Beto is for "vapid morons"

A friend asked for responses to this article, highly critical of Beto O'Rourke. Here's the first few paragraphs:

     In 2008, I was swept up in the energy surrounding Barack Obama's campaign. I volunteered at phone banks, I gave money, I heroically posted on the Internet, etc. etc. I was 25 years old, and I believed in Obama the transformational figure, and believed in the Great Man theory of systemic change. I believed, in short, that Obama could bend history to his will, and each time he talked about reaching across the aisle and working with Republicans, I envisioned a future in which, like me, those Republican congressmen would find him irresistible, bow to his political talents, and, well…get things done, or something.
     Of course, we know what happened. Obama had two years with a stacked Democratic Congress, and the most he accomplished was to institute a healthcare system that was barely adequate to survive the first real GOP onslaught, and that was utterly inadequate at resolving a staggering crisis in America. Republicans heard his pitch about pragmatism and compromise, and spit in his face just before going into an obstructionist crouch that lasted eight years.
     But instead of immediately shifting to war footing in response, Obama and his team spent those eight years continuing to believe in the original idea of West Wing-style triumphalism, and what they did manage to accomplish was pretty horrific—deportations, drone strikes against U.S. citizens, a massive bailout and subsequent lack of prosecution for the criminals of the economic crisis. 

Here's my reply:

I totally get what the writer is saying, I do. Obama was appealing as a campaigner, but not always bold in his adminstration. 

That being said, as much as we seem to have forgotten it, the American governing model is built on compromise. That is literally the Founder's vision. And it assumes disagreement and conflict. It assumes that the middle is the only way forward. 

For all this writer dismisses the entire 8 years of the Obama administration as getting "nothing" done, that could not be farther from the truth. Gay marriage is legal throughout this country. You don't have to give Obama credit for that, but it happened while he was in office. We are having a serious cultural conversation about criminal justice reform which Obama helped to start. Our economy is humming along, our car industry is healthy. Bin Laden is dead. These things are not nothing. 

With Obama, and frankly, with Trump, we have ample evidence of how important it is to have a charismatic leader for voters to rally around. The policies that a candidate embraces during their campaign will not all be adopted. What many people vote for is an avatar, a representation of what they want the country to be.

Another issue is that not all Democrats want the policies that this writer mentions, such as free college and the Green New Deal. The candidate who is chosen will have to appeal to a lot of different kinds of voters, not just the ones who agree with this writer. 

I'm not sold on Beto, and I have heard that he is actaully pretty conservative in his positions. On the other hand, I think this article is pretty narrow minded. 

And it's early. There is a LONG way to go before the Dems pick their candidate.

And just for good measure, here is a list of 28 accomplishments of the Obama presidency.