CHICAGO — President Barack Obama’s campaign workers and supporters crowded by the thousands into Chicago’s McCormick Place Nov. 6 to celebrate his electoral win, yet few could offer any detailed explanation of how his policies would get them what they want.
Several acknowledged Obama’s failure to significantly improve the economy since 2009.
“I hope to see a future that is a lot better than we’ve seen in the last four years,” said Saadia Carter, a city worker who applauded the passage of Obamacare.
After re-election, “I think he’ll do what he said he would do four years ago and turn this country around and make this country what is was, No. 1 in the world,” said Glen, who worked on the campaign 85 hours a week since late September.
Obama should deliver “more jobs, more jobs and more jobs, to make a better economy,” said Sandra Underwood, who is a sole operator of a skin-products company targeted at African-Americans.
Obama’s policies are better than Gov. Mitt Romney’s policies, she said, because “entrepreneurship is what got this country going in the first place.” In contrast, she said, Romney favors big companies.
“I would like more jobs brought back to the United States and that’s what I think Obama is hoping to do — is going to do,” said one supporter. “I realize that when he came in he had a big mess to clean up … [and] he just can’t change everything.”
When asked why Obama’s economic policies are better than Romney’s policies, she replied, “I don’t know, I’m more in tune with [Obama] and his ideas.”
Some of his supporters had even less knowledge about the the GOP’s free-market policies.
“Obama knows how to walk the talk. … Romney, to me, he doesn’t really know where he’s going,” said a volunteer who worked 15 hours a week for several weeks. “I never was into elections before,” he said.
Although small-government Republicans were again elected to a majority in the House of Representatives, Obama’s supporters think they should defer to Obama’s political ambitions.
“Hopefully Congress will be able to work with our president and get all the things done that needs to be done and not be obstructionist,” said Carleton, who lives on the South Side of Chicago.
“We going to play like they not there,” said Thelda Bruner. “We’re going to get our policy pushed on through … by talking to the people, getting out there and making sure we get four more years of hard work [like] we’ve already been doing.”
“I’d love to see the Democrat agenda get through and not be blocked by filibusters,” said Angela Brooks.
But she also acknowledged that compromise is a two-way process.
Compromise “is something they both have to figure out. … I’ve got got a couple [of suggestions for Democratic concessions], but I’ll leave that alone for now,” she said.
