Why Do Republicans Appear To Be So Disrespectful to President Obama?

[Warhammer]

Please excuse my ignorance for I'm not as old as some of you well-informed and knowledgable political Hypesters. And specifically to some of you who identify as Republican or anyone for that matter, hopefully you don't get offended for some reason. I've noticed that throughout Barack Obama's presidency, it seems that some Republicans don't merely disagree with Obama nor showcase their displeasure. Some are straight up disrespectful to this man.

The recent example was last night when the President said he no more campaigns to run. A good amount of the Republican side applauded before Obama checked them real quick.

Do I have a point or does this post have no grounds?

 

[SV Fan]

Personally I think it's simply because he is Democrat. Some may say it's because he is black but I don't buy it, Clinton got dragged down hard in the 90s and Obama is getting the a similar treatment, just different insults. My basic feeling is no matter who is a Democrat president, the Republicans will go to any level to try knock them down.

 

[Schlosser85]

The same reason Democrats were disrespectful to President Bush and Republicans dragged President Clinton through the mud.

 

[Leenie]

The same reason Democrats were disrespectful to President Bush and Republicans dragged President Clinton through the mud.

This.

Unfortunately, this is the nature of politics. One "team" versus another.

 

[Thundercrack85]

The Republicans hate Obama. Some of it is partisan politics. But I think it goes well beyond that. I believe that there's a racial component to it. Not helped of course by the president's most outspoke critics coming from former Confederate states. You may recall good ol' Joe "You Lie!" Wilson the Confederate flag-defending congressman. Though it's not limited to the South, you may also recall Arizona's beloved governor who has faced her fair share of racism accusations on account of her racist immigration law putting her finger in his face on the tarmac.

Democrats said a lot about Bush, but they never questioned his place of birth, parentage, or religion. Same with Bill Clinton What makes Obama different?

No president, with the possible exception of Lincoln has been treated with this much contempt by the opposition. Some of it is outright hysterical. Republican congressmen are openly comparing Obama – unfavorably – to Hitler.

So yeah, seeing the people who the hatred comes from, it's hard not see race playing a big role.

 

[Marvolo]

Well my grandmother dislikes him because "he is spending more time trying to make peace with other nations than help his own country, and because him and his actions (turning his back on Israel among other things) will lead to the rise of the Antichrist." Her words not mine. I just have to nod and smile. She's set in her ways and very evangelical. I love her to death, but sometimes some of the stuff she says and believes just makes me:

 

[Roose Bolton]

I want to meet her and build a shrine.

 

[CaptainWagner]

As bad as some of the things that have been said by Obama's opposition may seem, it's still way more civil than politics just a century ago.

As for why he gets treated worse than Clinton, Clinton was a lot more open to compromise than Obama has been. Not that it justifies the treatment, but that's the most likely explanation.

 

[SV Fan]

As for why he gets treated worse than Clinton, Clinton was a lot more open to compromise than Obama has been. Not that it justifies the treatment, but that's the most likely explanation.

I am not sure Obama has it worse then Clinton, the Republican story on Clinton was that he put out hits on anybody who got in his way, he also was a part of a drug trafficing ring according to some.

 

[childeroland]

He's on the other side. And he's black.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I recall Republicans being quite resentful towards Clinton.

It's typical partisan politics. Every time someone from the opposite team gets in the white house they're either a moron or the anti-Christ.

It just seems uglier than usual when white conservatives show outright disdain for the first black president whether race plays a factor not.

 

[summerteeth]

Please excuse my ignorance for I'm not as old as some of you well-informed and knowledgable political Hypesters. And specifically to some of you who identify as Republican or anyone for that matter, hopefully you don't get offended for some reason. I've noticed that throughout Barack Obama's presidency, it seems that some Republicans don't merely disagree with Obama nor showcase their displeasure. Some are straight up disrespectful to this man.

The recent example was last night when the President said he no more campaigns to run. A good amount of the Republican side applauded before Obama checked them real quick.

Do I have a point or does this post have no grounds?

I think they just really don't like him on a personal level and how he does business. It's how he handles stuff like this too. He was in the middle of a speech about how this kind of stuff has to stop and how we need to stop mudslinging and stop partisan politics. Then some Republicans pull some immature stuff by cheering. Then Obama throws out what he was just talking about for the past 10 minutes and joins in, lowers himself to their level, by boasting how he won his campaigns. Instead of standing tall, leading by example and showing how you don't respond to petty stuff like that (I mean after all he is the freaking President).

 

[terry78]

Well, he is one of the younger presidents, which is what most younger and more idealistic people dig about him. He's quote unquote, "one of us" and not one of those old farts. Ironically the rest of the world used to love the **** out of Barack, now they view him as pretty much ever other prez.

 

[DeadPresident]

They hate that he's a black democrat, but more importantly they hate that like half a century from now people will talk about Obama in the same breath as some of the other best presidents that the USA ever had. It's easy to rip apart what he does now, but with a little more perspective a few decades from now people will realize it couldn't have been easy to be in Obama's shoes at this time, trying to make your own headway while mopping up the mess the dancing monkey G.W left, and that Obama actually made decent progress in his time.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Democrats said a lot about Bush, but they never questioned his place of birth, parentage, or religion. Same with Bill Clinton What makes Obama different?

It comes down to trying to delegitimize Obama. Just like how Democrats tried to delegitimize Bush by failing to recognize his 2000 victory or questioned his intelligence and whatnot, Republicans are doing the same here.

But IMO it really comes down to how each President is getting treated worse and worse since the Clinton era. I think the next President will get treated worse than Obama.

No president, with the possible exception of Lincoln has been treated with this much contempt by the opposition. Some of it is outright hysterical. Republican congressmen are openly comparing Obama – unfavorably – to Hitler.

You are aware that people have compared Bush to Hitler right? And Clinton as well? And that the next President will be compared to Hitler. And the one after that.

So yeah, seeing the people who the hatred comes from, it's hard not see race playing a big role.

I honestly believe that the left likes to think that race plays a big role because it fits into their narrative that Republicans are nothing but meanie jerkfaces and ignore the fact that Republicans don't like Obama because politically he doesn't mix with them....at all. Or how he's done a lot to contribute to the current polarized environment. Or how Obama has often looked down on them.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Wow...a lot of people have short memories.

You really don't remember the intense hate that Bush got from Democrats? Or the Republicans attacking Clinton constantly?

It's what they do. Welcome to politics. It doesn't get better...so don't expect this to change.

And the race card? Really? That thing has frayed edges at this point. Some are just confirming what some conservatives were squawking about before Obama was elected, "We won't be able to disagree with him without being accused of being racist". Not sure how Democrats are missing that they are making racial tensions worse with that tactic....and giving many a great reason to not want another black President?

It's not exactly hard to see that Obama's policies are counter to what Republicans believe. Why would they have to be racist to disagree with him and treat him the same way Democrats treated Bush?

 

[summerteeth]

Well, he is one of the younger presidents, which is what most younger and more idealistic people dig about him. He's quote unquote, "one of us" and not one of those old farts. Ironically the rest of the world used to love the **** out of Barack, now they view him as pretty much ever other prez.

And I understand that, but I'm just saying that's one of the reasons why they show so much disdain towards him. That and the way he started off his administration, he acted like he didn't need Republicans and was going to have a Democratic House and Senate for 8 years without looking at building relationships over the long term. He poisoned the well pretty early. I mean look at it from the Republican POV. They are sitting there and thinking man if he won't even let Olympia Snowe have a say on healthcare reform what chance do we have? All you have to do is read The Price of Politics by Bob Woodward and you can see why Republicans behave the way the do towards him. I'm not saying it's right, but there's the reason.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

They hate that he's a black democrat, but more importantly they hate that like half a century from now people will talk about Obama in the same breath as some of the other best presidents that the USA ever had. It's easy to rip apart what he does now, but with a little more perspective a few decades from now people will realize it couldn't have been easy to be in Obama's shoes at this time, trying to make your own headway while mopping up the mess the dancing monkey G.W left, and that Obama actually made decent progress in his time.

Nothing changes. t:

 

[SV Fan]

It comes down to trying to delegitimize Obama. Just like how Democrats tried to delegitimize Bush by failing to recognize his 2000 victory or questioned his intelligence and whatnot, Republicans are doing the same here.

But IMO it really comes down to how each President is getting treated worse and worse since the Clinton era. I think the next President will get treated worse than Obama.

I still think Clinton got it the worst, words are just words but they went all out with the farce to find any little thing to impeach him, it was nothing more then a witch hunt. As I said the story how he would get anybody who was in his way killed goes way beyond trashing somebody

 

[childeroland]

Except that Republicans have specifically referenced Obama's race. The birther stuff, the "he's a Muslim" "invader from Kenya" etc. It's not the same as it was with Clinton or Democrats against Bush.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I still think Clinton got it the worst, words are just words but they went all out with the farce to find any little thing to impeach him, it was nothing more then a witch hunt. As I said the story how he would get anybody who was in his way killed goes way beyond trashing somebody

That got comical after a while. It seemed like there was a new "scandal" against Clinton every week. And just like the race card claims now, after a while it turns into a boy who cried wolf thing. Clinton really could have done something terrible and the public would have yawned.

Then it switched to 8 years of calling Bush a moron, Satan, Hitler, coke-head, accusing him of planning 9/11, etc. (that last one is way worse than anything Obama has gotten)

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

It is worse with Obama because the moderates on both sides of the aisle have been largely bounced from office since 2008. Previously a President could always find at least a few people on the opposing side that they could work with. Expect the current situation to be the new standard going forward.

That said, there have always been large blocks saying vile things repeatedly about most Presidents. Maybe a war hero like Eisenhower or Washington was untouchable to a certain degree, but they are the exception. It wasn't really that much better for Carter, LBJ, Truman, Hoover, McKinley, Cleveland, and basically every other president going back to John Adams. In terms of the shear vileness of the criticism, Obama's got things easy compared to what was said about Lincoln.

 

[terry78]

Although it's apparently obvious after the fact, JFK was disliked by about as many that liked him. Him, Clinton and Obama are all in the same realm.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Although it's apparently obvious after the fact, JFK was disliked by about as many that liked him. Him, Clinton and Obama are all in the same realm.

JFK had to deal with attacks on his race and religion as well.

 

[chamber-music]

Well, he is one of the younger presidents, which is what most younger and more idealistic people dig about him. He's quote unquote, "one of us" and not one of those old farts. Ironically the rest of the world used to love the **** out of Barack, now they view him as pretty much ever other prez.

He is still more popular than Bush. People really couldn't stand that guy outside the U.S