Dana Milbank: Where Is Obama's Backbone?

Washington Post:

Helen Thomas is 89 years old and requires some assistance to get to and from the daily White House briefing. Yet her backbone has proved stronger than that of the president she covers.

On Thursday afternoon, Thomas gave a clinic in fortitude to President Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, during the briefing. "Has the president given up on the public option?" she inquired from her front-row-middle seat

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[fredamae]

Then WE ALL Must work. Thank you for your hard work during the election...But If you recall, Candidate Obama Never said He Could Make These Changes WE want By Himself!

His Promise INCLUDED OUR Commitment to Help Him Help Us! WE Have Failed President Obama by OUR Own IN-Action..Instead WE Complain!

He Never Said It Was Going To Be Easy, He Always Said It Would Be Work, LOTS Of Work, AFTER He was in OFFICE...Now, Lets Do OUR Part!

Now he is IN Office and Everybody Whines because He has Not Delivered...Well, Again...Get off your Arses and Get to work LOBBYING CONGRESS because without OUR Participation NOW, We Will Get OUT Of this Admin Exactly What WE have Invested...

Look around you, It IS Congress and The Greed of Many That Is To Blame!

It IS Congress That Is Thowing The "Monkeyy Wrench" in Progress. WE ONLY have a Very Few Progressive and Liberal Congress folk in the Senate with barely More in the House.

Big Corps have ALL the Money, BUT WE have the Power, Should WE, the People Opt (en masse) to USE it!

We WILL Win If WE Collectively Pull OUR Heads Out and Get Busy Going After Congress!!

[JTPurcell]

lets just stop crying and remove him from the Dem ticket in 2012

[JTPurcell]

President Obama knew from the very beginning that he woould never expect, never support a Public Option, never support anything which 'MAY" benefit honest Americans.

[edwcorey]

The saying goes: "I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb." If you have important things to do and pussyfoot around because you don't want to alienate people--but still don't get it done and you still alienate people--then you might as well have gone full bore. Obama's going to get hung for a mouse when action might have literally and figuratively garnered an elephant.

[tbone99]

I thought Obama chose Rahm to get the things he wanted done, so he could appear above the fray. Unfortunately it looks like Rahm is just getting done what HE wants , such as healthcare with no public option and major concessions to the med-pharmaceutical complex.

[marignymitch]

The president along with the vast majority of Democratic politicians is congenitally devoid of spine. Mr Milbank knows this; even Obama's self-deluded apologists know this.

[DredLockRasta]

and when obama signs the hc bill with a public option what will you say then?

[edwcorey]

You mean "if." "If" is the biggest word in the English language.

[nerakami]

Is this the same Dana who during the elections... intentionally mis-represented Obama's statements and when called out on it by Keith Olberman - ran to CNN instead. To date has never apologized and never returned to answer questions about it to Keith... sorry Dana, you have zero credibility in my book...

[Dachozen1]

I love Obama for bringing intelligence and civility back to the White House but this is a legitimate question. I think it is safe to say we are beyond the hope stage and ready for the action stage. You have reached out over and over to no avail. People in your own party has sided with the Republicans. As much as i didn't like Bush, he was effective in his agenda. It was a bad one but he got it passed for his party without blinking an eye for support from Democrats. We voted for you based on the promise you have shown that seemed true but it is beginning to look like your previous predecessors. We believed we finally had a President that will fight for the common person. Don't take the fight out of the party. Stand up strong, stick to your guns and we'll have your back. The opposition has proven their strategy consist of sabotaging your agenda. If you allow this to happen, you will lose the next election.

[Jazzcomedian]

I've read a lot of presidential history over the years, and have come to the inescapable fact that there is no template for president. Before President Obama we had 43 different presidents, and each president was president according to his personality, character, and style. Each one was unique and had varying successes and failures. They could only be who they were, and their styles and personalities ran the gamut from the blustery Andrew Jackson to the cerebral Woodrow Wilson, to the ineffectual tough talking Dubya.

President Obama is not Lincoln, FDR, JFK, LBJ, Reagan, Clinton, or Bush. President Obama has to be the president in his own way, and I for one refuse to judge a presidency on a 24/7 news cycle day by day basis. That's insane. I've never judged any other presidency that way, nor do I remember it being done before the advent of the 24/7 news cycle, whose only interest is in generating stories and controversy--no matter how manufactured, and unimportant.

In 2012, I'll have a clear picture on what's what under the leadership of President Obama, and make a decision then. I would wait that many years to make a judgement on any president regardless of party--especially one taking office with an America shattered on so many fronts.

[knowwhatimsayin]

Very well said. Thank you.

[scorpioleidy]

Criticism from a man ... named ... DANA?!?!

[HLL]

God bless Helen Thomas. Love that woman. Remember seeing the film of President Kennedy sparring with her smilingly. Adorable.

Meanwhile - Ms. Thomas is right on the money: "Has the President given up on the Public Option?"

WHERE IN THE HECK IS OBAMA'S BACKBONE?!?! I voted for the President and figured we'd be out of Iraq by now, Guantanamo would be closed, and he'd protect the environment instead of caving in on that too. Disappointed doesn't begin to cover how I feel right now.

Why the Dems, with a House and Senate majority, and a Democratic President, can't push through Health Care which is what 80% of the people want is unbelievable. Such incompetence.

[HerbTee]

You were VERY f00lish to have ever thought ANY new President can accomplish all of the things you mention during his/her first term, much less in the first 9 months of a President's term. That is the problem with this country...far too many Americans are too selfish, too greedy, too self-absorbed and have too little patience for anything.

[Awake-and-Sing]

The "only nine months" excuse is as bogus and irrelevant as the "multi-dimensional chess" defense.

While it is not enough time to expect everything to be fixed, nine months is more than enough time to judge the character and actions of a new President.

The President either has no backbone or he intended to use it to serve corporations all along and was a fraud during his campaign.

His speeches are well done, but they are irrelevant words. Look at elected politicians actual actions and you'll see the truth about them, what they really believe and who they really are.

He appointed Geitner and Summers and Emanuel, and his original appointment for HHS Secretary was Tom Daschle, someone who doesn't support any public option. He's backstabbed the gay community on DOMA. He's serving the same corporations as Bush. He hasn't stood up and fought the conservative movement or corporate lobbyists on anything. Instead of invigorating his base, he triangulated against his base and laid prostrate before Olympia Snowe. "New politics" was just a giant scam so that he wouldn't have to even try and keep his campaign promises under the cover of "bipartisanship".

The President is of course better than Bush or McCain would have been, but just another DLC-to-the-bone President who said what he needed to say to get elected. That much we can see from his actual actions in nine months.

[Mauiloa]

Is this whole damn Adminstration run by committee?

When Dubya fought for something - even though he was always on the wrong side - he fought hard. Not that I believe that many of the most important decisions were his, but he sure as hell didn't care if he was unpopular.

But I keep trying to figure out who the Obama people are trying to appeal to. Right now, there is NO ONE happy with his lack of "spine".

When will Democrats finally get it? We're looking for leaders, not wishy-washy friends. Everyone in Washington is so concerned with the next election that they can't make strong and forceful DECISIONS!

Michael Moore said it best when he made the observation that the Health Care proposal Obama promoted was already compromised into being almost ineffective when it was first announced. Instead of coming out with the strongest proposal he could, he didn't want to upset too many people.

Well, now he looks like a chump. And this trip to Copenhagen to fight for Chicago's Olympic bid was ridiculous and makes him look like a real loser for the first time since his election.

Not looking good, Barack.

[MarkVA71]

who are these jokers we elected?

[Paxhope]

Boy, I pity you if you can't see the great grit and courage of this President - smart as a whip too!

[wijg]

milbank, help me out here because I'm a little confused. You wonder where the President's backbone is while applauding Helen Thomas's backbone. In 2005 wasn't it you that criticized Democrats for trying to find a backbone? ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/16/AR2005061601570.html

Inconsistency on your part makes everything you have to say look like opportunism.