Obama's leadership

[dcarrigg]

Re: Obama's leadership

More ridiculous crap from the Mullet Man.

Obama has still failed to keep any campaign promise except for sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Now he's replicating the supposed evil Republican/Bush tax cuts.

Change You Can Believe In...Not

c1ue, this thread by it's nature is bound to be contentious, but there are 91 promises kept by the scorekeepers.

There are also hundreds more unfulfilled.

More fact - less flaming & trolling

[tsetsefly]

Re: Obama's leadership

Let me give y'all a brief foreigner's perspective on Obama's first year, for what it's worth.

On military policy, the view from where I'm sitting in Europe is that he has done pretty much what he said he would do, i.e. de-emphasized Iraq and re-focused on Afghanistan. Not sure if the US can still afford that. Obama may be wondering himself at this stage. Overall I'd give him a B since Iraq is still dragging on and the trends in Afghanistan have been unfavourable so far.

He said more than just de-emphasized Iraq, he said pull out of iraq and if im not mistaken he also said he would scale back the military. Basically end the neo-conservative "hawkish" attitude towards military engagements.
Well he didn't pull out of iraq, and won because a huge base and equally enormous embassy will be left so off course troops will have to be stationed and im willing to bet the number will be well into the thousands of troops.
Second, many americans are tired of war and expected him in general to scale back military presence of america, all over the world. Not only is he not doing this, but it looks as it will increase even more... I give him an F... oh and i forgot he said he would close Guantanamo by january this year, that didnt happen.

On foreign policy more generally, he has made a definte break with the Bush years and re-established the idea that the US will pragmatically pursue its own self interests, but for now through a policy of engagement. The hopes of warniks ("bomb Iran") have been disappointed. The hopes of peaceniks ("make love to Iran") have also been disappointed. He may be under China's thumb to some extent but the jury is still out on that. (E.g. Copenhagen summit). Overall score: A-.

read above, threatening to go into pakistan, increasing troop levels in afghanistan and in the future yemen??? Like every other president before him he is beholden to the military-industrial complex, so expect no change in policy overall. I mean out of the hundreds of bases the US has around the world has he even considered closing one? i dont think so...

On health care: very hard for foreigners to follow this debate since it has become bogged down in details. Obviously this was a priority for Obama and he pursued it vigorously, but ended up looking like he was forced to compromise core principles. It's a tricky area for any nation, unfortunately in the US it seems to have become infested with ideological dogma, preventing you from finding a pragmatic solution (as some other nations have done). I'd give him a C+.

To asses his grade, just take a look at leftist response to his healthcare plan, he stabbed them in the back by doing exactly what he said he wouldn't do, deals with big insurance and pharma...

On the economy: this is definitely a D. Obama relied on the same old failed advisors: Geithner, Summers, Bernanke, the list goes on. There are two possible explanations: either he viewed this as just another plain vanilla recession, to be solved by the usual "technical experts"; or else he was not able to confront the vested interests who want debt servitude to continue. Time will tell; given his recent change of course, we'll just have to wait and see.

Bush 2.0 when it comes to this, increased spending across the board, and is using the same advisors...

Obama took on a lot of problems in his first year and he has succeeded in makng at least some progress on a lot of fronts. He's probably spreading himself too thin. But fundamentally, I think the US is a very conservative nation and needs a strong conservative leader to move forward to the next stage. After big set backs and disappointments, nations need to re-affirm their core beliefs before they can accept the risks of progress. BTW I am not myself a conservative. Obama's biggest problem: he is also not a conservative.

For a president that had overwhelming majority in congress what exactly did he accomplish? nothing

What fronts did he make progress on? *crickets* , his big health care plan now looks like it will fail and that is even after he broke his own promises to his base about not giving into special interest when that was exactly what he did.

Obama's biggest problem is that he ran on a platform of change and the only thing that has changed so far is that a better speaker is in the white house, that's about it. He ran as an "outsider" when the term itself is rather ridiculous to use because no outsider could even sniff a big party nomination. But anyways, he clearly demonstrated not to be an outsider.

[c1ue]

Re: Obama's leadership

c1ue, this thread by it's nature is bound to be contentious, but there are 91 promises kept by the scorekeepers.

And yet you failed to mention the 379 promises that are broken, stalled, or "In the Works".

Stalled might be more acceptable if it were not for the fact that the Democrats control Congress.

So what's the excuse?

And that the 91 promises kept are all small ones. None of the headline promises made - with the notable exception of more troops to Afghanistan - have been carried through.

Now of course Obama HAS an excuse - the victory of Scott Brown means the Democrats no longer control Congress.

But let's look at some of these 91 promises kept:

No. 277: Pursue a wildfire management plan

No. 278: Remove more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires

No. 279: More controlled burns to reduce wildfires

Oh yes, that's what we need a President for. To tell us to remove brush and institute controlled burns

No. 284: Expand access to places to hunt and fish

Yep, when Mad Max rolls around, we can all eat deer and trout

Of course a lot more are basically just talking points:

No. 174: Give a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administration

No. 119: Appoint a special adviser to the president on violence against women

No. 88: Sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

No. 200: Appoint a White House Coordinator for Nuclear Security

No. 208: Improve relations with Turkey, and its relations with Iraqi Kurds

No. 290: Push for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors

No. 338: Explore whether International Space Station can operate after 2016

No. 346: Appoint an assistant to the president for science and technology policy

No. 411: Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear

No. 421: Appoint an American Indian policy adviser

No. 460: Ask people and businesses to conserve electricity

No. 502: Get his daughters a puppy

Give a speech. Work towards. Propose. Appoint. Yep - lots of substance there.

I especially like how getting a puppy for his daughters is a campaign promise.

But more importantly - how many promises are just about throwing money around?

No. 36: Expand loan programs for small businesses

This expansion doesn't seem to be doing much, if anything:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/26/smal...oans/index.htm

Its lending through the Small Business Administration's primary loan program fell 80% this year, from 6,100 loans in 2008 to 1,250 loans in the SBA's 2009 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

...

The number of small business loans for $100,000 to $1 million fell 23% in 2008, according to an SBA analysis released in May. But the number of loans under $100,000 rose 16%. Charles Ou, the report's author, attributes most of that increase to an increase in credit card accounts.

...

Fewer loans

JPMorgan's Ink launch comes as the industry's overall small business lending is dropping. Since April, when the Treasury Department began requiring big banks that received government aid to file monthly reports on their small business lending, the 22 reporting banks have cut their lending by $8 billion.
Chase's own small business loan balance has steadily declined, falling a bit further each month. By August, the bank's balance -- which includes both traditional loans and credit cards -- stood at $25.7 billion, down 1.7% from April.

No. 40: Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch

Yay! He passed a patch which everyone wants passed. Good Boy!

No. 50: Expand the Senior Corps volunteer program

No. 76: Expand funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners

No. 77: Increase funding to expand community based prevention programs
(And how is this different than Bush's supporting faith based care?)

No. 182: Allocate Homeland Security funding according to risk

No. 188: Increase funding for local emergency planning

No. 215: Create a rapid response fund for emerging democracies

No. 224: Restore funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program

No. 244: Provide affordable, high-quality child care

No. 269: Increase funding for national parks and forests

No. 297: Restore funding to the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

No. 325: Create an artist corps for schools

No. 327: Support increased funding for the NEA

No. 371: Fund a major expansion of AmeriCorps

No. 377: Create a Social Investment Fund Network

No. 394: Provide grants to early-career researchers

No. 425: Increase funding for land-grant colleges

No. 500: Increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency

And you're trying to tell me Obama has accomplished a lot in his first year? Yeah right.

[cbr]

Re: Obama's leadership

START WITH THE GREATEST BANK OF POLITICAL CAPITAL IN GENERATIONS, AND THE GREATEST POLITICAL LEVERAGE BY CONTROLLING 2 BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT:

1. IGNORE the number one and two and three and four priorities of the US Federal Government

a. Economy - as in real.
b. Energy security - short and long term
c. Fiscal preparation for demographic and economic realities approaching
d. Encourage maintenance of educational and technological superiority

2. FOCUS on liberal/old rules political agenda

e. financial sector or democratic cronyism in appointments where appropriate
f. hit liberal health and welfare agenda at the expense of a-d above

3. BE SO INEPT that the only thing you accomplish is 2.e. and wasted a full year, and all the political capital.

NOW YOU ARE THE 2010 DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

You have let Iraq, which was on path to very successful resolution, fester.
You have let Iran get the upper hand in the region
You have let Russia completely regain its initiative in the former soviet sphere, thus losing all chips to get their help against Iran.
You have failed to define a mission in Afghanistan, again letting a prime opportunity for success turn into a probable future disaster.

This will go on record as one of the very worst presidencies in history at this pace.

[Serge_Tomiko]

Re: Obama's leadership

A great post CBR. Very succinct.

[Aetius Romulous]

Re: Obama's leadership

Obama's problem is one of structure.

Unlike FDR, Obama came to office as the economic problems were still developing, giving him in the eyes of Americans, "ownership". What he now owns are systemic issues that stretch back a generation, and that may take another generation to work through.

Unfortunately, America is not designed for any kind of long term, generational planning. 2 Years tops to fix virtually everything, or out you go.

So it is thoroughly predictable that Obama is under siege, given that the lord himself could not have fixed what ailes the US in a single year.

I'm pulling for him, I want him to pull it off. There just may have been no better person for America than Obama right now. Sadly however, we will never know as the American system was never designed for issues like these.

Apply, rinse, repeat.

[cindykimlisa]

Re: Obama's leadership

Man youre too nice to steve

IMO he is in the boat with Mula

[Raz]

Re: Obama's leadership

Just as blind following of the AGW-Climate-Catastrophe expounding IPCC is leaving a trail of hypocritical tears, so too has following the glib talking Obama.

For a President with a historic popular mandate, a filibuster free control of Congress, and supposedly a high degree of intelligence, Obama has accomplished nothing.

Even ignoring the year that has gone by, the ongoing movement of his lips is equally foreboding:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-...2&asset=&ccode=



Nice. So all the spending last year - the 11 digits worth - was for what? Apparently only saving Banker's jobs (and bonuses).

And now suddenly he's talking about deficit reduction? Even as overseas military expenses continue to grow? Even as the government throws money in all directions via tax cuts? What next - Deficits Don't Matter?

For that matter:

Where are the Democrat/Liberal protests over the overseas conflicts?

There are now more troops involved between Afghanistan and Iraq than were active under Bush.

Where are the acts to restore civil liberties? The closing of Guantanamo? The Patriot Act?

Where is the independence from lobbyists - who are chief of staff in the Treasury department, who head the Attorney General's office, who are assistant Secretary of Defense, who are the Secretary of Agriculture, and on and on?

Where is the financial reform so spoken of as a platform by Obama during his campaign? Is the stonewalling of the CPFA 'reform'?

Anything that is risky, dangerous, offensive, it is a 'We' effort - for weasel.

Where are the public stances Obama supposedly is good for? The principled approaches?

Where is the personal responsibility?

As former Chief Executive Truman stated: "The buck stops here".

Where is the buck stopping now?

[ATTACH]2785[/ATTACH]

I'm glad you posted this clue1. Obama is a smooth talking cloud who duped millions of people.

I never thought he was as smart as the MSM wanted everyone to believe and he's clearly in over his head.
Or in the alternative he's as corrupt as the Chicago Machine that brought him onto the national stage.

I'll be somewhat surprised if I'm not called a "racist" for saying these things.

[loweyecue]

Re: Obama's leadership

Just as blind following of the AGW-Climate-Catastrophe expounding IPCC is leaving a trail of hypocritical tears, so too has following the glib talking Obama.

For a President with a historic popular mandate, a filibuster free control of Congress, and supposedly a high degree of intelligence, Obama has accomplished nothing.

Even ignoring the year that has gone by, the ongoing movement of his lips is equally foreboding:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-...2&asset=&ccode=


Nice. So all the spending last year - the 11 digits worth - was for what? Apparently only saving Banker's jobs (and bonuses).

And now suddenly he's talking about deficit reduction? Even as overseas military expenses continue to grow? Even as the government throws money in all directions via tax cuts? What next - Deficits Don't Matter?

For that matter:

Where are the Democrat/Liberal protests over the overseas conflicts?

There are now more troops involved between Afghanistan and Iraq than were active under Bush.

Where are the acts to restore civil liberties? The closing of Guantanamo? The Patriot Act?

Where is the independence from lobbyists - who are chief of staff in the Treasury department, who head the Attorney General's office, who are assistant Secretary of Defense, who are the Secretary of Agriculture, and on and on?

Where is the financial reform so spoken of as a platform by Obama during his campaign? Is the stonewalling of the CPFA 'reform'?

Anything that is risky, dangerous, offensive, it is a 'We' effort - for weasel.

Where are the public stances Obama supposedly is good for? The principled approaches?

Where is the personal responsibility?

As former Chief Executive Truman stated: "The buck stops here".

Where is the buck stopping now?

[ATTACH]2785[/ATTACH]

Coming from the completely opposite side of the political spectrum, but there is much truth in what you have said. Obama has not produced anything of any value yet. And I do question his leadership for not pushing through at least the healthcare bill but I don't believe he had a filibuster proof majority because he didn't.

I was and am still outraged by the wars and the war spending. He should have told the Iraqis that we would pull out in a year and he should have followed through with it. The idea of the US doing a policeman's jo using my money never appealed to me, which is why I vote democrat for crying out loud. I consider the GOP to be the WAR party. Obama was clearly weak in this thing and bowed down to pressure from republicans, media and military leaders to continue the stupid wars.

If you believed US politics would ever be independent from those who pay for it (lobbyists) then you deserve to be disappointed. Sorry I never bought that, still don't. Complete tripe in my opinion.

I do have hopes that Voleker will be allowed to come and increase interest rates and taxes and start paying down the debt.

As for personal responsibility, that shouldn't be up for discussion here. these are politicians we are talking about.

[Slimprofits]

Re: Obama's leadership

I'm glad you posted this clue1. Obama is a smooth talking cloud who duped millions of people.

I never thought he was as smart as the MSM wanted everyone to believe and he's clearly in over his head.
Or in the alternative he's as corrupt as the Chicago Machine that brought him onto the national stage.

I'll be somewhat surprised if I'm not called a "racist" for saying these things.

That in over the head stuff is an excuse that has been cooked up by Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. Don't fall for it.

Bush wasn't nearly as dumb as they made out to be and Obama is very intelligent. These guys know what they're doing.

If one of these allegedly good guys that just got swallowed up by Washington really wanted to be Dave than they would do it. Throw caution to the wind. Say and do what you really mean.

IMDB - Dave

When he takes the extreme action of reworking (with the help of his friend Murray, an accountant from Baltimore) the national budget...

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Obama's leadership

If one of these allegedly good guys that just got swallowed up by Washington really wanted to be Dave than they would do it. Throw caution to the wind. Say and do what you really mean.

I recommend to your reading pleasure JFK and the Unspeakable; Why he Died and Why It Matters by James W. Douglass.

It is the story of the last President to speak and act with an independent mind.

[cindykimlisa]

Re: Obama's leadership

START WITH THE GREATEST BANK OF POLITICAL CAPITAL IN GENERATIONS, AND THE GREATEST POLITICAL LEVERAGE BY CONTROLLING 2 BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT:

1. IGNORE the number one and two and three and four priorities of the US Federal Government

a. Economy - as in real.
b. Energy security - short and long term
c. Fiscal preparation for demographic and economic realities approaching
d. Encourage maintenance of educational and technological superiority

2. FOCUS on liberal/old rules political agenda

e. financial sector or democratic cronyism in appointments where appropriate
f. hit liberal health and welfare agenda at the expense of a-d above

3. BE SO INEPT that the only thing you accomplish is 2.e. and wasted a full year, and all the political capital.

NOW YOU ARE THE 2010 DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

You have let Iraq, which was on path to very successful resolution, fester.
You have let Iran get the upper hand in the region
You have let Russia completely regain its initiative in the former soviet sphere, thus losing all chips to get their help against Iran.
You have failed to define a mission in Afghanistan, again letting a prime opportunity for success turn into a probable future disaster.

This will go on record as one of the very worst presidencies in history at this pace.

Now you are the 2010 Republican Party
You have let inept pilots fly into the world trade center and the pentagon
You started an unjust war with Iraq and spent trillions and did not finish it in 7 years
Ditto Afghanistan
You robbed from the poor to give to the rich - imo
You allowed Russia and China to regain it initiatives in the soviet/communist sphere
You deregulated banking and sec to the point of near financial colapse
You appointed Greenspan (again) and Bernake the first time - experts in o rate of interest and bubles in the Fire economy.
Oil went through the roof
Gas went through the roof
Price of housing fell through the roof
After a few years of Rep congress and Pres we voted the congress majority out
No WMD
You had ben and alan print us into oblivion
Thousands of Iraq people were collateral damage - By the way what was your end strategy for Iraq and Afghan.?
From where I sit no improvement to education and infrastructure

This is how I see it as a republican

Cindy

[cindykimlisa]

Re: Obama's leadership

I guess it is a good thing I am not a democrat Heh!

Cindy

[chr5648]

Re: Obama's leadership

START WITH THE GREATEST BANK OF POLITICAL CAPITAL IN GENERATIONS, AND THE GREATEST POLITICAL LEVERAGE BY CONTROLLING 2 BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT:

1. IGNORE the number one and two and three and four priorities of the US Federal Government

a. Economy - as in real.
b. Energy security - short and long term
c. Fiscal preparation for demographic and economic realities approaching
d. Encourage maintenance of educational and technological superiority

2. FOCUS on liberal/old rules political agenda

e. financial sector or democratic cronyism in appointments where appropriate
f. hit liberal health and welfare agenda at the expense of a-d above

3. BE SO INEPT that the only thing you accomplish is 2.e. and wasted a full year, and all the political capital.

NOW YOU ARE THE 2010 DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

You have let Iraq, which was on path to very successful resolution, fester.
You have let Iran get the upper hand in the region
You have let Russia completely regain its initiative in the former soviet sphere, thus losing all chips to get their help against Iran.
You have failed to define a mission in Afghanistan, again letting a prime opportunity for success turn into a probable future disaster.

This will go on record as one of the very worst presidencies in history at this pace.

In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way. - FDR

[tsetsefly]

Re: Obama's leadership

And yet you failed to mention the 379 promises that are broken, stalled, or "In the Works".

Stalled might be more acceptable if it were not for the fact that the Democrats control Congress.

So what's the excuse?

And that the 91 promises kept are all small ones. None of the headline promises made - with the notable exception of more troops to Afghanistan - have been carried through.

Now of course Obama HAS an excuse - the victory of Scott Brown means the Democrats no longer control Congress.

But let's look at some of these 91 promises kept:



Oh yes, that's what we need a President for. To tell us to remove brush and institute controlled burns



Yep, when Mad Max rolls around, we can all eat deer and trout

Of course a lot more are basically just talking points:



Give a speech. Work towards. Propose. Appoint. Yep - lots of substance there.

I especially like how getting a puppy for his daughters is a campaign promise.

But more importantly - how many promises are just about throwing money around?



This expansion doesn't seem to be doing much, if anything:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/26/smal...oans/index.htm





Yay! He passed a patch which everyone wants passed. Good Boy!



And you're trying to tell me Obama has accomplished a lot in his first year? Yeah right.

great post. I lost all respect for the "unbiased" politiFact when i saw they put buying a dog as a campaign promise kept. If you look at many of the "in the works" promises you will see many that can easily be classified as broken.