please unsubscribe me from obama email list

from the beginning, i believed more in the campaign than in the candidate - i believe in a minimal govt whose primary role is to facilitate commerce. i knew that obama was more progressive than i was, and that his support base was significantly more progressive. in spite of that, obama showed an appreciation of the rights of others, eg he opposed the health care individual mandate, and seemed to respect the right to bear arms, so i entertained hopes that he might be able to walk the fine line.  and the campaign that was at least initially based on small donations was something that i believed in - so i joined and donated and i'm proud that we won

overall i'm reasonably happy with what the president has done from a policy standpoint. i certainly oppose the health insurance stuff and the bailout of the banks and gm, but i recognize that most americans wanted something done. and in the case of the bailouts, that we won't know whether they were needed for years to come. and i'm very happy that we've treated israel as just another country - for as long as i can remember we've treated them as infallible, and given them a blank check. i am disappointed with the strong intellectual property stance that the president has taken, and the inclusion of people with strong ties to the big media companies in the govt

my biggest disappointment has been the president's failure to play the game of politics - the fundamental challenge that a president faces is maintaining his popularity and power. instead of focusing on this, the president has put too much effort into passing legislation. and because of the lack of power and popularity, he's become beholden to the democratic party. eg, instead of focusing on passing the health care reform bill, he should have used it as a bully pulpit - go to the american people and explain that republican filibusters are holding up the bill, that the lack of a bill is costing the american people millions each day. that is, to force the republicans to play ball. he'd be more popular, more powerful, and would have gotten a better bill (though still one i'd probably oppose :)

i'm still optimistic and wish the best for the president and his team. but i don't think i'm part of it any more. please unsubscribe me from this list for now, though perhaps i'll be back in 2012