Perhaps I'll see you at http://www.vastleft.com

Via IOZ, the Obama Administration's statement about atrocities (surely not applicable to those by the United States of Look Forward Not Back):

Today, President Obama directed a thorough review to strengthen our national capacity to prevent mass atrocities. Crucially, the President will establish a new Atrocities Prevention Board with the authority and the policy tools to respond quickly to early warning signs and make recommendations before options narrow and the costs of both action and inaction rise precipitously.

The story of prog blogs in the 2012 election season, one might well expect, will be the story of shallow-end support for Obama's re-election.

The Obama presidency's continuity with, and in some ways exceeding, the conservative awfulness of the Bush administration represents an historically historic opportunity to energize habitual Democrats to support real political change.

Yet more'n likely, very, very few well-known liberal bloggers will commit to not voting for Barack Obama in 2012.

I'm looking for suggestions for an activity, perhaps a competition (I could give a 2L4O shirt to the winner), that predicts and/or tracks the shallow-end actions of progressive leading lights and (one hopes) the rare exception who actually will defy the status quo.

Archive: http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/

Apparently, we're supposed to worry that Obama's "inexplicable decision to offer up Medicare in the proposed Grand Bargain" will be used "against him" by the party that "retired the concept of hypocrisy*."

It certainly is a puzzle why he did that!

In closing, Digby cites the ol' "definition of insanity" meme.

How rational is it, one might wonder, to repeat one's vote for the fellow who put Medicare (and Social Security) on the chopping block? ___

Please pass that bucket over Arthur's way, if it's not too late..

The following is a message I sent yesterday to the 200+ wearers of 2L4O shirts.

* * *

I was a lifelong Democrat who worried, during the 2008 campaign, about Barack Obama's constant validation of rightwing narratives. But on Election Day, I "held my nose" about those reservations and voted for him for President.

How has that worked out? As a Facebook friend said the other day: "Obama has dragged the goalposts so far to the right that Richard Nixon isn't even on the field any more."

Worse, still: Obama's ongoing admirers and defenders now support--actively or by their silence--policies they used to protest. Policies of militarism, corporatism, and "sacrifice" only by the most vulnerable.

Archive: http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/

A couple of people on Democratic Underground posted some of my cartoons.

For reasons you'll see, the thread doesn't last long.

Archive: http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/

Archive: http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/

thereisnospoon says:

The end result is the same, as are the difficult decisions faced by progressives: attempt to change the Democratic Party both from within and without, or attempt to destroy it and subvert the two-party system.

Regardless, attempting to peer into the President's soul is a fairly fruitless exercise either way. The only real question from here is: "So now what?" It's a loaded question, and there are no easy answers.

I would say (if my comments ever get past their moderation):

Sure, there's an easy answer: stop supporting a party that doesn't support our values and interests and invest our energies in something different.

I've received a number of requests for American Extremists cartoon T-shirts.

The way I do my shirts—via a local firm using union-made / American-made stock, and keeping inventory on hand for fast shipping (as opposed to using Cafepress or similar for on-demand printing)—means that each new shirt design is a considerable undertaking.

So, say, doing one for each of the 60+ and growing strips or even for several strips wouldn't be practical. But I could start with one and see how it goes.

Your suggestions here would be most helpful:

From comments at Hullabaloo, under the user name "Come On!":

Obama, our first african-american president, CAN NOT use the 14th amendment remedy.

Back when I frequented Democratic Underground, I used to encounter this argument frequently

File this under "F," for facts not in evidence:

I have no doubt that Barack Obama wants to do right by the country...

Arthur on the Compromising-Foolish-Powerless-Incompetent-Weakling-in-Chief:

...now that Obama continues to do exactly what he said he would do, most of those who voted for him and viewed him as "transformational," "transcendent," and blahblahfuckingblah, talk nonstop about his stupidity, weakness and incompetence. Therefore, I state again:

Obama is the single most powerful individual in the entire history of humankind -- and he's accomplishing exactly what he set out to do.

So tell me again: who's stupid? Who's weak? Who's incompetent? Who was outmaneuvered?

From a Facebook friend:

Obama has dragged the goalposts so far to the right that Richard Nixon isn't even on the field any more

Archive: http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/

Here is the beginning of an absolutely shameless letter from Digby, John Amato, and Howie Klein:

Many progressives, though certainly not all, are disappointed with President Obama for acquiescing to right-wing talking points about deficits and Austerity. It's a touchy-- and some say nuanced-- topic in Democratic circles. But I think what all Democrats-- and hopefully most Americans-- can agree on is that the extremist obsession with delegitimizing Barack Obama and his presidency is destructive to the country. The GOP version of a "debate" over how to handle the debt ceiling is an attempt at a modern day coup d'etat by the far right.

Jackie Calmes:

However the debt limit showdown ends, one thing is clear: under pressure from Congressional Republicans, President Obama has moved rightward on budget policy, deepening a rift within his party heading into the next election.

No one could have anticipated...

Just two days after Krugman (again) pronounced that Obama is a conservative (if inaccurately, as a moderate one) Obama is now a "mystery man," presumably antagonistic to conservative outcomes, but squandering "his own bargaining power" by his insistence on weak tactics of "compromising [and] his continuing faith in bipartisanship."

Predictable as this was, still... wow, just wow.

Digby starts a post with a worthy premise, that Tea Party politics largely benefit the wealthy, belying the populist zeitgeist that's the group's [to the extent that it is a single group] calling card.

The title of her post is "Idiot Collaborators." This designation presumably differentiates them from Democrats, who are smart collaborators. We know what good policy is, so when we vote for the other party that (also) has no intention of enacting it, we can thank our superior—probably more evolved, even—brains for the wisdom to punch the chad for the D party.

What's up with this post at BagNews?

Not to be condescending, but do you sense a strong elementary quality here with a childlike feel to many of these faces and bodies?

It appears to be about little else than being condescending, without—to these eyes—the content to cash the premise's check.

In the Age of Obama, is this what we're left with to try to show our superiority to a party as shitty and evil as the Republicans?

"Ask not how evil we are. Ask how evil the other party is!"