health care extends far beyond availability to a growing disregard for preventative health and wellness, regardless of class or income level.
Last December, I wrote about the reasons I voted for President Obama. Reexamining those reasons now, I stand by them – namely, the retention of existing civil liberties, the shift in foreign policy focus from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the enactment of alternative energy policies.
Fiscal and foreign policies were what tied me to the GOP for many years. But as Republicans began spending just as freely as Democrats – I don’t like deficit or so-called emergency spending any more than I like taxes – I realized that fiscal conservatism was no more a priority for the GOP than it was for Democrats. Likewise, the mishandling of counterterrorism efforts and associated funding, plus the fact that Osama bin Laden is still at large – for reasons that baffle even the elite Special Ops forces who very nearly had him in their sights – degraded my confidence in my former party’s ability to execute effective foreign policy.
As president, McCain might have reinstituted fiscal conservatism (from the executive branch at least – I don’t kid myself that a Democrat-controlled Congress would rein in spending). He might have even revised our foreign policy focus and our military commitments in the Middle East. Our military has endured so much already, and it pains me to know that our troops – including many whom are personal friends – continue to deploy without a clear idea of what we want to accomplish and how we plan to do so.
But it’s primarily the matter of civil liberties that drove me to vote for Obama, particularly when Senator McCain chose former Governor Palin as his running mate. While her support for expanded drilling (vice exploration of alternative energy sources) and her staunch pro-life views didn’t surprise me, they didn’t attract me either. Moreover, her definition of marriage (and corresponding disapproval of homosexual unions) and her belief that intelligent design ought to be taught in public schools repelled me.
For a party that is supposedly in favor of minimal government intervention in individuals’ lives, the GOP has gotten awfully nosy. Not only do they want to tell us how to believe and whom to love, their lack of fiscal restraint now means they’re spending my paycheck too.
Furthermore, the “you’re with us or you’re against us” attitude of such unofficial party leaders as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter continue to drive lifelong Republicans like me from the party. But as they remind us frequently, our departure is seen as good riddance. Who needs us anyway? Certainly not today’s GOP.
So do I have buyer’s remorse? No.
At least nowhere near as much as I would have if I’d voted McCain/Palin.
I don’t want to know how you voted (okay, tell me if you really must), but tell me whether you’d still cast the same vote today.
No, I do not have buyer’s remorse. I am pretty grateful not to be living in a cardboard shack by the river, a la Hooverville. I think we narrowly missed a Great Depression, and while the expenditures of the past six months are staggering, it does seem they helped us find a bottom to the recession and a chance to get back on track after the previous administration almost ran us off a financial cliff. But that’s just my opinion.
Not even a question. Of course I’d have voted the same way.
No doubt in my mind, no buyer’s remorse here.
No buyer’s remorse here when one considers the alternative, as you did. I’m more than a bit upset that the President has apparently backtracked on some very important civil rights issues. But people seem to forget that taxes are lower today than they were when President Obama took office, that we took some action to stop the economic freefall that we were in, and that we finally – FINALLY – have a political leader who can get people to talk about issues of race in a way that gets beyond telling the other side what’s wrong with them. Further, there’s no way this Congress gets as far as it has on health care reform without the President making it his top domestic priority. No one knows what the final result will be, but the simple fact that congressional committees are working and the media is paying attention represents enormous progress.
I’m still 100% satisfied with my vote. And I think it is far too early to render judgment on this administration’s achievements (not saying you are doing so, but others are).
I have been thinking of this too- hard not to living in the DC Metro area. It’s politics and pundit talk 24/7 here. I wouldn’t change my vote. My husband, a former Marine who has served in Iraq and who is a Republican voted for Obama this past election for the same reasons you did. He felt alienated from his party and that it was a total “good riddance” type attitude.
No way would I change my vote. My reasons for disappointment in the first few months (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, backtracking on Guantanamo, failure to prosecute torturers) would hardly have been any different under the other guy.
While I understand that many see Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as a cop-out, given that I was asked in ROTC – in the context of official interviews – whether I had engaged in homosexual behavior, I think it’s a giant leap from where we once were.
I didn’t know that! That sounds like Do Ask Don’t Tell, to me. I know I’m engaging in hypotheticals here, but I think that if we still had a ban on gays in the military in 2009, there’d be such outrage that we’d be able to change it. Instead we’re stalled somewhere in the middle.
i can’t attest to buyer’s remorse, but i can say without hesitation, no voter’s remorse here. i’m not going to comment on much of your post, because we agree on many (most even!) things, even if we did come to a different voting conclusion…
what i do think bears mentioning though, because i hear it (or similar statements) a lot, is that you talked about Sarah Palin’s stance on gay marriage. It kind of baffles me that this is an issue constantly broached, considering Obama does not/did not support gay marriage either.
anyways, not looking to start a war with anyone… i think you know already that i am a staunch supporter of gay marriage and equal rights.
Absolutely – I do realize Obama’s stance on gay marriage. That’s where it had to come down to ideology for me – while he doesn’t agree with applying the same term (which still baffles me, but whatever), he at least doesn’t think homosexuality is wrong. The GOP, on the other hand, quotes scripture as “proof” of the evils of homosexuality and the need to define marriage as a strictly heterosexual institution (which certainly isn’t going to convince me).
True, but the GOP has also said it’s not a federal, but a state issue, whereas Dems are more than happy to make it a federal issue – this can be taken as good or bad, depending on how you look at it, but I’m inclined to leave the power with the states because (in my opinion) I think we will progress faster in that medium. That, and I think the federal government should be small and stay out of my (and your) business as much as possible.
Now, before you counter me, yes, I am well aware that saying and doing are very different and not always practiced. Annnnnd that’s (one of many reasons) why politics sucks. LOL.
People are complaining about things not changing fast enough. Therefore, Obama = FAIL.
What? Try crawling your way out of huge debt while still paying all your necessary and large bills. It’s not easy at home, it’s not going to be any easier in Washington. Let’s be a little patient and be thankful we’re headed, however slowly, in the right direction.
So, erm, no I wouldn’t have changed my vote. Sorry for the mini-rant….
Madge – I feel like more people are upset with the fact that his tactic for lowering the budget seems to be spending oodles and oodles more money… which just flies in the face of common sense… that and now it seems like he WILL be raising taxes on the middle class, despite his constant statements to the contrary.
Being Canadian, I just probably sit this one out. But I won’t. We were having our own elections at the same time you were having yours and I remember thinking, “Wow, I thought I had a tough decision to make here – glad I’m not there.” I wasn’t on the Obama train like so many others were. While I recognized him as a force that was definitely needed at the time, I wasn’t convinced he had what it takes to make good on his promises. But then again, what politician does? What I’m disappointed in is his silence when it comes to Israel. I’m seriously hoping he’s got a brilliant plan….somewhere.
I think the people who have buyer’s remorse weren’t really listening during the campaign, they were the ones who were sick of Bush and got caught up in the “this is a historical moment” hype.
The now president warned everyone time and time again that the next ten years are going to be ROUGH for everyone while we transition into the lifestyle that we should have been adopting decades ago. He told everyone that it would get worse before it got better, but that it didn’t even have a chance of getting better with people like McCain and/or Palin (I’d say especially people like Palin) in office.
I hope everyone can stay the course, and STOP expecting things to just be instantly better. The damage that he is trying to heal has taken decades to accomplish, and everyone needs to buckle down and stop complaining. Stop complaining that people got bailouts. Stop complaining that they paid their bills and didn’t get anything. We’re a country of whiny bitches, lazy people who can’t see past their own nose to even the idea of the greater good.
Not a bit of remorse.
I must say I think it’s odd that so many people (myself included until Political Science 101–not a jab, that was really the name of the class) think of Democrats as being the big spenders. When Reagan was elected in 1980 there was no national debt (well, it was about 180 grand). The trillion or so debt we now carry was made essentially by Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II. That’s 20 years of Republican and 8 years of Democrat. Not to mention that those 8 Democratic years saw a balanced budget and the best economy of those entire 28 years.
I had hope that Obama would be a stronger, more forceful president not inclined to hold Beer Summits, but still – I would vote for him all over again.
Voted McCain/Palin, but not without much difficulty. Never in a million years would I have believed myself voting for such a RIDICULOUS pair. I can’t stand McCain, and let’s not get started on Palin. But no regrets. I think that Obama didn’t expect to win and was planning on using this as his launching pad for 8 years down the road after he’d gained more experience. I wish he had more experience. Heaven help him.
I mean didn’t expect to win the nomination. Once he had the nomination I think he was a lock. Whoever won the Democratic nomination was a lock in my mind.
I’d still vote the same way today as I did in November, and I suspect that very little could happen to change my mind.
This is a great, thoughtful post (like every one I read here). I have no buyer’s remorse, would still vote for Obama again. But I have patience and don’t expect everything to be perfect overnight either. I think some of the people who have regrets now were hoping for magic fixes, which unfortunately, don’t really happen outside of fairy tales.
I stand by my vote, for sure.
As a Canadian, I shouldn’t really weigh in on the matter (although I would have voted Democrat). What I find fascinating is that there is a desire to judge the President’s track record already, as if there could have been significant (perhaps measurable) improvement in so short a time. Talk about an unrealistic standard for anyone, Democratic or Republican, to live up to.
I’m happy I voted for our president. I’m just sorry he was left with so many huge messes to try and clean up all at once.
Agree completely with those who note that it’s unreasonable to level judgment on his presidency only six months into his term, both for those who voted Obama and for those who voted McCain. Still think it’s a good exercise to look at the reasons we voted as we did and consider whether we still stand by those reasons.
Those with so-called remorse should remember at this point in Bush’s first term, he had spent most of his tenure at the Crawford ranch “clearing brush” and not reading the paper.
Of course he did continue not reading the paper. But at least he was in DC at the time.
So hell yeah, I’m happy with my vote.
I would absolutely 100% positively vote the same way. Sarah Palin scares the bejesus out of me. Fascist Christians are terrifying.
No regrets at all. I’d vote for him (Obama) again today if asked too. Do I agree with everything he says, does or believes in, hell no. However I do believe in him. I believe he was the better choice and if given the change, say for the next seven and a half years, he can do great things for this country.
However I wish he had a different outlook on gay marriage. Gah, I so wish he did. My sis-in-law deserves for her marriage on Sunday to be legal. But it won’t be. That is a law that needs to be changed, in my mind. It makes me sad to think about it.
Julie, I stay away from the political stuff on my blog…but I’m glad you don’t I truly love reading your point of view and the way you share it. Just wanted you to know that, because I’m not ever sure I’ve said it.
I’m really amazed at how quickly people seem to have expected things to change as soon as Obama took office. As an independent who’s very liberal on some fronts and conservative on others, I struggled with who I should vote for (Palin made the choice easier for me). But I know that campaign promises are really just wish lists and that even if he meant with all his heart to uphold every single one, there’s no way he’d be able to…at least not right away.
You are pretty much the ONLY PERSON who can talk about politics so that I READ it with INTEREST rather than clicking away quickly.
About remorse—I feel like I haven’t even gotten out of the store yet. Too soon.