Barack H. Obama Is The Greatest President of Modern Times

[big_dog]

Last edited Mon Jan 5, 2015, 06:21 PM - Edit history (3)

The war in Afghanistan is over, the economy is booming. Unemployment, like gas prices, are dropping and we have seen record levels of job growth. By any measure of success, including that of Republican candidates in 2012, his presidency has been a success. Even businesses and Wall Street agree that Republicans are killing the economy, and the evidence proves that the economy grows more under Democratic than Republican presidents. And not only did he end the war (and without getting us into any of the new ones proposed by Republicans) and restored the economy, but he helped speed along social change by embracing marriage equality, kicking DOMA to the curb and ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; he has supported women’s rights, including equal pay and the right to manage their own reproductive rights; He has fought for workers and for a living wage; battled on behalf of the environment; and fought for the rights of immigrants. And with the Affordable Care Act, known fittingly as Obamacare, he has given all Americans access to healthcare for the first time in our nation’s history.

His list of accomplishments, even minus any opposition, would be staggering. Considering the odds against him, they are truly monumental. In all these areas, he has made life better for Americans. Not just for the rich, but for all Americans. We have just seen that he has been named by Americans as the most admired man in the world for the seventh straight year. There is good reason for that. And it is not because he is FDR or JFK or even Abraham Lincoln. It is because he is Barack H. Obama, and that is no small thing in itself. He was, like so many other great men in our nation’s history, the right man in the right place at the right time. And he answered the call. Not only did Barack H. Obama face the deeply entrenched racism of the nation that elected him, but a Republican Party determined to obstruct his every move, to make him a one term president and that term an utter failure. All the while, he had to face his real work, that for which he was elected: digging our nation out of the hole into which his predecessor had dragged us.

And it was a deep hole. Hated by the world, our economy in shambles, two wars continuing and with no real end in sight, let alone any idea of what, exactly, would constitute victory, Barack Obama stepped up to the plate, and like Babe Ruth calling his shot, made his play. Like Ruth, he hit it out of the ballpark. This is not hyperbole. The facts prove it. It is impossible not to compare Bush and Obama: the man who got us into war and the man who got us out of it; the man who destroyed the economy and the man who restored it; the man who alienated the world and the man who makes friends of enemies, including Cuba.

He may not have been as liberal as some of us would have liked, but neither was he as far left as Republicans imagined. That he seemed to them to be a Marxist shows not how far left Obama was but how far Right they had moved. In many respects, Obama is a Republican out of the past, embracing many policies once embraced by the GOP. These make him much more of a centrist than someone to the far left of the political spectrum. But that might have been exactly what we needed in 2008. The results are spectacular. Despite a steadfast refusal to do their jobs, despite every roadblock Republicans could put in his path, President Obama has persevered, with class and with style, holding his head up proudly like the American he is, sharing credit for his successes and accepting responsibility for his failures. But ultimately Obama must be judged for who he is and not for who he is not, and according to those standards, he is a great man indeed. He is, I will assert here and without any hesitation, the greatest president of modern times. http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/29/barack-h-obama-greatest-president-modern-times.html

[ann---]

1. Really?

[big_dog]

2. i think its a little early with two years left...

lets see how he deals with the Gitmo drawdown, immigration reform implementation, affordable care act/medicare expansion to the states the 'grand bargain' budget deal, and containment of ISIS

[billhicks76]

25. Not Saying Much That He Is

Because most are puppets of the oligarchies defense establishment. Those that aren't are even worse as higher ups in that group like Bush Sr. I believe Jimmy Carter was the best. No one killed or invaded and he didn't usurp our constitutional rights and protections which Obama has definitely participated in like he is Bush Sr's little errand kid.

[sulphurdunn]

39. The St. Barack partisans

were saying the same things 30 days after he was elected and have never stopped, no matter what he actually does.

[sulphurdunn]

41. The St. Barack partisans

were saying the same things 30 days after he was elected and have never stopped, no matter what he actually does.

[gcomeau]

22. Depending on how stringently we define "modern"...

I'd say that's a pretty reasonable claim actually. No matter how many criticisms I have of the guy comparatively he's done quite a lot.

[shaayecanaan]

40. its a pretty low bar when you think about it (nt)

[craigmatic]

78. Modern is since the 70's or 80's.

By that measure Obama is head and shoulders above the others.
Nixon was a crook.
Ford didn't do much except pardon Nixon.
Carter had good ideas and did much but not as much as Obama.
Reagan purposely did little except cut taxes and spend most of our money on the military.
Bush did handicap laws and fought a war for oil.
Clinton well Obama has had to fix don't ask don't tell by just letting gays serve. Obama could've just ended the embargo against Cuba if Clinton hadn't let republicans talk him into giving up his own power to do so. Not to mention repealing Glass-Stegall which made the economy suck in the first place.
Bush flat out sucked in every way possible.
Obama is the best by default nobody has had to do as much as he had.

[onecaliberal]

3. TPP will be the final nail in the American coffin.

The economy is not booming for most of America.

[big_dog]

4. working on the minimum wage could also be done in the final 2 years

although a lot of the states are already passing ballot measures on their own

[onecaliberal]

5. With new trade agreements there

Won't be jobs here to make minimum wage.

[big_dog]

7. can't compete with 58 cent labor in Vietnam, lets see if the votes are even there from the House GOP

have they ever worked with POTUS before on anything?

[onecaliberal]

12. I don't think so. I just hope it doesn't get to

POTUS. He will sign it. It will be Americas death certificate.

[pangaia]

24. It will be the death certificate

for more than just Americans.
How could ANY normal human being want this abomination?

THIS alone is enough to make me wish I had never voted for the man. But-- whom else was there?
I sure was taken for a ride. Dumb me.

[onecaliberal]

42. I'm just tired of the greed and

Inhumane treatment of the poor and least of us. It makes my stomach turn. It's not just POTUS it's the entire government save for a handful of folks.

[pangaia]

58. True that.

[JoePhilly]

6. Will it happen before or after he cuts Social Security?

That used to be the DU outrage of choice.

Obama was DEFINITELY going to FUCK us and cut Social Security.

Then he was going to invade Syria, and Iraq again, and Libya, and ... never happened.

He was never going to end DADT ... til he did ...

... never end the Bush tax cuts for those over 250k (until he ended them for those over 400k).

The new absolutely, definitely Obama is going to FUCK US, outrage is a non-existant bill.

The boy who cried wolf has nothing on DU's experts on what's ABOUT to happen.

[big_dog]

8. POTUS was never going to close Gitmo....

until the detainees starting leaving Cuba 4-5 at a time every week

[Hekate]

51. Leaving under the GOP radar, I might add, which means under the DU radar, which means...

...ipso facto, Obama is not being transparent and therefore he is fucking us over in service to the oligarchy.

Or something like that.

[sheshe2]

16. Ding Ding Ding!!!!!!

JoePhilly just hit it out of the park!

[zappaman]

23. You left out Keystone.

That was pre TPP.

[randys1]

30. I am a fan of yours...I am a SF Giants fan so it will only go so far

[11 Bravo]

32. I DESPISE the fucking Eagles! But ...

I've got to love me some JoePhilly. Great post!

[Number23]

47. And don't forget that he's gotta do the Keystone pipeline and work overtime to keep Gitmo open

first. But not before he finishes killing old and poor people. (that's Obama on the left, there)

The new absolutely, definitely Obama is going to FUCK US, outrage is a non-existant bill.

The boy who cried wolf has nothing on DU's experts on what's ABOUT to happen.

This whole thing is so manufactured and stupid it's actually a new low for DU. There has been a lot of talk about racism and police brutality lately, and a group was very noticeably absent from the vast majority of those conversations

Now, it's the first of the year and GD has absolutely EXPLODED with the dumbest most obviously trolling posts about TPP although NOTHING HAS HAPPENED on the TPP front in weeks. And I'm sure it's a coincidence that the main ones doing howler monkey impressions about TPP were quiet as church mice in those racism threads??

But I guess, since those of us concerned about racism, sexism, police brutality and other ills are just "social justice warriors" and there will be no social justice anywhere if white people aren't allowed to focus only on the economy (because you know, that's the ONLY thing that matters in the modern world) it will all work out in the end. And if the White People's Economics First crowd is as wrong as two left shoes yet again about yet another issue regarding this president, it's only because he has let them down sooooo many other times in all of those other ways that never actually happened.

[Hekate]

55. It's kinda pathetic that this thread has the potential to turn into a Modern DU flame fest....

I'm a bit surprised it hasn't taken off yet, but the night is yet early.

Still and all, the presence of the OP is encouraging, as are the posters agreeing with it.

[Number23]

60. It's a new year and the Perpetually Petulant have been peeved at all of the unity

over the blacklivesmatter and other issues so they're restaking their turf, as insignificant as it is.

I honestly believe this is why we are seeing this really sudden and TOTALLY non-coincidental -- I'm sure! -- resurgence of the anti-Dem, anti-Obama bullshit that has ruined this site for years. There was too much unity, people were actually DOING things and having educational and interesting conversations re: policy brutality and racism and the president's poll numbers have been steadily climbing.

So of course with all of this going on, the Constant Complainers have scoured far and wide to see what issue they can latch onto to disrupt and get GD back to the form that they have spent countless hours over the last 6-7 years turning it into. If nothing else, you really do have to admire their determination to make this place as insignificant as possible.

[zappaman]

63. Yes but what about the TPP?

[Jamaal510]

71. Hmm..."social justice warriors"...

Those posters who throw that term around appear to be employing a tactic similar to how RWers like to emphasize O's past community organizing, where they paint a good thing as something bad in order to suit an agenda.

[Number23]

84. That's because they ARE right wingers though they have convinced themselves otherwise

Too bad they have not had nearly as much success convincing anyone else.

Anyone who minimizes racism/sexism/social justice as secondary to economic issues is a right winger and probably a racist/sexist/other ist to boot. These issues all go hand in hand. And anyone who doesn't understand that obviously doesn't give a crap about any of them.

Freshwest coined the term "trickle down justice" in another thread and it is perfect to describe these people. White conservatives believe in trickle down econonomics, and apparently a fairly significant number of white "leftists" subcribe to trickle down justice. Both groups can kiss my behind.

[Bobbie Jo]

54. Bam

There it is...

[NYC_SKP]

9. I can hear the goalposts moving as I type this.

And the perpetuation of memes that blame Obama where an obstructive congress is really to blame.

K/R and thanks, big_dog!

[big_dog]

10. BHO is about to become the Harry Truman of the 21st Century

The American people like a leader who stands for something and takes action, pure and simple.

[Hekate]

52. That's those big crunching sounds you hear

Whoops! There goes another goalpost!

[JaneyVee]

11. Best prez of my lifetime so far.

[gladium et scutum]

13. What will be your opinion

when he signs TPP.

[randys1]

31. I will be very angry if he does...but I will still acknowledge his tremendous accomplishments

in the face of the greatest obstruction in history

[1step]

14. Even better than REAGAN???

[msongs]

15. the first phrase in the article is a lie nt

[Skittles]

21. the first six words is a lie

[sibelian]

68. Hmmmm, looking elsewhere in the thread I'm going to guess that means you're "moving the goalposts".

They're creative, I'll give them that.

[blkmusclmachine]

17. n/t

[L0oniX]

18. $$$

[sheshe2]

19. Is that you Bill?

[Autumn]

20. ya think?

[KG]

26. ha-ha, um, nope.

[rury]

27. President Barack Hussein Obama is absolutely the BEST president of the United States

in modern times!!

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/02/15/a-long-list-of-president-obamas-accomplishments-with-citations/


I Mr. President!!
for President Obama!!
A to you Mr. President!!
Mr. President!!

[lovemydog]

28. Yes, President Obama stepped up to the plate

and hit it out of the park. Many times. He also hit a lot of singles, double and triples, like Hank Aaron. On all levels - personal integrity, social and political, economic, domestic and international.

He recognizes that there is enough good to spread around so that more can share it. Goodness isn't finite - it's renewable energy!

I'm greatly inspired by President Obama. He has inspired many around the country and the world.

Thanks for sharing this big_dog. Happy new year.

[totodeinhere]

29. Better than FDR and Truman? I don't think so.

FDR signed off on putting Japanese Americans in concentration caps and Truman ordered a nuclear attack on Japan. Both of those moves were controversial, but over all I think they were two of the best presidents of the modern era. Regarding Obama, lets wait and see what happens with the Keystone Pipeline and so-called free trade agreements before passing judgement on him.

[whereisjustice]

34. apologies, deleted, meant to post below.

[ScreamingMeemie]

33. I'm sorry. I gotta say it. This kind of stuff is creepy as hell.

Creepy. And I'm as Democratic as they come.
He's a big boy, and he can handle the criticism.

[WhiteAndNerdy]

65. Yeah.

I see threads like this several times a week on DU. I don't know why it's so important to some people for him to be called the BEST president in modern times (or even the best ever). Like any other president, he's done some good, and he's been a disappointment in other ways. He's done better than I expected, especially considering the resistance he's had to deal with at every turn, but it's just kind of over the top to say he's the best. The flip side of that is Republicans claiming on a regular basis that he's the worst president in US history; they seem really emotionally invested in that idea. Both claims are silly because there are no objective criteria for determining something like that. Most of the time "best" and "worst" are meaningless terms that really only tell you what the speaker's own biases are, especially when it comes to evaluating something as complex as performance in the role of president of the United States.

[m-lekktor]

75. I agree. nt

[L0oniX]

79. Creepy and disturbing.

[Number23]

85. What is "creepy" about posting a link to an article?

Are you as "creeped" out by the people screaming about TPP despite the fact that absolutely nothing has happened on it in weeks?

[ScreamingMeemie]

86. I am creeped out by people who refuse to see all sides of something.

...and have a need to defend no matter what. I expect that in other places. I never did here.

Sorry, I'm not biting.
Hope you're having a terrific New Year.

[Number23]

87. It's an article. Not the OP's personal opinion. I have never found anything "creepy" about

someone posting an article, particularly as that appears to be the purpose of this entire board. But that's just me.

Thanks for the New Year's wishes.

[Thinkingabout]

35. He has performed well, got health care passed which many befor him was nitvable to do.

If I was in the auto industry he would definitely be my hero since he snatched it out of the death grips of going under. He finished bin Laden which W did not think about any more.

Now, how did I know he get trashed, easy, some just can't see the forest for the trees, can't see there are lots of issues which demand his attention.

[MFrohike]

36. The economy is booming?

Well, I guess it's easy to trumpet unemployment numbers if you don't mention the historic drop in labor force participation. Put simply, the unemployment ratio is not true. Double it and then you get a more accurate accounting of real unemployment.

[whereisjustice]

38. Wall Street, torturers, NSA/CIA, oil companies, defense contractors, for profit prisons, insurance

companies, charter schools, Monsanto, and any corporation sending jobs to Asia, all agree. For making the monumentally difficult decisions placing corporate interests over civil rights, constitutional intent and basic morality, best president ever.

I'd also like to report a massive cost increase in my health plan costs (for 2nd year in a row) but as a corp. plan holder I expect to be attacked as a liar. But it is a fact. Not just for me, but millions of us.

Not only that, they have instituted "lifestyle" penalties for anyone whose weight, blood tests, BMI, etc don't fit the template. For Primary and spouse this also adds up to over $1200 a year penalty (not including the 5% to 6% a year increase in costs.

To make matters worse - there are no fewer than FIVE companies to coordinate when it comes to health care claims.

I would have been happy with a small tax increase - it would have been far less of impact than the massive wage cut every year to middle class who is helping subsidize ACA.

Obama has been very effective leveraging the middle class to pay for both rich and poor.

But we'll fix it later, right?

[onecaliberal]

45. Let's not forget his penchant for nominating

The faux to guard the henhouse. Maybe people here are okay with that but I'm not. There are a lot of good things POTUS has done. You can support someone and disagree with things they do.

[OnyxCollie]

43. Obama is the bestest EVAH! (Eric Holder, too!)

XOXO,

Torturers & Banksters

[onecaliberal]

46. ^^^that

[Vattel]

44. His surge in Afghanistan was a faiure, regime change in Libya has been a failure,

he has us back at war in Iraq with a strategy that can't possibly work, he has deported far more undocumented workers than Bush, he has usurped Congress's war powers, he has whittled away at our Constitutional rights, he chose an idiot to be secretary of education with bad results, he has failed to seriously address torture, he has failed to hold the CIA accountable for anything, he tried (but failed) to slash Social Security, he extended the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, . . .

He's done some good stuff too.

[whereisjustice]

49. but his surge in our police state is working very well to intimidate dissent and transparency eom

[hunter]

48. The best I've voted for, anyways.

I worked for Jimmy Carter, but he underestimated the ethical depravity of his opponents.

Ronald Reagan was a sick puppet installed by a rotten oligarchy. I witnessed this personally.

Clinton was disabled by his desire to be popular. Maybe that's not a bad political strategy.

Bush one and two are shallow, venal, tools. Furthermore, Bush two was a puppet president, just like Reagan.

Obama is a competent, intelligent, Democratic center-right politician. That's much preferable to the alternatives, and I say this as a radical socialist and environmentalist. The U.S.A. Constitution and subsequent interpretations favor a two party system. Sorry, that's just the way it is. I work within that confining political framework just as I work within the confining political frameworks of my own religion. Francis is better than Benedict XVI.

The probability, in my lifetime, of a Pope Mary Elizabeth and her spouse Joan is close enough to zero for any rational person. I try to be rational most of the time.

It's not likely I'll ever vote for a president who agrees entirely with my personal politics, but I'll sure as hell vote for an intelligent Democrat who can win over anyone else.

[lovemydog]

50. Glad to see another socialist & environmentalist here

who respects & appreciates President Obama.

I agree he's center-right to our politics. In terms of most voters though I think he's been center-left. Among his administration's biggest accomplishments - health care reform, rescuing the auto industry, drawing down troops, extending gay marriage, opening relations with Cuba, climate change agreements, judicial appointments - most all to his right opposed.

Happy new year.

[gwheezie]

53. He's done a good job

So far he's the best president I voted for. I have several concerns about some of his positions but on the whole he's done a good job in the face of unwarranted obstruction. He may turn out to be one of our best presidents but he still has 2 years left and some of his policies may take years before anyone can judge the effectiveness.

[colsohlibgal]

56. I Can't Go There

I don't hate him, there have been worse, I did vote for him twice. But he's hardly the greatest president of modern times, not even close.

Yes, some of the opposition to him has been ridiculous and a lot of it is obviously racially driven.

But...nobody forced him to do things like keeping the old Wall Street in and out of government financial con going, pushing the awful TPP etc. Not throwing one big shot Wall Street exec in prison for obvious and blatant fraud that is still hurting tons of everyday citizens - in fact letting many of them leave with 500 million dollar golden parachutes from our bailout. Sorry but he's just another neo democrat, as is Hillary, as was Bubba, same old same old.

Eisenhower was left of Obama in many respects, as was Nixon of all people. Democrats need to get back to being real democrats, not largely fake ones. We need more Elizabeth Warrens, more people like Bernie and Martin O'Malley.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

57. I liked Bill Clinton too

[pscot]

59. Define modern times

[Art_from_Ark]

61. 2001 to date

Before that was the Age of Dinosaurs

[sibelian]

69. WHEREVER THEY LIKE.

Goalposts. THEY set them. Other people's requirements of a president do not result in shiny, so other people are "moving goalposts".

The game is very simple. Anyone can type up the appearance of contradicting anything. Of COURSE they can.

[freshwest]

62. Indeed! Thanks big dog for the thread!

[Cha]

64. President Obama is doing brilliantly with what he has to work with. thank you, bigdog

[Major Hogwash]

66. President Obama is the only President in the history of the United States who has ended 2 wars!!

So, there's that.

Now watch, he'll get a big head over it.

[Jamaal510]

73. Pres. O isn't a very good warmonger, is he? eom

[F4lconF16]

74. Depends.

I'd say if I were a Pakistani worried about drones, I'd probably disagree.

http://m.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/12/the-us-stopped-torturing-terror-suspectsand-started-droning-them/383590/

Though we're "out" of two wars, let's not pretend he isn't a neo-liberal who strongly supports the MIC, same as all of our corporate presidents. He's not Lindsey Graham, but neither is he Noam Chomsky.

[grahamhgreen]

67. ROFL

[great white snark]

70. And considering his rescue of our auto industry I'd say he's a DAMN good new and "used car salesman"

The man just knows how to get things done.

[Marrah_G]

72. With the exception of gas prices, I really don't see things booming

Not that I blame that on just the president, I blame it on everyone in DC and state governments leadership positions. I blame it on politicians who put their own financial futures in front of what is needed for the american people.

Not sure where all these great jobs are. I see lots of 20 hour a week part-time jobs and stagnant/falling wages. I see friends who can't find a decent job and end up resorting to crappy retail or service jobs.

I also work in the life insurance industry and our business is tied directly into how people out there are doing financially. I also see new and refinanced mortgage data every week and that hasn't improved much either.

~shrug~ I just don't see the same world you are living in. In my world people are making less and everything keeps costing more.

[Capt. Obvious]

76. Almost complete

[craigmatic]

77. Exactly definitely the best president we've had since the '60's.

[Martin Eden]

80. TPP n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

81. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. Lord Acton

[SomethingFishy]

82. Congratulations. Glad things are going well for you.

The economic recovery hasn't touched me yet. Haven't seen a raise in 12 years. Don't have any investments so the Stock Market has nothing for me. The cost of my wives medications just tripled in a month. We are in a Donut Hole I was told. That was fun for me. Trying to figure out whether to pay the electric bill or for my wives meds. Love the ACA! Oh and that Cromnibus bill, yeah that was some good stuff, lets just dump all regulations and see what happens. Oh and the TPP, yeah, another classic that protects corporations and fucks over the working class.

Yeah I guess Obama is the best president ever, if you are rich, well invested and healthy. Many of us aren't so lucky.

[dawg]

83. I like him better than Clinton. Not as much as Carter.

Carter appointment of Volker as Fed Chief is what broke the back of inflation. All Reagan did was screw around with big tax cuts, followed by big tax increases once his people figured out how "arithmetic" works.