Are Small Donors Abandoning Obama Too?

I know I sound like a broken record at times in my complaints about Barack Obama's lack of leadership, premature capitulation to Republicans on nearly every issue, and lengthy list of broken promises - all of which makes me totally frustrated and disappointed with the man. Increasingly, I seem to be but one of many with such levels of frustration or outright distrust of the man. Recently, I wrote about the problems Obama is facing with unhappy black voters. Now, the New York Times is reporting on how small donors seem disinclined to rally to Obama's support. It all boils down to discontent with Obama's failure to act - or even try to act on many occasions. Here are excerpts from the Times coverage:

They were once among President Obama’s most loyal supporters and a potent symbol of his political brand: voters of moderate means who dug deep for the candidate and his message of hope and change, sending him $10 or $25 or $50 every few weeks or months.

But in recent months, the frustration and disillusionment that have dragged down Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have crept into the ranks of his vaunted small-donor army, underscoring the challenges he faces as he seeks to rekindle grass-roots enthusiasm for his re-election bid.

In interviews with dozens of low-dollar contributors in the past two weeks, some said they were unhappy with what they viewed as Mr. Obama’s overly conciliatory approach to Congressional Republicans. Others cited what they saw as a lack of passion in the president, or said the sour economy had drained both their enthusiasm and their pocketbooks.

“When I was pro-Obama in 2008, I was thinking of him as a leader who could face the challenges that we were tackling,” said Adnan Alasadi, who works in behavioral health in Mesa, Ariz. Mr. Alasadi contributed repeatedly to Mr. Obama during his first campaign but says he will not give the president — or anyone else — any more money. “Now I am seeing him as just an opportunistic politician,” Mr. Alasadi said.

“I have been very disappointed in the president,” Ms. Kurland said. “He has not stood up to the Republicans.” Unhappiness with Mr. Obama can be found even among the supporters his team recruited to appear in campaign materials.

[A] vast majority of Mr. Obama’s past donors, who number close to four million, have not yet given him any money at all.

“He did not articulate either to the Republicans that he was negotiating with or to the American people a strong stance for what we feel the Democrats believe in,” Theodore Weiss, 77, a retired federal employee in Florida, said of the debt negotiations. While he was impressed with Mr. Obama’s recent jobs speech, Mr. Weiss said, he will not send Mr. Obama any checks this year. Instead, he said, he will use that money to help out his two sons, a teacher and a small-business owner, both of whom are struggling in the economic downturn.

[S]ome of Mr. Obama’s supporters, echoing concerns expressed by many Democrats in polls, said they were less interested in what he would do with their contributions than in seeing him play tougher. “There has been less passion than I might have hoped for,” said Andra Bohnet, a musician and professor in Mobile, Ala., who sent Mr. Obama five checks in 2008. “I think that in some ways, they have been too conciliatory.” Asked whether she would give to him again, Ms. Bohnet paused. “Now, I think I’ll wait and see,” she said.

It's one thing to have tried and not succeeded. It's something all together different to have not really tried at all. And I'd categorize much of Obama's efforts in the latter category. His wounds are in many ways self-inflicted.