Sen. Harkin blames Obama for Public Option failure, supports Single Payer

[Mr. Smith]

Of course, Obama would not do anything to promote a Public Option. Democrats were so high on what Obama appeared to be, that they were (and most continue to be) blind to what he really was and is. Like the Clintons, Obama was a sellout who did nothing memorable for the average American. Saying "he's better than a Republican" is setting the bar pretty damn low and a total deflection from his overall pretty awful Presidency. Even when he had 60 Democratic Senators and an overwhelming majority in the House, the best he could achieve was a 1990s Republican style, Heritage Foundation, "Romneycare" healthcare bill and a stimulus package that he knew was less than half the stimulus necessary to actually get our economy moving again.

Add to that, he helped destroy Libya, massively expand the drone war, engaged in targeted assassinations of suspected terrorists in foreign countries, fought for unpopular and job-destroying trade deals, did absolutely nothing to resolve our enormous trade deficits, retained the Patriot Act, watched as wealth inequality continued to skyrocket, made no substantive improvements to labor rights or the minimum wage, and I could go on. Yes, good things occurred during his Presidency as well, such as the repeal of DADT, millions of more Americans gained access to healthcare under the ACA, our unemployment rate is down to 4.4%, and he was stuck with a Republican-dominated legislature for much of his Presidency. However, even when given the ability to make radical changes, his investment in the fight was weak at best. He was perfectly happy to bring countless Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street cronies into his administration and now goes around making millions off of book deals and has already given a $400,000 speech. But, all of that is acceptable because he is a Democrat and "look how cool he is!!!"

Obama was a fraud. The Clintons were frauds. We can see how Obama is already using the office of the Presidency to enrich himself today, similar to how the Clintons made tens of millions and became filthy rich after they left the White House. Of course, that is perfectly acceptable because "everyone does that," except Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Harry Truman, the former spends his time working with charities and the latter retired to his modest home in Missouri and let anyone contact him at his office.

You're entitled to your opinion re: Obama, but quite a few of the perceived shortcomings you attribute him literally could not have been fixed given the political state of affairs between Nov. 2010 and Jan. 2017. And even then everyone tends to forget how the 2006-10 majorities in the House will filled with moderate Democrats who were not interested in much left-wing reform.

I understand why you're disappointed in Obama, but the man was not a miracle worker.

The House with its Blue Dogs and moderates got it through just fine.

And most of the events between Nov. '10 to '16 could've been altered radically by just taking a  bolder direction from the outset. No Tea Party uprising or Occupy backlash if the economy improves quickly because of a good stimulus bill.