"If only he was more like FDR..." [View all]

What exactly do people mean by this? Aren't these the same people, generally speaking, who criticize President Obama for his alleged "violations of civil liberties" and "warmongering" and being "too pragmatic" and "having no principles" and for his "abuse and expansion of Presidential (executive) power"?

Do people not remember FDR's court-packing scheme in the 1930s, or the fact that he initially ran on a fiscally CONSERVATIVE platform in 1932 (which he never fully abandoned, FWIW...), or his executive order to round up and intern all Japanese-Americans on the West Coast (talk about civil liberties violations!), or his suspension of habeas corpus during WWII, or the fact that FDR expanded executive power far, far more than Obama has, by comparison?

Do they not realize that Obama and FDR are two different men, from two different historical contexts, and responding to different circumstances? Or that Congress was much more Democratic back then (remember all those racist Southern Democrats or "Dixiecrats"!), and there was no 24/7, profit-crazed corporate media bullshit that could constantly undermine the President day in and day out. There wasn't a FOX News Channel or indeed, Internet discussion forums that could constantly compare the POTUS to previous administrations, and saying that the current POTUS fell short, and how previous Democratic administration's would have done things differently.

Finally, do they not recognize how much Obama's racial identity matters, both for many of his supporters, as well as many of his opponents? FDR never had to deal with questions about his "Americanness" or his legitimacy as an American citizenship-let alone, his legitimacy as President of the United States!

Don't get me wrong...FDR is one of my favorite Presidents too. But let's be honest about his record, and let's not draw comparisons to his Presidency that oversimplify matters, all to undermine the current Democratic President in the eyes of the public. Unfortunately, I think we'll be seeing more of this in the days to come, due in part to the airing of "The Roosevelts" on PBS.