The Bottom Line for Me about President Obama

[RollWithIt]

He didn't cause the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

But he's trying his best to fix it with a bold economic package totaling a trillion dollars in longterm investment.

He didn't start the war in Iraq.

But he's trying to get as many troops as he can out of there as fast as he can.

He didn't cause the 9/11 hijackings which caused us to be in Afghanistan.

But he's finally focusing US policy on WINNING the "REAL" war on terror. That's Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He didn't screw up the healthcare system.

But he's about to try to fix it through increased government regulation and access to all through a government run program.

He inherited a fiscal system completely upside down.

But he actively talks about eliminating wasteful spending.


This President is smart. Far better than the past. I think I'll give him more than 100 days to bash him. I think I'll give him four years.

In the history books I pick up from the library, four years is a blink of the eye.

[babylonsister]

1. He is SO SMART! I'm loving my new president! nt

[nomaco-10]

2. He not only ROCKS, HE RULZ.......

I luv our new prez. period.

[seaker]

3. Yes, yes, yes, yes

I DU 2!
:loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

[NYC_SKP]

12. +5

[FrenchieCat]

4. I'll give you an Amen on that!

:)

[MadMaddie]

22. Ditto to what FrenchieCat said!!

[BlooInBloo]

5. Does this mean I don't get my pony?

:cry:

[Wetzelbill]

8. ponies are overrated

:)

[babylonsister]

9. Hey, what is the genesis of that?

:shrug:

The last time I was around a horse I got thrown off it, and that was about 20 years ago. I'm not too keen now.

[BlooInBloo]

10. Atrios is where I first heard it.

[Vanje]

37. Who knows

but since a number of DUs gay community are offended by it.....

Oh! What the hell! They're only gays. Who cares!

Woo hoo! Wheres my pony! Look at me I'm a drama queen! with limp-wrist, a tiara , and a whole lot of poutrage!

[vaberella]

18. Hey! I asked for my pony named "Tucker" first...ugh! n/t

[Name removed]

30. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Wetzelbill]

6. Yeah but we blew it by making the wrong choice in the primary

The far better candidate was overlooked.

[babylonsister]

11. You didn't. No way. You did.

:wow: :rofl: Ya think?!

[Wetzelbill]

14. I sure did

I am a little bitter about not winning this election. Poor Kurovski might not ever find his smile again. :)

[Political Heretic]

7. I'm not "bashing." But its my future, and I have a stake in the direction our President takes

It's completely insufficient to say "hey, he's not as bad as the worst president in the history of the United States." And sometimes when people rattle off this litany of Bush failures, it sounds like that's about what they are saying.

If my only interest was providing commentary then yes, maybe I would wait four or more years before making any sort of evaluation of everything once its all said and done. But of course, that's not my interest.

My interest is in seeing that policy is shaped in the direction that I think it should be. Waiting until after all policy is made doesn't help.

Now, I think some people on DU are confused by this, because they recognize that simply posting on DU isn't going to change anything. But those folks make the mistake of assuming that's the only thing some of us that are writing about out criticisms and concerns are doing. It's not, at least not in my case. I'm contacting my representatives, I'm speaking out in my community. I'm partnering with non-profits that are advocating the positions I believe in. Next week my op-ed will appear in my statewide paper. I'm doing what I know to do to advocate for change.

Those same opinions and beliefs I try to put into action in the real world are the ones I bring to DU and express. Thus a "give him time" attitude doesn't work for me. You'll notice that I tend not to speculate about the future Obama, and only tend to focus on concrete examples of policy we already have.

So I don't like Team Obama's policy toward the economic crisis. I don't have to "wait" on that because its not about whether it "works" (where "works" is defined as brings us back to the same status quo where a privileged few reaped massive gains off the backs of the American worker.) It's about we should be moving in a different direction.

I don't have to "wait" to see about our policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, because it isn't about whether it "works" (where "works" is defined as securing our long standing American hegemonic agenda in the region through gentler or harsher means depending on the sitting President). It's about we should bring our troops home from around the world and stop envisioning ourselves as the world's King.

I don't have to "wait" to see about Obama's government making the exact same court argument the Bush administration did. And you can't hide behind the "lawyers doing their job" canard, because the Government certainly didn't have to appeal court rulings against those positions, nor did it have to continue to fight them in court. Waiting doesn't change that those decisions were wrong, and that they are concerning.

At the same time, good things have happened thanks to this administration as well. Many good things. And I wake up in the morning quite happy to not be under the oppression of the last regime's lunacy. But I won't for a second let you or anyone else attempt to use that relief as some sort of argument against conscientious criticism of policy when I feel its deserved.


EDIT - to change "we's" to "I's" because I don't speak for anyone else.

[Skittles]

15. worthy of its own thread

:thumbsup:

[Dragonfli]

19. Agreed

An eloquent and clear explanation of thoughts that I have on a daily basis.
I have tried to say the same things in a clumsier manner resulting in misunderstandings of my position.

[Skittles]

26. Political Heretic is a champ with words

absolutely

[cliffordu]

13. I completely agree

[NYC_SKP]

16. I agree with post #13

And with the OP.

Recommended.

[vaberella]

21. Ditto. n/t

[5thGenDemocrat]

17. So far, Obama's done two good things for every one than ticks me off

Which is what I tell my conservative friends who think I'm an "Obamaniac."
Two out of three will get you into the World Series or reelected. So I guess, for the most part, it's the best I can expect.
My biggest peeve? The way Wall Street gets hundreds of billions with no real questions asked, while Detroit has to beg for scraps. Lawrence Summers runs Goldman Sachs into the ground and gets appointed as one of Obama's closest advisors. General Motors needs a couple lousy billion and Rick Wagoner gets his head chopped off.
Michigan (as good a Democratic state as there is, with a Dem governor and TWO Dem Senators) feels pretty put upon and ignored -- but (a) the money is a function of Congress, not the President (though I wish Obama would show some concern for Organized Labor, as loyal a bloc as he has) and (b) I don't remember the last President who didn't suck up to us for our electoral votes and forget about us as soon as he got into the Executive Office. Clinton, for example, sold us out over NAFTA.
Michigan is dying -- and sometimes it feels like no one in power gives a good goddamn.
John
We were once the Arsenal of Democracy. Now we're its cross-eyed step-child. I support Obama (like I said, two out of three), but I don't expect anything positive from him regarding this state.

[babylonsister]

23. Ummm. Did I miss something? Two positives, or wasn't that your intent. Yea. nt

[5thGenDemocrat]

27. Yeah -- there's plenty I like (and which I should have mentioned)

I like that Obama's working so hard to restore our rightful (when just) leadership in the world. That's probably most important to me. We pissed away years of leadership and good will under Little Hitler, and this President is working hard to get it back. I think it's working.
I like that the President's reaching out to Cuba and Venezuela and Iran, rather than acting like the wet drunk bully we just had in the Oval Office.
I like that he's reaching out across the political aisle -- though I think it's pointless, considering the intransigence of the opposition.
I think he's the smartest (and, for that matter, the coolest) guy in the room, and I think his community organizing background is exactly what we need in a President. I like that the Republicans are all apoplectic about this.
I like that he stood up for equal pay for equal work. I like that he's working to provide a college education to all who want one, and health care to everyone.
I think he has dozens, if not hundreds, of successes to come -- because he works hard and because the vast majority of Americans WANT him to succeed. So do I, even if I think these successes will more than likely bypass Michigan (but what else is new?).
I admire his life story. It's inspirational to millions of people and proves the American dream can still happen. Telling a minority child that he or she can be anything they want to be no longer sounds like so much balloon juice. He married well, and is a fine father with beautiful children -- and that's even more important than just being powerful.
Plus, as I said, I'll support him if he just maintains the pace he's already cruising along at. Even if Michigan is forgotten, the idea is to provide the greatest good to the greatest number. There are 49 other states, after all -- all of which I wish well.
John
There. That's MORE than two positives. Good enough for you? If not, I really don't have to justify my beliefs to you, anyhow.

[babylonsister]

28. Whoa! You didn't have to justify anything, but thank you.

Nice. :thumbsup:

[5thGenDemocrat]

29. Hey Sister

I know that and you're welcome. I've had many pleasant conversations with you in the past and it's probably just that I'm a mite sensitive because of all the snippiness around DU lately. And, living in Saginaw -- which catches pneumonia whenever the national economy gets the sniffles -- I feel like I'm standing guard on the parapets of Fort Apache these days (20 percent-plus unemployment here, though I'm personally a retired sportswriter).
GM once provided 23,000 jobs in this town -- now it's something like 3,500. Many of those lost jobs belonged to people I know and love, and that lost work isn't ever coming back. We lost another 150 GM jobs here just last week.
It ain't you. It's me and the folks I neighbor with. I know that.
John
Wishing all good to you and please be well. Peace.

[BlooInBloo]

36. The poster gave a *ratio*, not absolute numbers, I think.

[islandgirl808]

20. excellent post

he may not be the perfect president, but he's a good man with good intentions. i'm happy to be able to witness this :).

[Tommy_J]

24. I'm with you..

..and predict history will show Obama as one of our greatest presidents

[SadeMN]

25. Amen! n/t

[pnorman]

31. I'm mindful of the frequent criticisms of Obama here.

Some of it is thoughtful and well worth studying. But some others are little more than Sour Grape PUMA stuff!

But think back to all the hysteria here about the Inaugural Convocation! That soon passed, and rarely if ever has it been mentioned here since.. But note that the Republican Party has NEVER been as (viscerally!) united AGAINST a Democratic President since FDR in the Thirties! I believe that they know Obama a lot better than some here on DU!

pnorman

[Skidmore]

33. I hear you and agree. I just wish some of the vitriol was directed

toward Congress so that we could move some of the legislation and clean up some of these messes.

[Two Americas]

35. "sour grapes PUMA stuff"

Sigh.

[akbacchus_BC]

32. K&R. I love your President and my opinion only, I know that he is

trying his best to correct the wrongs of the past 8 years and it will take much more than 100 days to do that, especially given the amount of negativity from the GOP. President Obama is doing an excellent job for America and the world loves him.

Am an Obamabot and I hope I do not get penalized for saying so.

[Solon]

34. The only thing I disagree on is the idea of winning a war on terror, whether real or not...

its an impossible war to win, period. Its a war on a tactic, for crying out loud, and it has no real direction, whether fought under by Bush or Obama. We can send millions of troops to Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan and occupy them from hundreds and years, and guess what? The war on terror will still be ongoing, even then.

[grantcart]

38. And that's exactly how the norma average 'Joe' looks at it too.